Comedian and brother of Eddie Murphy
Born: July 12, 1959;
Died: April 12, 2017
CHARLIE Murphy, who has died of leukaemia aged 57, was a comic actor, stand-up and writer who collaborated with his more famous brother Eddie Murphy on a number of his films. He also became known for his skits and spoof encounters with celebrities for the Comedy Central programme Chappelle's Show.
In a recurring segment of the programme, called Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories, Murphy would recount how his brother's fame brought him into the orbit of the biggest stars. His versions of the experiences were played out by him, Chappelle and others.
In one sketch, the musician Rick James is shown as an impulsive big-mouth who keeps spouting, "I'm Rick James!" and trades punches with Murphy. In another, Prince was mocked for his frilly shirt before showing his slick moves on the basketball court. The music legend then served everyone pancakes. Murphy always maintained that the sketches were based on true events.
Murphy did not turn to comedy until he was in his 40s and his brother had been a star for more than 20 years. They were born in Brooklyn to Charles Edward and Lillian Murphy and had a difficult childhood. The couple split up when the boys were still little and Charles was murdered by a girlfriend a few years later.
When their mother became ill, the boys spent time in foster care, but she then remarried and her husband Vernon Lynch brought the boys up.
The trouble was not over for Charlie though. He experimented with drugs and served 10 months in jail when he was still a teenager for robbing a driver at gunpoint. On his release, his mother took him to army recruiting offices and begged them to take him on so he would stay out of trouble. Eventually, the US Navy agreed to offer him a job and he spent a number of years working as boiler technician.
He was later a member of the controversial group The Five Percenters, also known as the Nation of Gods and Earths. Established by a breakaway member of the Nation of Islam, it was accused of having links to gang activities and Murphy eventually decided to break his links to the organisation.
Speaking in 2009, he said: "I would question things. I had an analytical mind back then. And if you tell me something and profess it to be the truth, I don't just accept it because you said it.
"And that's what I felt like when I was part of the organisation. I was being told things, but the explanation beyond the explanation I was getting was not good."
Murphy eventually began his showbusiness career in the late 1980s, taking on bit parts in films. He also collaborated on the writing of his brother's films Norbert and Vampire in Brooklyn and had his own first major role in the 1993 Chris Rock comedy CB4. He also appeared in Our Family Wedding and King's Ransom.
Murphy was always aware that he was trying a career in comedy after his brother had already had major success. "For me to start a comedy career after he established that was really a big risk,” he said. “Extremely intimidating, but I’m that kind of dude. If I’m afraid of something, I’ll deal with it and get past it. I did the work, I showed up when I had to show up. Get up, shake it off and keep moving, that’s what I’ve been doing.”
He also never felt any kind of jealously for the bigger success of his brother. "I've never felt like I was living in anyone's shadow," Charlie said. "My life was what it was. I was always proud of my brother. He helped me tremendously, but we're family so we were never in his shadow."
Like his brother, Murphy also tried stand-up and toured with his own show Charlie Murphy and Friends. More recently, he also wrote, produced, and starred in Charlie Murphy's Crash Comedy, a series of comedy web episodes.
Charlie Murphy was pre-deceased by his wife Tisha who died in 2009 and is survived by his three children.
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