Eddie Murphy 1982. Nolte was scheduled to host the December 11, 1982, Christmas episode of "Saturday Night Live", but became too ill to host, so Murphy took over. He became the only cast member to host while still a regular. Murphy opened the show with the phrase, "Live from New York, It's the Eddie Murphy Show!" The following year, Murphy starred in "Trading Places" with fellow "SNL" alumnus Dan Aykroyd. The movie marked the first of Murphy's collaborations with director John Landis (who also directed Murphy in "Coming to America" and "Beverly Hills Cop III") and proved to be an even greater
Eddie Murphy camera, in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza—at Murphy's request, after he grew tired of constant demands from fans to "Do Buckwheat! Do Buckwheat!" In "Rolling Stone"s February 2015 appraisal of all 141 SNL cast members to date, Murphy was ranked second (behind John Belushi). "It is customary (and accurate) to say that Eddie Murphy is the only reason SNL survived the five-year wilderness without Lorne Michaels," they noted. In 1982, Murphy made his big screen debut in the film "48 Hrs." with Nick Nolte. "48 Hrs." proved to be a hit when it was released in the Christmas season of