Joe Piscopo Will Never Forget the Day Eddie Murphy Auditioned for ‘SNL’

Joe Piscopo had just been hired at Saturday Night Live, and he was scared to death. Sure, landing the show was a huge break. But he would also be part of an entirely new cast “tasked with one of the most impossible assignments in television history,” he writes in his book Average Joe: The Memoirs of a Blue Collar Entertainer. “To replace the original cast of Saturday Night Live.”

If Piscopo was terrified, what must have been going through the head of another potential new castmate, a 19-year-old with little-to-no actual showbiz experience? Shortly after being hired, Piscopo was brought up to the SNL offices to meet other comics the show was considering, including a young Eddie Murphy. “Chemistry, whatever it was, we hit it right off the bat,” Piscopo told me when we discussed his book a few months ago. “Laughing, talking, feeling comfortable.”

But producers hadn’t made their final decision on Murphy. They pulled Piscopo aside and asked for a favor — would he perform a sketch with the kid so they could see if he had the goods? Absolutely, responded Joe. What did the producers have in mind? 

“The Richard Pryor and Chevy Chase ‘Word Association’ sketch,” they said. “We want to see what Eddie can do.”

One of the most iconic sketches in the show’s history? How could either performer top the original? Plus, Piscopo explained to me, they made the two perform the scene in a cramped office. “(Executive Producer) Jean Doumanian’s there, the writers are there, the managers are there. Me and Eddie are standing there — it’s the worst thing to do if you’re a performer.”

A pretty intimidating set-up for a teenager trying to break into the biggest comedy show on television. But Piscopo gamely read Chase’s part while Murphy took on Pryor’s role. (In Murphy’s memory, he was so familiar with the sketch that he didn’t need a script.) 

“I’m telling you what,” said Piscopo. “With respect to the great Richard Pryor, Eddie was funnier than Pryor on the TV show. And I was taken aback.”

Piscopo was absolutely, positively convinced: Murphy was the next Pryor. But SNL producers didn’t quite know what to do with him. “‘He’s a little edgy’ was their line,” Piscopo writes in his book. “He was politically incorrect and said what he wanted to say. Did I mention he was 19? Also, let’s not shy away from the idea that the network was afraid to have a person of color being that edgy and in your face — this was 1980.”

Piscopo advocated for Murphy’s hiring, which did happen. Sort of. “They make him a featured player, which I thought was an insult,” Piscopo told me. “They put him on the bench.” 

Spoiler alert: That didn’t last long, as Murphy’s talent (and chemistry with Piscopo) soon made him one of the biggest stars in the show’s history.