When Eddie Murphy makes his long-awaited “SNL” return on Saturday, fans of the venerable late-night staple can thank the comedian’s tenure during the early 1980s for keeping the show alive.
Aside from a brief appearance during the show’s 40th anniversary celebration in 2015, this will be the first time Murphy has returned to “SNL” since 1984, the same year he left (He left in the spring of 1984, but hosted that fall). But if it wasn’t for Murphy, “SNL” probably would have never made it alive out of that decade.
For a brief period in the early 1980s, Lorne Michaels left “SNL” following disputes with network executives.