Charlie Murphy was a popular American writer, comedian, and actor. He is best known as a cast member and author for Chappelle’s Show – a critically acclaimed television show starring Sketch Comedy Central and Dave Chappelle. Charlie is also the brother of famous comedian Eddie Murphy. He is also the older half-brother of Vernon Lynch Jr.
Charlie was known for his extraordinary surreal humor, body comedy, and observational comedy. His comedy style touched on several topics, including politics, celebrities, popular culture, and everyday life. The comedian was also an avid karate practitioner. Charlie Murphy was active in Hollywood from 1980 to 2017.
Charlie Murphy Bio & Age
Charles Quinton Murphy was born on July 12, 1959, in the New York borough of Brooklyn as the son of Charles Edward Murphy and Lillian Murphy. His mother was a telephone operator, while his father was an amateur comedian and traffic cop.
Charlie spent 10 months in prison as a teenager for assaulting a driver at gunpoint with a friend. The day he was released from prison, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a boiler technician for six years. Before he left the Navy, he witnessed a nuclear mushroom cloud over Beirut. He later found out that the mushroom cloud he saw was actually a result of the 1983 bombing of the Beirut barracks. These bombings were an act of terrorism during the Lebanese civil war, in which 307 people were killed by two truck bombs.
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Charlie Murphy’s Net Worth & Career
The stated net worth of the actor at the time of his death was $2.5 million. Considering the amazing career he had before his death, we can say that this amount is well deserved. At the beginning of his career, he worked behind the scenes for the hip-hop group K-9 Posse. On their debut album, he was also mentioned as “executive producer”.
Charlie then gained fame when he was a cast member of the Chappelle’s Show, especially for his Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories. In these stories, he told about his encounters with celebrities in the wake of his brother. His sketches, especially those about Rick James and Prince, spread, which was particularly impressive when you consider that “spreading” was not as common as it is today.
He was also in King’s Ransom, The Boondocks, Norbit, and Are We There Yet There? At the end of the day, everyone agreed that Charlie Murphy was a hard-working comedian and deserved every penny he had.
Family – Brother, Wife & Kids
Before his death, Charlie Murphy lived with his wife Tisha Tayor, and children in Tewksbury Township, New Jersey. They married in 1997 and had two children together. Charlie Murphy also had a child from a previous relationship. Unfortunately, Tisha died of cervical cancer in 2009.
As already mentioned, Charlie was the older brother of Eddie Murphy – the extraordinary actor, producer, singer, writer, and comedian. Eddie Murphy is best known for being one of the greatest comedians of all time. His big breakthrough came when he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984.
Eddie then appeared in the film series 48 Hrs., Trading Places, The Nutty Professor, Dream Girls, Shrek, Mulan, and The Beverly Hills Cop. The actor has been nominated for several awards, including several Golden Globe Awards, several Emmy Awards, and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Dreamgirls.
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Eddie Murphy is also known for playing several roles in several of his films, including Coming To America, The Nutty Professor, Vampires in Brooklyn, Meet Dave, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Norbit, and Bowfinger. In total, Eddie Murphy’s films have grossed more than $6.6 billion worldwide. He has also been awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Cause Of Death
On April 12, 2017, Charlie Murphy died at the age of 57 after fighting leukemia. He joined a league of other great artists who had died of leukemia, including Jill Clayburgh, Al Downing, Nora Ephron, Adam West.
Charlie Murphy Height & Weight
Before his illness, Charlie was in amazing shape. The actor is 1.85 m (6 ft 1in) tall and his record weight was 90 kg (198 lbs). He found it easy to keep in shape as he enjoyed karate, soccer, boxing, and basketball. Besides his favorite sports and hobbies, his exact training schedule was not disclosed.
