Charlie Murphy (actor)

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]

Murphy made his first film appearance in the 1970 comedy-drama film The Landlord. The movie 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."^[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]

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]

• Charlie Murphy at IMDb
• Charlie Murphy at AllMovie
• Charlie Murphy on the end of Chappelle's Show