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One of the greatest comedians of our time turned 63 today. Click inside to check out a gallery of some of Eddie Murphy‘s most hilarious moments!
Edward Regan Murphy was born in Brooklyn, New York City, and raised in the borough’s Bushwick neighborhood. Eddie’s mother Lillian, worked as a telephone operator. Eddie eventually took after his father Charles, who was a transit police officer and an amateur actor and comedian. When Eddie was eight years old, Charles was murdered and Lillian became ill, forcing Eddie and his older brother Charlie to live in foster care for one year. Murphy credits his time in foster care as being influential in developing his sense of humor.
Murphy’s decision to become a comedian was inspired by Richard Pryor’s That N*gger’s Crazy comedy album, which he listened to at fifteen. Even before this as a child, he developed playing multiple characters in imitation of his acting hero, Peter Sellers. On July 9, 1976 (the day Murphy marks the beginning of his career), he performed in a talent show at the Roosevelt Youth Center, doing an impersonation of singer Al Green as Green’s song “Let’s Stay Together” played. This led Murphy to work at other clubs that were close enough to walk to and late-night jobs that he would take the train to. He secretly had to skip school to make it work, something his mother didn’t find out until the end of his senior year.
Eddie first earned national attention in the early 1980s as a cast member on Saturday Night Live (SNL) and was credited with helping to revitalize the show.The recognition he got from the show led to him making his big screen debut in the film 48 Hrs. with Nick Nolte in 1982. The following year, he scored an even bigger box office success with the film Trading Places. He capitalized off of his hot streak by releasing his stand-up comedy television special Delirious. It was his first feature stand-up and the predecessor to the wide theatrical release of Eddie Murphy Raw in 1987. Delirious was also released as an album and won Best Comedy Album at the 1984 Grammy Awards. Also in 1984, Murphy got his first solo leading role in Beverly Hills Cop, the highest-grossing film released that year. Murphy closed the decade out with Beverly Hills Cop II, Coming to America and Harlem Nights. By the end of the 1980s, Murphy was Hollywood’s biggest box office star.
Although he went through a bit of a rough patch in terms of critical praise from critics in the early 1990s through the mid 2000s, Murphy continued to deliver gems and further cement his legacy as one of the great funny men of all-time. Over the course of his illustrious career, Eddie has won a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, and an Emmy Award as well as being nominated for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2015 and the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2023. Murphy has inspired and helped bring a lot of Black actors to the forefront including Damon Wayans, Halle Berry, Martin Lawrence, Samuel L. Jackson, Cuba Gooding Jr., Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock. If not for him, it’s safe to say that comedy would be in a completely different place than it is today. To celebrate one of the goats, his legacy and his birthday, check out a gallery of some of Eddie Murphy’s best performances to date. Let us know which ones are your favorites and if we forgot any. HAPPY 63RD EDDIE!
RAW: Celebrating Eddie Murphy’s 63rd Birthday With Our Favorite & Funniest Performances Of His Career was originally published on globalgrind.com
