THE ‘80s A Special Report :...

When we first saw Murphy on Saturday Night Live he had the immaculate murderous beauty of a stiletto; he surgically rendered the self-satisfied belly of SNL’s comedic bloat. He was sleek and dangerous, and a superb mimic.

His compact energy translated into an arresting screen image when he went over to the movies, but his talent stayed home. When he went out solo on the standup comedy circuit, we saw an act that was no better than a second-rate Vegas lounge routine. We forgot that he was a kid. Still, the shtarkes at Paramount oiled him with a megabuck deal and turned him loose on the runway, and the hefty numbers on his grosses did nothing to reveal how thoroughly the Peter Principle had kicked in on his career.

That is to say, his stardom had nothing to do with the small range of his acting performance. He became one of the richest bonus-babies ever to sign with a major league, but he hasn’t delivered quality minutes. The Eddie Murphy story is an allegory for the show-biz ‘80s.

The Taste Makers project was edited by David Fox, assistant Sunday Calendar editor.