In a poignant twist within the new Netflix documentary Being Eddie, iconic comedian Eddie Murphy reveals his role in covering funeral expenses for several entertainment legends. Among those he financially assisted are musician and producer Rick James, Emmy-nominated comedian Redd Foxx, and Billie “Buckwheat” Thomas, a child star from Little Rascals.

Directed by Angus Wall, Being Eddie just debuted on Netflix, offering viewers an intimate glimpse into Murphy’s life. Set against the backdrop of his opulent California home, the documentary explores his nearly five-decade-long career. During a reflective moment about his first directorial project, 1989’s Harlem Nights, where he worked with his idols Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx, the conversation shifts to his experiences funding the funerals of his friends.

Murphy candidly discusses Foxx, a celebrated stand-up comedian and actor known for roles in Sanford and Son, The Redd Foxx Show, and The Royal Family. “I loved Redd, but his life was a warning too, with the drugs and chaos,” Murphy remarked. “His finances were a mess. When Redd passed, I had to take care of his burial.”

Continuing, Murphy explains that Foxx wasn’t the only one he helped. He also paid for the funeral of Rick James, with whom he collaborated on the 1985 hit “Party All the Time,” and provided a tombstone for Billie “Buckwheat” Thomas, whom Murphy famously impersonated on Saturday Night Live.

“I had to bury Rick,” Murphy said in Being Eddie. “I bought Buckwheat a tombstone. Buckwheat didn’t have no tombstone. I’m always burying these people. It tripped me out, these people in show business, when they pass away, there’s not even no money to bury these people? Where are their families? There’s a lot of people like that.”

In a recent interview with USA Today, Murphy said that though he often pays for funerals, he rarely attends them. “I’ve paid for a lot of funerals, but I don’t go to funerals,” Murphy said. “They shouldn’t even have funerals. I’m like, ‘This funeral is morbid.’ The whole people [in attendance] and seeing your loved one out there, and just emotionally, the whole ritual is too much.”

The 64-year-old comedian added that when he goes, he doesn’t want to have a funeral.

“When I kick out, I’m not having no funeral and be laying up there and people coming and looking at me, lowering me in the ground,” Murphy told USA Today. “I am to be cremated immediately. And there’s no funeral, and there’s no memorial or none of that shit. Just keep it rolling. None of that trauma.”