Comedian Eddie Murphy pulled out all the stops during his first Saturday Night Live appearance since he was a cast member by bringing back some of his classic characters, including Mister Robinson.
On the show’s last episode of 2019, Murphy returned as host, his first time doing so since he left the program in 1984. Appearing as his Mr. Rogers parody Mister Robinson, the comedian revealed how his character’s hometown has changed since viewers last saw him 35 years ago and explained gentrification to a group of children.
“I was gone for a bit, but now I’m alright. My neighbors were all black, but now they white,” Murphy’s Mister Robinson sang. “The check cashing place turned into a bank, elevator works, and the stairs they don’t stank. White people came and changed everything, but I am still your neighbor.”
Noting that his once-drab neighborhood is now “fancy,” Mister Robinson said gentrification is “like a magic trick.” He added, “White people pay a lot of money, and then, poof! All the black people are gone.”
Murphy’s character then said he was only able to continue living in the area because of “squatter’s rights,” which he described as “like finders keepers, but for other people’s houses.”
When some of his neighbors came by to accuse him of stealing their television set, Mister Robinson said, “Oh, you think I stole your TV ’cause I’m black!” However, it turns out that he did indeed steal their TV, which he used to showcase a word for his new neighbors: “Racist.”
The skit then ended with someone approaching Mister Robinson and claiming to be his son, prompting the character to sneak out the window.
Murphy, 58, made Saturday Night Live audiences laugh from 1980-1984 while he was a cast member on the show. During those years, he created the streetwise children’s show host character, along with several others, including Buckwheat and Gumby. During the 1982 Christmas episode, he became the only person to host the show while still a regular after the scheduled host fell ill.
