Gilbert Gottfried admitted in the book "Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live" that the low point of what the writers thought of him was when he was cast as a corpse in the Funeral sketch.
Although Eddie Murphy is still introduced as a featured player during the opening credits, he mentions during the show that he has been promoted to be the seventh official cast member. He also mentions that his new found fame won't go to his head.