Velvet Jones
Encyclopedia
Velvet Jones was an ongoing character played by Eddie Murphy
on the American sketch comedy
Saturday Night Live
in its seventh season. Velvet was depicted as a pimp
on the program and first appeared on the October 17, 1981 episode (with guests George Kennedy
and Miles Davis
). The first skit was a faux advertisement for Jones' book I Wanna be a Ho and the character was depicted to be the president of "The Velvet Jones School of Technology." The character spoke in Ebonics
and wore loud pink and purple clothing and a slick pompadour
. Subsequent episodes had Jones selling items such as Velvet Jones Harlequin Romance books
, which included fictitious odd titles including Kicked in the Butt by Love.
This was Murphy's first season on the show as a regular where he broke out from the comedy ensemble. Velvet Jones and Murphy's other characters on the show were notable insofar as they broke taboos about the black street culture
that Saturday Night Live had never addressed in prior seasons.
Velvet Jones continued as a regular sketch character until an episode of SNL hosted by Robert Conrad
, in which Velvet Jones appeared in the teaser and the first two sketches. After the first commercial break Eddie Murphy came on camera and briefly addressed the audience, identifying himself as the creator of the Velvet Jones character. He then explained that Velvet Jones would no longer be seen on SNL as he had just died of overexposure.
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
on the American sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in its seventh season. Velvet was depicted as a pimp
Pimp
A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...
on the program and first appeared on the October 17, 1981 episode (with guests George Kennedy
George Kennedy
George Harris Kennedy, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in over 200 film and television productions. He is perhaps most familiar as the convict Dragline in Cool Hand Luke , airline troubleshooter Joe Patroni in the Airport series of disaster movies from the 1970s and...
and Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
). The first skit was a faux advertisement for Jones' book I Wanna be a Ho and the character was depicted to be the president of "The Velvet Jones School of Technology." The character spoke in Ebonics
African American Vernacular English
African American Vernacular English —also called African American English; less precisely Black English, Black Vernacular, Black English Vernacular , or Black Vernacular English —is an African American variety of American English...
and wore loud pink and purple clothing and a slick pompadour
Pompadour (hairstyle)
Pompadour is a tall style of men's haircut which takes its name from Madame de Pompadour.There are Latin variants of the hair style more associated with European and Argentine tango fashion trends and occasionally with late 20th century musical genres such as rockabilly and country.The pompadour...
. Subsequent episodes had Jones selling items such as Velvet Jones Harlequin Romance books
Harlequin Enterprises Ltd
Harlequin Enterprises Limited is a Toronto, Ontario-based company that is a publisher of series romance and women's fiction. Owned by the Torstar Corporation, the largest newspaper publisher in Canada, the company publishes approximately 120 new titles each month in 29 different languages in 107...
, which included fictitious odd titles including Kicked in the Butt by Love.
This was Murphy's first season on the show as a regular where he broke out from the comedy ensemble. Velvet Jones and Murphy's other characters on the show were notable insofar as they broke taboos about the black street culture
Street culture
Street culture may refer to:* Street market* Children's street culture* Street carnival* Street identity* Cafe culture*Several topics pertaining to outdoors youth subculture or counterculture of urban centers. These can include street art, street dance, street sports and hip-hop culture....
that Saturday Night Live had never addressed in prior seasons.
Velvet Jones continued as a regular sketch character until an episode of SNL hosted by Robert Conrad
Robert Conrad
Robert Conrad is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the 1965 CBS television series The Wild Wild West, in which he played the sophisticated Secret Service agent James T. West, and his portrayal of World War II ace Pappy Boyington in the television series Baa Baa Black Sheep...
, in which Velvet Jones appeared in the teaser and the first two sketches. After the first commercial break Eddie Murphy came on camera and briefly addressed the audience, identifying himself as the creator of the Velvet Jones character. He then explained that Velvet Jones would no longer be seen on SNL as he had just died of overexposure.