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[1].
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.