Eddie Murphy will be awarded the 2015 Mark Twain prize for American Humour, one of the country’s top comedy honours.

The 54-year-old funnyman, who has starred in films including The Nutty Professor, Beverly Hills Cop and Coming To America, will receive the gong by the John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts at a gala performance on October 18, which will air on US screens.

Eddie Murphy
(Chris Pizzello/AP/PA)

Eddie joins former winners Ellen DeGeneres, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin and Whoopi Goldberg.

“I am deeply honoured to receive this recognition from the Kennedy Centre and to join the distinguished list of past recipients of this award,” the actor said.

The Mark Twain award celebrates those who influence society through their social commentary and satire in the tradition of Mark Twain.

Eddie got his big break in comedy in 1980 when he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live, where he showed off his impressions of stars such as James Brown and Michael Jackson.

His recent roles include his voice part as Donkey in the Shrek films and Dreamgirls, where he received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for his performance as soul singer James ‘Thunder’ Early.

Cappy McGarr, one of the show’s executive producers, said: “Eddie Murphy has kept us laughing for 30 years. He’s like Mark Twain. He gets to the heart of a provocative issue, and he’s damn funny while he’s doing it. He has had incredible influence over so many comedians who have followed him.”

Kennedy Centre President Deborah Rutter added: “Through his appearances on Saturday Night Live, ground-breaking stand-up comedy and work as a movie star, Eddie Murphy has shown that like Mark Twain he was years ahead of his time.”