Charlie Murphy was a popular American writer, comedian and actor. He is best known for being a cast member and writer for Chappelle’s Show – a critically acclaimed Comedy Central sketch television show which starred Dave Chappelle. Charlie is also the brother of well-known comedian, Eddie Murphy. He is also Vernon Lynch Jr’s older half-brother.
Charlie was known for being exceptional at surreal humor, physical 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 till 2017.
Charlie Murphy Bio & Age
Charles Quinton Murphy was born on the 12th of July, 1959 to Charles Edward Murphy and Lillian Murphy in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. His mother was a telephone operator while his father was an amateur comedian and transit, police officer.
Charlie spent 10 months in jail when he was an adolescent for robbing a driver at gunpoint with a friend. The day he was released from jail, he enlisted in the United States Navy as a boiler technician for six years. Before leaving the Navy, he witnessed a mushroom cloud over Beirut. He later found out that the mushroom cloud he saw was actually a result of the Beirut Barracks bombings of 1983. These bombings were an act of terrorism during the Lebanese civil war where two truck bombs were used to kill 307 people.
Charlie Murphy’s Net Worth & Career
The actor’s listed net worth at the time of his death was $2.5 million. Considering the amazing career he had before his passing, we can say this amount is well deserved. Early in his career, he worked for the hip-hop group K-9 Posse, behind the scenes. He was also credited as ‘executive producer’ on their debut album.
Charlie then achieved fame when he was a cast member on the Chappelle’s Show, especially for his Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories. In these stories, he would tell stories of his encounters with celebrities as part of his brother’s entourage. His sketches, especially the ones about Rick James and Prince, went viral which was particularly impressive considering that ‘going viral’ was not as common as it is today.
He also appeared in King’s Ransom, The Boondocks, Norbit and Are We There Yet? At the end of the day, everyone can agree that Charlie Murphy was a hardworking comic and deserved every penny he had.
Family – Brother, Wife & Kids
Prior to his death, Charlie Murphy lived in Tewksbury Township, New Jersey with his wife, Tisha Tayor, and his kids. The two got married in 1997 and had two children together. Charlie also had a child from a previous relationship. Unfortunately, Tisha passed away in 2009 from cervical cancer.
As previously mentioned, Charlie was the older brother of Eddie Murphy – the actor, producer, singer, writer, and comedian extraordinaire. Eddie Murphy is largely noted for being one of the greatest comedians of all time. He got his big break when he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984.
After that, Eddie appeared in 48 Hrs., Trading Places, The Nutty Professor, Dream Girls, Shrek, Mulan, and The Beverly Hills Cop film series. 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.
Eddie Murphy is also known to take on multiple roles in several of his movies including Coming To America, The Nutty Professor, Vampire in Brooklyn, Meet Dave, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Norbit, and Bowfinger. Altogether, Eddie Murphy’s films have made 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 the 12th of April, 2017, Charlie Murphy passed away at the age of 57 after having been battling Leukemia. He joined a league of other great artists who had died from Leukemia including Jill Clayburgh, Al Downing, Nora Ephron, Adam West.
Height & Weight
Prior to his sickness, Charlie was in amazing shape. The actor’s listed height is 6 ft 1in (1.85m) and his weight on record was 90kgs (198lbs). It was easy for him to keep in shape since he enjoyed Karate, football, boxing, and basket. Besides his favorite sports and hobbies, his exact workout plan was not disclosed.