THEY GATHERED ONSTAGE for Eddie Murphy’s triumphant return to Saturday Night Live on December 21, 2019, and for the live and viewing audience, it was one of the great monologue moments. For Chappelle, Morgan, and Rock, it was the ultimate way to publicly thank their guy. These superstars, all icons in their own right, share something very special: Murphy. He inspired them to become comedians, and along the way they have become fast friends. Like finding the right timing for the perfect joke, actually being together, face-to-face, for this brotherhood is a nearly impossible feat with the geographic challenges of living in four different states, constant touring, and, you know, life (bundle of kids, a divorce here and there, you know, life). They all have personal Eddie Murphy reminiscences, but Tracy Morgan, who takes little for granted these days, having survived a near fatal highway accident in 2014, captured it best, remembering back to his first year on SNL in 1996 when Murphy invited him for a walk just to tell him how proud he was of the young comic. A grateful Morgan recognized the importance of the moment, saying, “Eddie, thank you for keeping the door open for me.”