This article is about the American comedian and actor Charlie Murphy. For the Irish actress also known as Charlie Murphy, see Charlie Murphy (actress). For other people with the same name, see Charles Murphy.
Charles Quinton Murphy (July 12, 1959 – April 12, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. 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 older brother of actor and comedian Eddie Murphy.
Early life
Murphy was born on July 12, 1959, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.[2] His mother Lillian Murphy was a telephone operator and his father, Charles Edward Murphy, was a transit police officer, actor, and comedian.[3]
As an adolescent, Murphy spent ten months in jail.[4] In 1978 on the day of his release,[5] he enlisted in the United States Navy and served for six years as a boiler technician.[6]
Career
Murphy made his first film appearance in the 1970 comedy-drama film The Landlord. The film was shot in a neighborhood where Murphy lived and he appears in a brief scene as a boy stealing hubcaps. 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."[7] He also made an appearance in the video for the duo's first single, "This Beat Is Military."[8] 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 Storiessketches. In these, Murphy recounts his misadventures as part of his brother's entourage, including encounters with various celebrities such as Rick James and Prince.[9][10] 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.
Murphy was a resident of Tewksbury Township, New Jersey.[16] 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.[17][18]
The third-season premiere of Black Jesus and his brother's film, Dolemite Is My Name, were dedicated to Murphy. Murphy was the one who piqued his brother's interest in the biopic's subject, Rudy Ray Moore.[22]
^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. ISBN9781439123140. 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.
