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Charlie Murphy (actor)

Charlie Murphy
Murphy in December 2009
Birth name	Charles Quinton Murphy
Born	(1959-07-12)July 12, 1959 New York City, U.S.[1]
Died	April 12, 2017(2017-04-12) (aged 57) New York City, U.S.[2]
Medium	Stand-up film television
Years active	1980–2017
Genres	Observational comedy physical comedy surreal humor
Subject(s)	Everyday life popular culture politics celebrities
Spouse	Tisha Taylor ​ ​ (m. 1997; died 2009)​
Children	3
Relative(s)	Eddie Murphy (brother)

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 older brother of actor and comedian Eddie Murphy.

Early life[edit]

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[edit]

The Landlord is a 1970 American comedy-drama film where Charlie Murphy, older brother of Eddie Murphy, lived in the neighborhood where the film was shot, and he appears in a brief scene as a boy stealing Elgar's 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."^[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 IIIonCartoon 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 ComedyonCrackle.^[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[edit]

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]

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]

Filmography[edit]

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Film[edit]

Television[edit]

Video games[edit]

Music videos[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Charlie MurphyatIMDb
• Charlie MurphyatAllMovie
• Charlie Murphy on the end of Chappelle's Show