The Last O.G. star Tracy Morgan tearfully revisited his 2014 car accident, which killed his friend and fellow comedian James McNair.
The accident left Morgan in a coma for two weeks, and as he told Conan O’Brien on his podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, Morgan had a long road to recovery. But, he said, what led him back to the stand-up stage was after hosting Saturday Night Live.
“I was hosting Saturday Night Live, and at rehearsals, I decided that night, ‘Let’s go to The [Comedy] Cellar,” he said, according to Atlanta Black Star. When he got to the comedy club, he “grabbed the mic” and remembered what it was like to be in front of an audience.
"I remember it felt so good to be welcomed back. It really did," he said. "And that day, I didn't think I was ever going to touch the microphone again.
“I didn’t think I was going to walk again, and I did,” he added through tears. “I just fought.”
He said that what helped him fight was his daughter.
“I’d seen my daughter in the coma saying, ‘Daddy, come back,’ and she was only 10 months, and I fought and came out of the coma. Then I just wanted to be better. I wanted to be better at my life. A better person, a better human being to others, and that’s all I wanted to be. I know He [God] spared my life for a reason.”
Morgan has made it back to the top of his game, receiving the Friars Club Entertainment Icon Award in February. He's the first Black person to receive the award.
He said to O’Brien that he was honored to be chosen.
“The Friars is a legendary part of New York City and comedy, two of my favorite things,” he said. “Some of my biggest influences were in and out of there…I’m following in the footsteps of greatness…I’m humbled.”
You can watch the podcast video below.
