Eddie Murphy Biography
As the most talented and influential comedic force to emerge from the 1980’s, comedian-actor Eddie Murphy blazed the trail for an entire generation of young black comics to follow. Just as Murphy was inspired by the comedic stylings of the legendary Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx in the 1970’s, Murphy influenced a whole new wave of African-American comedians who came of age in the 1980’s – among them: Martin Lawrence, Chris Rock, Jamie Foxx, and Dave Chappelle. However, it was as a movie star that Murphy made his greatest impact. Hollywood’s first global superstar, Murphy boasted a cumulative lifetime box office of nearly $3 billion by the mid-millennium, making him, by definition, the most successful comedy star of all time. Thanks to a chameleonic knack for reinvention, Murphy’s career also successfully managed to return from the dead more times than Lazarus. From stand-up comic to movie star to voice-over artist to family man, Murphy’s image was in constant flux. In 2006, the 45-year old comedian pulled off his most radical transformation to date by becoming Eddie Murphy – dramatic actor – in the critically acclaimed film adaptation of the hit stage musical, “Dreamgirls” (2006).
Born Edward Regan Murphy on April 3, 1961 in Brooklyn, NY, the future comedian was the second born child of New York City police officer, Charles Murphy, and his wife, Lillian. Although Murphy’s parents divorced in 1964, Eddie and his older brother, Charles, Jr., remained in contact with their father until his untimely death four years later. In 1970, Lillian Murphy remarried and moved the family to Roosevelt, Long Island, where her new husband, Vernon Lynch, worked as a foreman at the Breyer’s ice cream plant. A precocious child growing up, young Eddie spent hours in front of the television set, voraciously watching old movies and cartoons. Not surprisingly, the youngster became a gifted mimic. Exhibiting an early flair for entertaining, Murphy enjoyed putting on performances for his family and friends. As he recalled, a vast majority of his repertoire in those days consisted of celebrity impersonations, scatological raps, and mock church sermons.