Things You Didn't Know About Charlie Murphy

After a private battle with leukemia, actor and comedian Charlie Murphy passed away on
April 12, 2017 at the age of 57.
While many people are perhaps more familiar with his younger brother Eddie, Charlie Murphy
was a hilarious talent in his own right—who left his mark on the world as a writer, music
producer, actor, comedian and family man.
If all you know him for is his iconic work on Chappelle's Show, you're missing out.
As we remember Murphy and his legacy, let's take a look back at some of the events that
shaped his life.
A rough childhood
Charlie grew up in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY, the eldest son of Lillian,
a telephone operator, and Charles Edward Murphy, who was a transit police officer and amateur
comedian.
His parents broke up when Charlie was only five, and his father was later murdered by
a girlfriend, leaving Charlie as the man of the house when he was only 10.
His mother would later remarry, but Charlie and his younger brother endured some struggles,
particularly when Lillian went into the hospital to be treated for tuberculosis.
For a year or so when Charlie was six and Eddie was four, the brothers lived in a foster
home while she was hospitalized.
Eddie recalled that foster mom "Mrs. Jenkins" didn't treat Charlie particularly well.
He said, "She beat on Charlie.
She didn't beat on me, I was too little."
Despite the tough times in his childhood, Charlie managed to have a little fun along
the way.
When he was nine, Murphy got to play a small part in the 1970 film The Landlord.
In his scene, Murphy and another child are caught stealing hubcaps by the lead character,
played by Beau Bridges.
That was just the start of what would become a fascinating entertainment career.
Course correction
Eddie Murphy told Rolling Stone in 2011 that Charlie was definitely the "tougher" brother
as they grew up, saying,
"Charlie was in gangs, and even now, Charlie's like extra ultra-macho…
He has a black belt in karate.
I got through a lot of school because the kids knew I was his brother."
During his teenage years, Murphy would join Long Island's "King Python's Gang", and an
offshoot of the Nation of Islam called the "Five Percenters" for a time, adopting the
name Omar Allah.
As Charlie recalled in his 2009 memoir, The Making of a Stand-Up Guy, his gang connections
would eventually catch up to him.
An impulsive decision to commit armed robbery with some buddies would result in 10 months
of jail time.
When he got out of prison, Murphy made an effort to straighten out his life.
He joined the U.S. Navy in 1978 at age 18.
He would later point to this as "when [he] became a man."
Becoming a general
After six years in the military, Murphy returned to civilian life, working as a security guard
for Eddie, who by then was a worldwide sensation.
Although he loved being there for his little bro, Charlie explained to Metro that the gig
wasn't very rewarding.
"I was there for the person I loved and the people around him didn't like it.
Being there to support someone else is cool if you're a troop but I'm a general.
I like being out in front.
I left shortly after that happened and wrote my first film script."
According to Charlie, becoming an actor was never his goal.
He told NPR, "I started writing first.
And I made a little money doing that, but it wasn't enough to sustain me forever.
And in the meantime, that's what made me, you know, start trying to get back into acting."
While he had some brief appearances in films like 1989's Harlem Nights alongside his younger
brother, Charlie's first major role wouldn't come until 1993, when he played club owner
Gusto in the comedic rap send-up CB4, starring Chris Rock.
In the years that followed, Murphy appeared in over 50 roles on both television and the
big screen and even produced a rap album.
Get Charlie Murphy in here!
There's no question that Charlie Murphy had some serious writing chops.
He started working on screenplays to serve as vehicles for his brother, including Vampire
in Brooklyn and Norbit.
According to Charlie, the very first movie he ever wrote, entitled The Peddler, was purchased
by Paramount in the '80s and was intended to be a movie for Eddie, but the film was
sadly never produced.
In 2003, Murphy got a big break when he was tapped to become a writer on a new Comedy
Central series, Chappelle's Show.
"Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories" series soon became one of the most popular
sketches on the show.
In one of the most famous bits from the segment, Murphy recounts the tale of meeting Prince
and being invited to play in an impromptu game of basketball against him—and getting
his butt kicked.
Was it true?
According to Murphy, it was.
He said,
"He didn't play in his outfit, but that wouldn't have been funny if he had trunks on and sneakers.
But we did play ball and he did win."
Prince loved the sketch so much that he even used a picture of Dave Chappelle dressed as
him on the cover of his 2013 single "Breakfast Can Wait," and the video for the single includes
a woman dressed like him tossing around pancakes.
After Chappelle's Show took off, Murphy quickly found new professional avenues opening up.
Not just 'Eddie Murphy's brother'
When Chappelle's Show was cancelled in 2006 following Dave Chappelle's departure, Murphy
was left trying to figure out what to do next.
His former co-star Donnell Rawlings dared Murphy to try his hand at stand-up comedy,
something he'd never attempted before, and he loved it.
He said, "I was supposed to do five minutes [but] I went up for 15 minutes and I haven't
stopped doing it ever since."
Getting started in the stand-up business wasn't easy for him, considering how famous his brother
was at the same game.
He said, "It's like, if Michael Jordan all of a sudden had a big brother who plays basketball
and he's good, too.
That does not compute for most people."
Since then, Charlie toured with his act all over the world and even released his own stand-up
comedy special in 2010, appropriately titled, "I Will Not Apologize."
He told The A.V.
Club that year,
"Now I get taken seriously…everyone else in the room, they respect you and they're
not looking at you like he's so-and-so's brother.
The reality is that I'm not 'Eddie Murphy's brother.'
I'm Charlie Murphy."
Private battle
Murphy leaves behind his brother Eddie, half-brother Vernon Lynch, Jr., and a host of other relatives.
His wife, Tisha Taylor Murphy, preceded him in death in 2009, following a two-year-long
battle with cervical cancer.
The couple had two children together, and Charlie also had another child from a previous
relationship.
While it's unclear how long Charlie Murphy had been struggling with leukemia, TMZ reported
the star had been undergoing chemotherapy treatment for the disease.
Reportedly, Murphy had kept his illness a secret from most people, only letting close
friends and family know what was going on.
Murphy's death even came as a shock to those who did know about his diagnosis, though,
because they were under the impression that he was getting better.
One last role
Despite his very difficult health issues, Murphy wasn't ready to stop working.
Early in 2017, it was announced that he'd been added to the cast of the Starz original
series Power as prison guard Marshal Williams.
While the fourth season of Power isn't due to premiere until June 2017, Murphy completed
filming on some parts for the series and a rep for Starz revealed that he "shines" in
every scene.
As he always did.
Following the news of his death, the words of his final tweet read like something of
a personal send-off to all of his fans, as he wrote, "One to Sleep On: Release the past
to rest as deeply as possible."
Thanks for watching!
Click the Looper icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Plus check out all this cool stuff we know you'll love, too!

Things You Didn't Know About Charlie Murphy

Latest Posts