Eddie Murphy Says Richard Pryor 'Never Paid Me' After Winning $100K Bet: 'I Didn't Forget'
"We did a movie [together] ... and I never said anything. But he owes me," Murphy joked of his bet with the late comedian, who died in 2005
Eddie Murphy still has a matter to settle with Richard Pryor.
The Candy Cane Lane actor appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Wednesday to chat about his new holiday film, and joked that the late comedian still owes him money from a bet they'd made decades previous.
Host Jimmy Kimmel noted that for Murphy's 1985 album How Could It Be, one of the liner notes reads, "To Richard Pryor, my idol, with whom I have a $100,000 bet. No motherf-----, I didn’t forget."
"When I told him I was doing a music album, he bet me $100,000 that I wouldn’t put out a music album where there’s no jokes or nothing, it’s just all music. He said, ‘You’ll never do it.’ And I bet him $100,000. And then I did it, and he never paid me," recalled Murphy, 62.
Pressed by Kimmel, 56, about whether he ever asked for the money, Murphy said, "I never brought it up," adding, "We did a movie, we did Harlem Nights afterwards, and I never said anything. But he owes me."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.
Pryor, who died in 2005 of a heart attack at age 65, influenced several generations of Black comedians, from Murphy to Dave Chappelle to Kevin Hart. After breaking out as a club performer in the '60s, he transitioned to TV and film in the early '70s, writing for shows like Sanford and Son and later co-writing the 1974 Mel Brooks–directed hit Blazing Saddles.
While honing his writing chops, Pryor landed roles in front of the camera in movies like 1976's Silver Streak, 1978's California Suite and 1980's Stir Crazy (the latter of which was directed by the late Oscar-winning actor Sidney Poitier), plus had a memorable turn as the title character in the 1978 cult classic The Wiz.
“Rich was like my idol when I was a kid,” Murphy told PEOPLE in a 1983 cover story with Pryor, adding of when they met by chance for the first time on a plane, “Did you ever make one of those big smiles you smile so hard you feel like blood gonna come outta your face? I was smiling. I tried to be cool, but it was Richard ... Richard!”
“I like Eddie a lot. Eddie’s good inside. His s--- is natural, it’s real," Pryor said in the same interview. "I’m hard to get inside. But I wouldn’t mind getting to know Eddie and sharing some real stuff, friendship. I don’t think I could pick a better person than Eddie.”
As for Murphy's current pursuits, he reunites with his Boomerang director Reginald Hudlin on Candy Cane Lane, which Murphy produced and also stars in, marking his first Christmas movie.
Written by Kelly Younger, the whimsical film tells the story of a competitive suburban dad, Chris Carver (Murphy), who is so eager to win his neighborhood’s holiday decorating competition that he makes a deal with a mischievous elf (Jillian Bell).
Candy Cane Lane also stars Tracee Ellis Ross, Thaddeus J. Mixson, Ken Marino, Nick Offerman, Robin Thede and Chris Redd.
“I read the script and I was like, ‘This is charming. This is very charming and really cute and I love the people,” Ellis Ross, 51, recently told PEOPLE in a joint interview with Murphy. “And there was magic, the element of magic. There's special effects. And Eddie Murphy was in it. Eddie Murphy was in it, and Eddie Murphy was in it. And then because Eddie Murphy was in it, I was like, ‘This might be fun.’ ”
And Ellis Ross said they hit it off on day one: “The first day of work, he said, ‘Hello,’ and he said my full name, ‘Tracee Ellis Ross.’ And that was it.”
Candy Cane Lane is streaming Friday on Prime Video.
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.