Eddie Murphy, himself a no-brainer in the comedy department, was asked by Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday to name the funniest person he’s ever met. (Watch the video below.)
“Redd Foxx,” Murphy said.
“That’s a great answer,” the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” host replied.
“Not trying, just fun,” Murphy said. “Everything that came out of his mouth was funny.”
Foxx, the comedian and star of “Sanford and Son” (1972-1977), who died in 1991, would likely be moved by the uproar.
Murphy offered a macabre postscript to his eulogy: Foxx met his death on the set of “The Royal Family,” a sitcom Murphy was producing. The evil funnyman collapsed during a rehearsal for the CBS comedy and later died in hospital, the New York Times reported in his obituary.
“He had a heart attack on the show,” Murphy said. “It was like that. They thought he was joking.”
Kimmel saw the irony because part of Foxx’s shtick as a grumpy drug dealer on “Sanford and Son” was faking heart attacks.
