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By LINDSEY BAHR, AP Film Writer

Eddie Murphy is being celebrated with a life achievement award from the American Film Institute , AFI’s board of trustees said Friday. The award will be handed out at a gala tribute in Los Angeles, at the Dolby Theatre, on April 18.

“Eddie Murphy is an American icon,” said Kathleen Kennedy, who chairs the institute’s board of trustees. “A trailblazing force in the art forms of film, television and stand-up comedy, his versatility knows no bounds.”

Murphy, 64, has been a force in entertainment for nearly 50 years, as a teenage stand-up phenomenon, on television as a part of the “Saturday Night Live” cast, and in film where he’s ruled the box office in multiple decades, with hits like “Beverly Hills Cop,” “

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