Eddie Murphy doesn’t seem to be short on cash these days, but he hasn’t forgotten what he’s owed.
While making an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to promote his upcoming holiday flick, the actor reflected on his first studio album, “How Could It Be,” released in 1985.
Kimmel read aloud the liner notes in the album’s booklet.
“Special thanks to Michael Jackson and Prince. Simply because it’s hip to have your names on my album,” it stated. “And to Richard Pryor, my idol, with whom I have a $100,000 bet. No motherf—er, I didn’t forget.”
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“He bet me $100,000 that I wouldn’t put out a music album where there’s no jokes or nothing,” Murphy said. “It’s just all music. He said, ‘You’ll never do it.’ And I bet him $100,000. And I did it. And he never paid me.”
Kimmel asked if Murphy had ever asked Pryor to pay up.
“I never brought it up. We did a movie, the ‘Harlem Nights’ afterwards. I never said anything,” he said. “But he owes me.”
Pryor died in 2005 after having a third heart attack.
Although best known for his comedy, Murphy has recorded two other studio albums in his career, “So Happy” in 1989 and “Love’s Alright” in 1993. Murphy is promoting numerous projects, including his first Christmas film he co-stars in with Tracee Ellis Ross, “Candy Cane Lane.”
His highly anticipated fourth installment of the “Beverly Hills Cop” franchise is expected to be released in 2024.