Charlie Murphy (actor)
Charles Quinton Murphy (July 12, 1959 – April 12, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, and writer. He was best known as a writer and cast member of the Comedy Central sketch-comedy series Chappelle's Show as well as the co-star of the sitcom Black Jesus. He was the brother of actor and comedian Eddie Murphy.
| Charlie Murphy | |
|---|---|
Murphy in December 2009 | |
| Birth name | Charles Quinton Murphy |
| Born | July 12, 1959 New York City, U.S.[1] |
| Died | April 12, 2017 (aged 57) New York City, U.S.[2] |
| Medium |
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| Years active | 1980–2017 |
| Genres | |
| Subject(s) |
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| Spouse | Tisha Taylor (m. 1997; died 2009) |
| Children | 3 |
| Relative(s) | Eddie Murphy (brother) |
Early life
Murphy was born on July 12, 1959, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.[3] His mother Lillian Murphy was a telephone operator and his father, Charles Edward Murphy, was a transit police officer, actor, and comedian.[4]
As an adolescent, Murphy spent ten months in jail.[5] In 1978 on the day of his release,[6] he enlisted in the United States Navy and served for six years as a boiler technician.[7]
Career
Murphy had minor roles in several films in the late 1980s and early 1990s and worked behind the scenes with hip hop group K-9 Posse, a duo composed of his half-brother Vernon Lynch Jr. and Wardell Mahone. On their 1988 self-titled debut, Murphy was credited as the album's executive producer as well as songwriter on "Somebody's Brother" and "Say Who Say What."[8] He also made an appearance in the video for the duo's first single, "This Beat Is Military."[9] Murphy's first major role in a motion picture was in the 1993 film CB4, playing the antagonist Gusto.
Murphy gained national attention as a recurring performer on Chappelle's Show, particularly in the Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories sketches. In these, Murphy recounts his misadventures as part of his brother's entourage including encounters with various celebrities such as Rick James and Prince.[10][11] After Chappelle's Show host Dave Chappelle left the show, Murphy and Donnell Rawlings hosted the "lost episodes" compiled from sketches produced before his departure.
In 2005, he appeared in King's Ransom (alongside Anthony Anderson and Jay Mohr). In the film, Murphy portrayed Herb, a gay ex-con who is hired by King (Anderson) to fake his kidnapping.[12] Murphy also did voiceovers for Budweiser radio commercials, provided the voice for Iraq War veteran/criminal Ed Wuncler III on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim series The Boondocks, and the voice for a pimp named Jizzy-B in Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game. Murphy provided the voice for Spock on the G4TV's Star Trek 2.0 shorts, and the dog in his younger brother Eddie's 2007 film, Norbit.[13]
On March 20, 2009, he began his own sketch comedy series Charlie Murphy's Crash Comedy on Crackle.[14] A stand-up special, Charlie Murphy: I Will Not Apologize premiered on Comedy Central in late February 2010.[15] Murphy also made special appearances in 1000 Ways to Die and the TBS sitcom Are We There Yet? as Frank Kingston. In 2014–15, Murphy played Vic on the Adult Swim live-action show Black Jesus.[16]
Personal life and death
Murphy was a resident of Tewksbury Township, New Jersey.[17] He was married to Tisha Taylor Murphy from 1997 until her death from cervical cancer in December 2009.[1] The couple had two children together, and Murphy had a child from a previous relationship.[1] He was a karate practitioner.[18][19]
Murphy died from leukemia on April 12, 2017, at age 57 in New York City, New York.[20][21]
Filmography
This section needs additional citations for verification. (April 2017) |
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Harlem Nights | Jimmy The Muffin Man[22] | |
| 1990 | Mo' Better Blues | Eggy[23] | |
| 1991 | Jungle Fever | Livin' Large[23] | |
| 1993 | CB4 | Gusto[24] | |
| 1995 | Vampire in Brooklyn | Writer[25] | |
| 1996 | The Pompatus of Love | Saxophone Man[23] | |
| 1998 | The Players Club | Brooklyn[23] | |
| 1999 | Unconditional Love | Detective | |
| 2002 | Paper Soldiers | Johnson[23] | Also writer |
| 2003 | Death of a Dynasty | Dick James/Dukey Man/Sock Head[23] | |
| 2005 | Lovesick | Damian | |
| 2005 | King's Ransom | Herb Clarke[23] | |
| 2005 | Roll Bounce | Victor[23] | |
| 2006 | Night at the Museum | Taxi Driver[23] | Cameo |
| 2007 | Three Days to Vegas | Andre[23] | |
| 2007 | Mattie Fresno and the Holoflux Universe | Griss[26] | |
| 2007 | Norbit | Lloyd the Dog[23][27] | Voice cameo / also writer Nominated — Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay |
| 2007 | Unearthed | Hank[23] | |
| 2007 | Twisted Fortune | Angel Robbins | |
| 2007 | Universal Remote | Various | |
| 2007 | The Perfect Holiday | J-Jizzy[23] | |
| 2008 | Bar Starz | Clay the Doorman/Arnie[23] | |
| 2008 | The Hustle | Junior Walker | |
| 2009 | Frankenhood | Franklin[23] | |
| 2010 | Our Family Wedding | T.J.[28] | |
| 2010 | Lottery Ticket | Semaj[29] | |
| 2012 | Moving Day | Cedric[30] | |
| 2013 | 12 Years a Slave | ||
| 2016 | Meet the Blacks | Key Flo[31] | Last film role |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | The Kid Who Loved Christmas | TV movie | |
| 1995 | Martin | Big Bro | 1 episode |
| 1995 | Murder was the Case: The Movie | JC | Direct-to-video |
| 2003–2006 | Chappelle's Show | Various | 14 episodes, also writer |
| 2004 | One on One | Senator Larry Eldrige | |
| 2005 | Denis Leary's Merry F#%$in' Christmas | Himself | TV special |
| 2005–2010 | The Boondocks | Ed Wuncler III (voice)[32] | 10 episodes |
| 2006 | Thugaboo: Sneaker Madness | Big Kid (voice) | TV movie |
| 2006 | Thugaboo: A Miracle on D-Roc's Street | Big Kid (voice) | TV movie |
| 2006 | Wild 'n Out | Himself | |
| 2007 | Beef IV | Himself/narrator (voice) | Video documentary |
| 2007 | We Got to Do Better | Host | Unknown episodes |
| 2007 | Pauly Shore's Natural Born Komics | Himself | Direct-to-video |
| 2009 | Nite Tales: The Series | Samson | Episode: "Pill Time" |
| 2010 | Freaknik: The Musical | Al Sharpton,[33] Perminator (voice) | TV movie |
| 2010 | Charlie Murphy: I Will Not Apologize | Himself | Video documentary |
| 2010 | Lopez Tonight | Himself | |
| 2010–2012 | Are We There Yet? | Frank Kingston | 5 episodes |
| 2010 | 1000 Ways to Die | Himself | Episode: "Today's Menu: Deep Fried Death" |
| 2011 | The Cookout 2 | Coach Ashmokeem | TV film |
| 2012–2014 | Black Dynamite | A Cat Named Rollo (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Hawaii Five-0 | Don McKinney | |
| 2014–2015 | Black Jesus | Vic[23] | Main cast 21 episodes |
| 2016 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Bellybomb[34] | Episode: "Journey to the Center of Mikey's Mind" |
| 2017 | Power | Marshal Clyde Williams | 5 episodes |
| 2017 | The Comedy Get Down | Himself | Posthumous release 5 episodes |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Jizzy B.[32] | |
| 2006 | Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure | White Mike[32] | |
| 2021 | Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition | Jizzy B.[32] | Archival recordings Remaster of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas only. |
Music Videos
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Murder Was the Case | JC |
References
- ^ a b c "Charlie Murphy's Wife, Tisha Taylor Murphy, Dies". MTV News. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
- ^ Melas, Chloe (April 13, 2017). "Comedian Charlie Murphy dies at 57". CNN. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
- ^ "The other funny Murphy, Eddie's brother Charlie". The Daily Telegraph. March 11, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
- ^ Zehme, Bill (August 24, 1989). "Eddie Murphy: the Rolling Stone interview". Rolling Stone. p. 131.
- ^ Murphy, Charlie (December 1, 2009). The Making of a Stand-Up Guy. Contributions by Chris Millis. Simon & Schuster. pp. 81–83. ISBN 9781439123140.
On the spur of the moment, for what in our minds amounted to nothing more than a lark, we decided to rob the driver at gunpoint. [...] I was charged as a youthful offender on my first offense and handed three years' probation. [...] [I]n the third year I was arrested for petit larceny, loitering, and a few other misdemeanors. Taken all together, the crimes were a violation of my probation. [...] I was sentenced to serve out the remainder of my probation in Nassau County Jail. I was going away for ten months.
- ^ Kugel, Allison (December 15, 2007). "Charlie Murphy Shares His True Hollywood Stories and Passion for Comedy with PR.com". Retrieved January 18, 2013.
I got out on a Monday and I signed up for the Navy the same day.
- ^ Murphy, Keith (2017-04-13). "The hilarious and self-aware glory of Charlie Murphy". Andscape. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
- ^ . Bloggerhouse.net. Archived from the original on April 17, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
- ^ "K-9 Posse- This Beat Is Military (Video)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
- ^ "Remembering Charlie Murphy's Epic Story About Prince On Chappelle's Show". MTV. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
- ^ Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories: Rick James & Prince - Chappelle’s Show (Video). Comedy Central. October 4, 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
- ^ "Come on – kidnap me. I'm worth every penny". 23 April 2005. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
- ^ Andrew Williams (July 17, 2012). "Charlie Murphy: I wasn't happy being one of Eddie's troops – I'm a general". Retrieved April 12, 2017.
- ^ . The Hollywood Reporter. March 3, 2009. Archived from the original on March 9, 2009. Retrieved March 4, 2009.
- ^ ""COMEDY CENTRAL FEBRUARY PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS" The Futon Critic December 21, 2009". Thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
- ^ "Charlie Murphy on the Black Jesus Controversy and 10 Years of Hearing About Rick James". August 22, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
- ^ Charlie Murphy at Pepper Belly's July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, SFstandup.com. Accessed January 21, 2011.
- ^ Huntington, Heather. "Exclusive interview with Charlie Murphy". Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
- ^ S. Pajot (June 25, 2010). "Charlie Murphy Discusses His Brother, Bitch-Slaps, and the Death of Chappelle's Show". Miami New Times. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
- ^ "Eddie Murphy's brother Charlie Murphy dead at 57: TMZ". fox5sandiego.com. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
- ^ "Comedian Charlie Murphy Dead at 57 After Leukemia Battle". TMZ. 2017-04-12. Retrieved 2017-04-12.
- ^ Cook, Brian (April 12, 2017). . Sheridan Broadcasting Networks. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Charlie Murphy". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (June 6, 1993). "CB4 Movie Review & Film Summary (1993)". Roger Ebert.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (October 27, 1995). "Vampire In Brooklyn Review (1995)". Roger Ebert.
- ^ "Mattie Fresno and the Holoflux Universe". River Front Times. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
- ^ Gettell, Oliver (April 12, 2017). "Eddie Murphy and family mourn Charlie Murphy: 'Our hearts are heavy'". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ "Our Family Wedding (2010)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
- ^ Barker, Andrew (August 12, 2010). "Review: 'Lottery Ticket'". Variety.
- ^ Punter, Jennie (July 20, 2012). "Moving Day: Not as moving as it wants to be". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ Lemire, Christy (April 1, 2016). "Meet the Blacks Movie Review & Film Summary (2016)". Roger Ebert.
- ^ a b c d Hornshaw, Phil (April 12, 2017). "RIP Charlie Murphy: 6 Things You Probably Didn't Know He Was In (Photos)". The Wrap.
- ^ Isler, Ramsay (March 8, 2010). "'Freaknik: The Musical' Review". IGN.
- ^ Nicholson, Max (January 17, 2016). "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: "Journey to the Center of Mikey's Mind" Review". IGN.