Eddie Murphy gets married after all--sort of

Actor/comedian Eddie Murphy, fresh off his second failed "marriage", announced today that he has indeed gotten married--to himself.

In a small, private civil ceremony in Los Angeles, the Beverly Hills Cop star wedded himself. Attending the ceremony were the judge and two witnesses randomly picked off the street and offered $1,000 to serve in that capacity. Murphy had invited several friends and family members, but when they heard he was marrying himself, they thought the comedian was just joking.

"I didn't hear that trademark laugh, but I still thought Eddie was being, well, Eddie," said one friend who declined to be identified. (It was David Chappelle).

The civil ceremony took just over a minute, with the actor asking the judge to "dispense with the pleasantries." Asked why he married himself, Murphy said this to Ponderings from Pluto reporter/commentator C.F. Twob: "I understand me and I have always loved me. When I looked in the mirror a few days ago, I finally realized just how much I loved me. I think this is a relationship that can work."

Murphy has been married once and has six children. He recently married again in the South Pacific to Tracey Edmonds (seen above with Murphy during happier times), but it was not a legal ceremony and Murphy later chose not to have an official wedding. Rumors abounded that Edmonds refused to sign a pre-nuptial agreement, while others speculate that Edmonds told Murphy he deserved multiple Razzie nominations for his film Norbit.

Will Murphy make himself sign a pre-nup? "Now, why would I do something crazy like that?" Murphy replied.