Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy He’s managed to go from the King of Raunchy Comedy to Mr. Family Values in a single decade, completing one of the most remarkable and hard-fought transformations in Hollywood history. During his career, eddie murphy has seen both great heights and remarkable depths. He is a true Hollywood celebrity in that he offers both great performances and laughably bad ones - with a healthy dose of scandal (cross-dressing prostitutes) thrown into the mix. eddie murphy was always too smart and too vocal for his own good. Growing up in the Bushwick projects in Brooklyn New York, he used to stage big contests with his friends in which they would try and outdo each other with elaborate insults. He developed a knack for doing different voices from television at an early age and was the family entertainer.

As a teenager he began working the bar circuit, performing comedy acts for cheap change and a little bit of fame. Eventually, he got a steady gig at a bar where he was billed as the next Richard Pryor. It was a billing that eddie murphy would try to live up to. At the time, there were very few black comics performing stand-up in New York, and Pryor offered a good role model to aspire to. eddie murphy saved enough money doing comedy to attend Nassau College, and juggled an education with a blossoming comedy career for a little while. In 1980, eddie murphy auditioned for a slot on Lorne Michael’s Saturday Night Live and he was cast as an occasional performer. However, his occasional performances were such hits that he soon became a full member of the “Not Ready for Primetime Players.” His characters, like Buckwheat and Gumby, remain amongst the most legendary in SNL history, and no Best of SNL compilation is complete without them. Murphy made his first movie while still working on SNL. 48 Hrs., co-starring Nick Nolte, was a hit and eddie murphy soon started thinking that maybe making movies was more worth his while than SNL. eddie murphy left the show in 1984, after the success of his stand-up video Delirious confirmed that audiences wanted more of eddie murphy. Despite the fact that eddie murphy was labeled homophobic and a misogynist, eddie murphy had a definite core group of supporters.

In 1984, eddie murphy released Beverly Hills Cop, an action/comedy which helped to define the genre. Two sequels have since followed, and the series is amongst the most successful franchises of all time. With the success of a second stand-up video, Raw in 1987, eddie murphy seemed to be in the prime of his career. Being such a prominent celebrity can take its toll, not only was his fastlane life scrutinized in the press, but eddie murphy was also criticized by many prominent black leaders for doing little to help blacks break into Hollywood. eddie murphy attempted to make up for things with 1991's Harlem Nights, which boasted a large ensemble of black talent, but the film was a dud and audiences stayed away. Another 48 Hrs. attempted to harken back to eddie murphy’s glory days, but it was seen as a pale comparison to its original. With Vampire in Brooklyn, Eddie hit an all time low. Despite some moderate success along the way, he seemed to be rather tapped out. eddie murphy had lost his edge and had not replaced it with anything new.

But just when everyone was ready to write eddie murphy off as a has-been, he came out with The Nutty Professor, a remake of the Jerry Lewis classic. Universal took a risk casting the former bad boy in its family film but the gamble payed off. eddie murphy starred (under a ton of latex) as an overweight man who invents a way to make himself into a thin, attractive ladies’ man. eddie murphy played multiple roles in the film, falling back on his impersonations to get him by. Nutty Professor reminded audiences of eddie murphy’s SNL days. Although he stumbled with the formulaic Metro, eddie murphy had twin successes with Mulan and Doctor Dolittle in 1998. eddie murphy seems to be on top of his game, mostly with the 1999 release of the well-received comedy/drama Life, although he is realistic enough to know that may change. eddie murphy says that if his career were to dry up tomorrow, he would be happy to stay at home with his wife and three children. eddie murphy has more than lived the celebrity life - now eddie murphy’s ready for something a little more normal.


Filmography
Shrek 2 (2004) (voice) .... Donkey
Daddy Day Care (2003) .... Charlie Hinton
I Spy (2002) .... Kelly Robinson
Adventures of Pluto Nash, The (2002) .... Pluto Nash
Showtime (2002) .... Officer Trey Sellars
Inside TV Land: African Americans in Television (2002) (TV) .... Himself
Shrek: Swamp Karaoke Dance Party (2001) (V) (voice) (singing voice) .... Donkey
Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) .... Dr. John Dolittle
... aka DR.2 (2001) (USA: promotional abbreviation)
... aka DR2 (2001) (USA: promotional abbreviation)
Creating a Fairy Tale World: The Making of 'Shrek' (2001) (TV) .... Himself
Shrek (2001) (voice) .... Donkey
Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000) .... Professor Sherman Klump/Buddy Love/Cletus 'Papa' Klump/Young Cletus Klump/Anna Pearl 'Mama' Jensen Klump/Ida Mae 'Granny' Jensen/Ernie Klump, Sr./Lance Perkins
... aka Klumps, The (2000) (Australia)
Saturday Night Live Christmas (1999) (V) .... Various
Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary (1999) (TV) (archive footage) .... Himself
Bowfinger (1999) .... Kit Ramsey/Jiffernson 'Jiff' Ramsey
Life (1999) .... Rayford Gibson
"PJs, The" (1999) TV Series (voice) .... Thurgoode Orenthal Stubbs
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Eddie Murphy (1998) (V) .... Himself/Various Characters
Holy Man (1998) .... G
Doctor Dolittle (1998) .... Dr. John Dolittle
Mulan (1998) (voice) .... Mushu the Demoted One
Metro (1997) .... Scott Roper
Nutty Professor, The (1996) .... Professor Sherman Klump/Buddy Love/Lance Perkins/Cletus 'Papa' Klump/Anna Pearl 'Mama' Jensen Klump/Ida Mae 'Granny' Jensen/Ernie Klump, Sr.
20 Years of Comedy on HBO (1995) (TV) (archive footage) .... Himself
What Makes You Laugh? (1995) (TV) .... Himself
Vampire in Brooklyn (1995) .... Maximillian/Preacher Pauly/Guido
... aka Wes Craven's Vampire In Brooklyn (1995) (USA: complete title)
HIStory (1994) (V) .... Pharaoh (Remember The Time - Video)
... aka Michael Jackson: Video Greatest Hits - HIStory (1994) (V) (USA: complete title)
Television's Christmas Classics (1994) (TV) (archive footage) .... Himself
Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) .... Axel Foley
1993 MTV Movie Awards (1993) (TV) .... Host
But... Seriously (1993) (TV) (archive footage) .... Himself
Dangerous: The Short Films (1993) (V) .... Pharaoh ('Remember The Time' video)
... aka Michael Jackson - Dangerous: The Short Films (1993) (V) (USA)
Mo' Funny: Black Comedy in America (1993) (TV) (archive footage) .... Himself/Stevie Wonder/Jesse Jackson/Velvet Jones
1992 MTV Movie Awards (1992) (TV) .... Presenter
MTV Video Music Awards 1992 (1992) (TV) .... Himself (presenter)
Distinguished Gentleman, The (1992) .... Thomas Jefferson Johnson
Boomerang (1992) .... Marcus Graham
Party for Richard Pryor, A (1991) (TV) .... Host
Walt Disney World's 20th Anniversary Celebration (1991) (TV) .... Himself
Johnny Carson's 29th Anniversary (1991) (TV) (archive footage) .... Himself
Another 48 Hrs. (1990) .... Reggie Hammond
Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989) (archive footage) .... Himself
Harlem Nights (1989) .... Quick
What's Alan Watching? (1989) (TV)
Coming to America (1988) .... Prince Akeem/Clarence/Randy Watson/Saul
... aka Prince in New York (1988) (Europe: English title: video title)
Eddie Murphy Raw (1987) .... Himself
Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) .... Detective Axel Foley
Golden Child, The (1986) .... Chandler Jarrell
All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr., An (1986) (TV) .... Himself
Joe Piscopo Video, The (1985) (V) .... Himself
... aka Joe Piscopo Show, The (1985) (V) (USA)
Great Standups, The (1984) (TV) (archive footage) .... Himself
... aka Great Standups: Sixty Years of Laughter, The (1984) (TV) (USA)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984) .... Detective Axel Foley
Best Defense (1984) .... Lieutenant T.M. Landry
Best of the Big Laff Off, The (1983)
Eddie Murphy Delirious (1983) (V) .... Himself
Trading Places (1983) .... Billy Ray Valentine
48 Hrs. (1982) .... Reggie Hammond
"Saturday Night Live" (1975) TV Series .... Himself (1980-1984)
... aka "NBC's Saturday Night" (1975) (USA)
... aka "SNL 25" (2000) (USA: new title)
... aka "SNL" (1975)
... aka "Saturday Night Live 80" (1980) (USA: new title)
... aka "Saturday Night" (1975)