Hint: It involves Stevie Wonder.
“My father watched the TV screen in awe and in glee.
And he was chuckling.
Keegan-Michael Key; Eddie Murphy.Rich Polk/Getty Images; Everett Collection
My man was chuckling.
What the hell was happening?
It turns out that one of the greatest comedic talents of all time was on TV.”
Keegan-Michael Key and Elle Key.Sally Montana
This ultimately leads Murphy to do his own Wonder impression.
“What?!??
And then, get this, Eddie starts singing!
‘The History of Sketch Comedy’.Chronicle Books
Like he’s going to sing better than Stevie Wonder.
My little mind was blown.
Ain’t nobody in my house was ever the same again.
My father and I both drank the giggle juice, and we were done.
This was the beginning of all of it for me.”
EW shares an exclusive excerpt below.
a block south of 8 Mile in Detroit.
Yes, Motown, the Motor City, the D, which is where I grew up.
But believe it or not, Greece wasn’t totally out of the picture.
After all, I lived a short chariot ride away from a place called Greektown.
And Coney Dogs, which were served in restaurants owned by Greeks, were a staple of my childhood.
There was even a restaurant called The Parthenon.
Which, by the way, had excellent moussaka.
I lived in a small house on the border between mostly Black Detroit and the mostly white suburbs.
The area has had some notoriety, thanks to the film8 Milestarring Eminem.
And no, I don’t know Eminem, or Berry Gordy, or Stevie Wonder for that matter.
I didn’t know Marvin Gaye either.
I did know Gladys Knight’s niece, though.
We grew up in the same neighborhood, so maybe that counts for something.
Maybe even more than others.
And I am no exception.
I mean, there are a lot of sciences to pick from.
For example, there’s pomology, which I only just recently learned isnotthe study of palms.
One of my favorites is gigantology, whichisindeed the study of giants.
and I like him for that.
My bigger point is that maybe most, if not all,-ologistscan figure this one out .
I know I’m not alone on this.
A number of my comedic contemporaries today have had a similar path.
The first time I remember hearing my father laugh was in the living room of my childhood home.
My father watched the TV screen in awe and in glee.
And he was chuckling.
My man was chuckling.
What the hell was happening?
It turns out that one of the greatest comedic talents of all time was on TV.
It’s really funny.
He does a truly fantastic job as a terrible singer.
He continues to sing and sing badly.
Then it happened, the camera turns to reveal a young and brave sketch comedian named Eddie Murphy.
Like straight-up Jerry Lewis, he’s playing a nerd and he’s killing it.
I know Stevie Wonder and what you’re doing is .
it’s too tense, man.
you oughta mellow out a bit.
He’s just like,
Man, is Stevie unique.
You got to have the glasses and you got to loosen up that neck, man.
Move that neck around.
Just got to move that neck around a little bit.
And Eddie does his own spot-on version of Stevie, IN FRONT OF THE LEGEND THAT IS STEVIE WONDER.
What?!??
And then, get this, Eddie starts singing!
Like he’s going to sing better than Stevie Wonder.
My little mind was blown.
Ain’t nobody in my house was ever the same again.
My father and I both drank the giggle juice, and we were done.
This was the beginning of all of it for me.
