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eddie murphy

Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe-, Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American actor, film director, producer and comedian. Murphy ranks as the highest grossing film star in history, having a total of 33 films to date, his films grossing over $3.4 billion in the US alone, averaging $104 million per film. He was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984, and has worked as a stand-up comedian. He has also enjoyed a minor singing career.

Murphy has received Golden Globe nominations for best actor in a comedy or musical for his performances in Beverly Hills Cop , Trading Places , and The Nutty Professor . In 2007, he won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of soul singer James "Thunder" Early in Dreamgirls , and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the same role.

Murphy's work as a voice actor includes Thurgood Stubbs in The PJs , Donkey in the Shrek series and the dragon Mushu in Disney's Mulan . In some of his films, he plays multiple roles in addition to his main character, which he calls a tribute to one of his idols Peter Sellers (who is famous for playing multiple roles in one film), films which Murphy has played multiple roles include Coming to America , Wes Craven's Vampire In Brooklyn , the Nutty Professor films, where he played much of the Klumps clan, Bowfinger and 2007's Norbit . Another trademark of Murphy is his deep, infectious, and considerably goofy laugh.

Biography

Early life

Murphy was born in Brooklyn, New York. His mother, Lillian, was a telephone operator, and his father, Charles Edward Murphy, was a transit police officer and amateur comedian. Murphy's father left the family when Murphy was three and was stabbed to death when Murphy was eight. Murphy and his brother Charlie were raised in Roosevelt, New York by his mother and stepfather Vernon Lynch, a foreman at an ice cream plant. Around the age of 19, Murphy was writing and performing his own routines, which were heavily influenced by Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor.

Stand-up comedy routines

Murphy performed stand-up comedy at the same Bay Area Comedy Club as Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg. His early comedy was racy, akin to Richard Pryor, whom Murphy has credited as his inspiration to enter comedy. Characterized by frequent swearing and homophobia, Murphy became, in a sense, the Pryor of the 1980s, though Pryor wrote in his autobiography, Pryor Convictions , that he always thought Murphy's comedy was excessively insensitive. Murphy's comments about gays and AIDS in his standup routines were considered so vicious that some years later he apologized for them. At the height of his popularity, Murphy appeared in the concert films Delirious (1983) and Raw (1987). Delirious contained an infamous routine in which he depicted characters Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton from The Honeymooners , as well as other notables such as Mr. T, as homosexuals. In 1983, Murphy won a Grammy for his comedy album Comedian .

Saturday Night Live

In 1980, the then unknown Murphy badgered talent coordinator Neil Levy to give him a shot on Saturday Night Live . Levy repeatedly rejected him, saying that the show already had a full cast. But Murphy continued pleading with Levy, saying that he had several siblings banking on him getting a spot on the show. Levy finally conceded and allowed him an audition. On the basis of the audition performance, Levy then began advocating to new executive producer Jean Doumanian to let Murphy on the show. After seeing Murphy's audition for herself, she too began pleading with the network to allow Murphy on the show. NBC only agreed after it was determined that Robert Townsend had not yet signed a contract, at which point Murphy was cast as a featured player.

Murphy made his debut in the second episode of the 1980-1981 season, hosted by Malcolm McDowell, as an extra in a skit called "In Search of the Negro Republican". Two weeks later, Murphy had his first speaking role as Raheem Abdul Muhummad on Weekend Update . He was then called on for more work in later episodes, and was soon raised to the status of full cast member.

Despite Murphy's participation, the 1980-1981 season was considered such a disaster that NBC fired Doumanian and everybody in the cast, with the exception of Murphy and Joe Piscopo. Whereas Murphy had rarely been featured during Doumanian's tenure, he became a break-out star under Doumanian's replacement, Dick Ebersol. His well-known character creations include the former child movie star Buckwheat, a life-size version of the Gumby toy character and an inner-city black version of Mr. Rogers known as "Mr. Robinson". Murphy also performed celebrity impressions, such as Stevie Wonder and James Brown. Murphy left the show midway through the 1983–1984 season, appearing in filmed sketches for the remainder of that season.

Early acting career

In 1982, Murphy made his big screen debut in the 48 Hrs. alongside Nick Nolte. The movie was perhaps most notable for two scenes: 1) a scene involving Murphy (on a bet with Nolte) terrorizing a redneck bar, and 2) a scene in which Murphy, in a jail cell, sings "Roxanne" by The Police loudly and out of key while listening to the song on headphones. 48 Hrs. proved to be a smash hit when it was released in the Christmas season of 1982. Nolte was scheduled to host the December 11, 1982 Christmas episode of Saturday Night Live , but became too ill to host, so Murphy took over. He became the only cast member to host while still a regular. Murphy opened the show with the phrase, "Live from New York, It's the Eddie Murphy Show!"

The following year, Murphy co-starred with fellow alumnus Dan Aykroyd in Trading Places . The movie marked the first of Murphy's collaborations with director John Landis (who also directed Murphy in Coming to America and Beverly Hills Cop III ) and proved to be an even greater box office success than 48 Hrs . In 1984, Murphy starred in the successful action film Beverly Hills Cop . The film was Murphy's first full-fledged starring vehicle, originally intended to star Sylvester Stallone. Beverly Hills Cop grossed over $200 million at the box office and is the 38th highest-grossing film of all time as of 2008, and is the third highest grossing "R" rated film of all-time (after The Exorcist and The Godfather ), when both figures are adjusted for ticket price inflation.

Also in 1984, Murphy appeared in Best Defense , co-starring Dudley Moore. Murphy, who was credited as a "Strategic Guest Star", was added to the film after an original version was completed but tested poorly with audiences. Best Defense was a major financial and critical disappointment. When he hosted SNL , Murphy joined the chorus of those bashing Best Defense , calling it "the worst movie in the history of everything". Murphy has also been rumored to be initially a part of hits such as Ghostbusters (featuring his Trading Places co-star Dan Aykroyd and fellow SNL alumnus Bill Murray). The part that was originally written with Murphy in mind ultimately went to Ernie Hudson. Murphy was also offered a part in 1986's Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , a role that, after being heavily re-written from comic relief to love interest, ultimately went to future 7th Heaven star Catherine Hicks. By this point Murphy's near-exclusive contract with Paramount Pictures rivaled Star Trek as Paramount's most lucrative franchise.

Also in 1986, Murphy starred in the supernatural comedy, The Golden Child . The Golden Child was originally intended to be a serious adventure picture starring Mel Gibson. After Gibson turned the role down, the project was offered to Murphy as it was subsequently rewritten as a partial comedy. Although The Golden Child (featuring Murphy's "I want the knife!" routine) performed well at the box office, the movie was not as critically acclaimed as 48 Hrs. , Trading Places , and Beverly Hills Cop . The Golden Child was considered a change of pace for Murphy because of the supernatural setting as opposed to the more "street smart" settings of Murphy's previous efforts. A year later, Murphy reprised his role of Axel Foley in the Tony Scott-directed Beverly Hills Cop II . Although the film was panned by critics, it was still a box office smash, grossing over $150 million. Producers reportedly wanted to turn the Beverly Hills Cop franchise into a weekly television series. Murphy declined the television offer, but was willing to do a film sequel instead.

Murphy was one of the last movie actors to sign an exclusive contract with a studio. In this case, it was Paramount Pictures, which released all of his early films.

Singing career

Murphy is also a singer and musician, having frequently provided background vocals to songs released by the The Bus Boys. As a solo artist, Murphy had two hit singles, "Party All the Time" (which was produced by Rick James) and "Put Your Mouth on Me" in the mid-1980s (although he actuall

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