Johnny, Jack Paar and Steve Allen were all still alive when they started handing these out.

Leno is the last late night host, except maybe Arsenio, who should have received this.

As for Eddie, I'm unsure. He had a good run on SNL in the early 80s, but after a few decades of Norbit, Pluto, Vampire in Brooklyn, the Klumps and a lack of any stand-up whatsoever (he seemed truly annoyed at being expected to bring a laugh on the SNL anniversary), I'm not sure he has the lifetime of work to merit it.

Agree totally on the Smothers.

a really odd list:
1998 – Richard Pryor
1999 – Jonathan Winters
2000 – Carl Reiner
2001 – Whoopi Goldberg
2002 – Bob Newhart
2003 – Lily Tomlin
2004 – Lorne Michaels
2005 – Steve Martin
2006 – Neil Simon
2007 – Billy Crystal
2008 – George Carlin (posthumously)
2009 – Bill Cosby[4]
2010 – Tina Fey[6]
2011 – Will Ferrell[7]
2012 – Ellen DeGeneres[8]
2013 – Carol Burnett[9]
2014 – Jay Leno

Some truly serving, like Pryor, Winters, Carlin and Newhart. But Ellen, Whoopi and Ferrell are weird picks.
And can someone revoke Cosby's?

Although I give props to Eddie for his movies, too.

Still rooting for the now retired Smothers Brothers. Their show on Sunday nights is still my all-time favorite, and not just for the comedy. Their voice was critical in the late 60s.

the night we got married. How romantic! New Year's Eve, 1967. It was one of those must see tv shows at the time. I've never cared for Eddie Murphy, but I guess good for him.

He is a comic legend and he had a big role in saving SNL. Granted his movies weren't as good after the ones in the 80's, but he did do quite a few voice over roles.

As for who would perform, my guess would be Chris Rock for one.

Will Ferrell, but not Mel Brooks? SERIOUSLY???

and nothing unique in that of course. Whoopi is one of just 12 people to win an Oscar, Tony, Grammy and Emmy so clearly she's a hack.

and probably throughout Europe. I remember seeing The Golden Child on French television when I went there. The scene where he's after some bad guys, pulls his gun, jumps a wall, and surprises a family in their back yard barbecuing was incredibly funny translated and dubbed into French: "je te vole une frite".

I wonder if he will even speak. His appearance on SNL40 was terrible. He is so ungiving to comedy right now compared to pretty much everyone.

Eddie Murphy did create some iconic characters and took the mantle over (in terms of his albums) of his mentor, Richard Pryor. They mentioned some SNL characters he did, but others included Gumby and Buckwheat, and this sealed his breakout role as a SNL comic coming on the heals of the more subdued Garrett Morris... I.e., when Morris (correctly) complained about playing stereotype roles, Murphy took some of the worst of the stereotypes and turned them on their heels.

And his earlier films like "Trading Places", "Coming to America", and "Beverly Hill Cop" were classics. Someone also mentioned voice-work, as he did do Shrek's "Donkey" (and we know how popular that series of films have been). He performed across genres including a brief singing career, with these hits like the very '80s sound (with Rick James) -

The Smothers Brothers were a must-see when I was growing up. They would seem quaint by today's standards (if there is such a thing anymore), but they were a real voice for the counter-culture at the time.