Celebrity Eddie Murphy to Be Awarded Top Humor Prize at the Kennedy Center The former SNL cast member will receive the 18th annual Mark Twain Prize By Sheila Cosgrove Baylis Sheila Cosgrove Baylis Sheila Baylis is Senior News Editor for PEOPLE's Health vertical; she contributes to print features and directs the digital Health team on stories ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to body image and women's health. She has a Master's Degree in Gender Studies. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 9, 2015 05:00 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/WireImage He’s come a long way from Saturday Night Live. Eddie Murphy will receive the prestigious Mark Twain Prize in American humor, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced on Thursday. Murphy, 54, will receive the prize at the 18th annual gala performance in October, which will be broadcast. The Kennedy Center’s announcement called Murphy “the most commercially successful African-American actor in the history of the motion picture business, and is one of the industry’s top-five box-office performers overall.” Previous recipients of the prize include Richard Pryor, Jonathan Winters, Carl Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg, Lily Tomlin, Steve Martin, Ellen DeGeneres, Tina Fey, Carol Burnett and Jay Leno. RELATED: Eddie Murphy to Return to Saturday Night Live in February