Actors - Eddie Murphy

Home > Listing Index > Actors > Eddie Murphy

	Actors - Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy (born Edward Regan Murphy on April 3, 1961 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American comedian, singer and actor.

Murphy began his comedy career at the young age of 16. At 19 he became a performer on NBC's Saturday Night Live
television show, not long after graduating from Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School. His characters include a parody of Buckwheat from the Little Rascals
and of Fred Rogers. Former SNL writer Margaret Humphert has said Murphy and Bill Murray are the two most talented people in the history of the show. Murphy left the show midway through the 1983-1984 season, appearing in filmed sketches for the remainder of that season.

Murphy later starred in many comedies including the Beverly Hills Cop
series, for which he was recognized by receiving a Golden Globe nomination for best actor in a comedy for his performance in Beverly Hills Cop
, as well as Trading Places
, and Coming to America
in subsequent years.

He is a well-known voice actor and voiced Donkey in the Shrek
series and the dragon, Mushu, in Disney's Mulan
. Murphy also has starred in a large number of sequels including: Beverly Hills Cop II
(1987), Another 48 Hrs. (1990), Beverly Hills Cop III
(1994), Dr. Dolittle 2
(2001), Nutty Professor II: The Klumps
(2000), Shrek 2
(2004), and the upcoming Shrek 3 (2007).

In many of his films, he plays multiple roles in addition to his main character. An example of this is The Nutty Professor, a remake of the Jerry Lewis film, where Murphy plays several members of the Klump family as well as Sherman Klump's alter ego, Buddy Love. Another trademark of Eddie Murphy's is his deep, infectious, albeit considerably goofy laugh.

In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted amongst the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. Eddie Murphy's older brother, Charlie Murphy, is also an actor, best known recently for his appearances on Chappelle's Show.

Early life

Murphy's biological father died when he was quite young, and he, his brother Charlie, and step-brother Vernon Jr. with the K9 rap group, were raised by his mother Lillian Murphy, a telephone-company employee, and his stepfather Vernon Lynch, a foreman at a Breyers Ice Cream plant. Murphy was considered a bright child, but he spent a great deal of time on impressions and comedy stand-up routines rather than academics. By 15, he was writing and performing his own routines at youth centers and local bars, as well as at the Roosevelt High School auditorium. It must also be noted that while he wrote and performed these routines, they were terrible. Early on, critics referred to Murphy as, "A worthless entertainer who would never make it big". Eventually, he made it to a Manhattan showcase, The Comic Strip. The club's co-owners, Robert Wachs and Richard Tienken, were so impressed with Murphy's impressions of celebrities, along with his overall outlooks on life, that they agreed to manage his career.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Eddie Murphy ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Eddie Murphy; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Searches on eBay