How Prince's Love Of Pancakes Turned Into An Unforgettable TV Moment

In addition to his genre-defining song catalog, Prince may be best known for his love of all things purple. But the late, great pop icon also had a passion for pancakes. While those in his inner circle (including his former personal chef) may have long been privy to this fun fact, Prince's preference for the breakfast classic famously became public knowledge during a 2004 episode of "Chappelle's Show." The now-legendary sketch features Dave Chappelle as Prince, reenacting a story told by Charlie Murphy about the time he, his brother (Eddie Murphy), and friends played an impromptu game of basketball at the singer's house one night after meeting him at a nightclub.

Quotable tidbits abound ("the shirts against the blouses," for one), but the detail that immediately entered the zeitgeist was Prince serving the losing team — that would be the Murphys and co. — pancakes. Interestingly enough, while many of those involved have confirmed the basketball story practically to a T, recollections of the exact type of stack Prince served slightly differ.

In 2014, Charlie told ESPN's "Highly Questionable" that they ate plain pancakes with raspberries "in [a] formation right on the top, and the syrup was drizzling down." However, Micki Free, a musician in Prince's crew at the time, later told Esquire that they were actually all treated to blueberry pancakes. "And they were good!" he added. "Hanging out with Prince was magical." Well, no matter which type of pancakes, who would doubt that?

Following the Charlie Murphy story depicted on "Chapelle's Show," more tales of Prince and his favorite breakfast food came to light. In April 2016, just after the music icon's death, someone who claimed to be his personal butler during his residency in Las Vegas took to Reddit to spill some details about working with him. One memory they shared involved an alleged 3 a.m. request for 14 omelettes and 14 orders of pancakes.

"I came up with the two carts full of food trying to plate it as fast as I can when Prince stood up from his chair and walked over to my cart," the Redditor wrote. "He grabbed a plate of pancakes and started helping me serve. I couldn't help but to laugh from the Charlie Murphy story on the Dave Chappelle show. This was my favorite moment... ever" (via Vulture).

As for the star himself, he seemed more than willing to embrace his reputation as a pancake connoisseur and even poked a little fun at himself. While he never sat down for an official interview regarding the infamous sketch, he used a photo of Chappelle wearing his "Purple Rain" garb and holding a plate of pancakes as the cover of the 2013 single, "Breakfast Can Wait." He also seemingly referenced the story in a 2014 episode of "New Girl" (a show on which Gordon Ramsay also once made a cameo); during one scene, the musical artist serves Zooey Deschanel's character a pancake during a heart-to-heart. And that's the story of how one basketball game and a beloved breakfast food led to not just one but multiple unforgettable Prince moments!