Charlie Murphy

Charles Quinton "Charlie" Murphy  was an American actor, comedian, voice artist, and writer. He was the older brother of Eddie Murphy. He is most remembered as being a writer and cast member of the Comedy Central sketch-comedy series Chappelle's Show.

Murphy was born on July 12, 1959 in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. His mother, Lillian, was a telephone operator, and his father, Charles Edward Murphy, was a transit police officer and an amateur actor and comedian. As an adolescent, he spent 10 months in jail.

In 1978, on the day Murphy was released from jail, he enlisted in the United States Navy and served for six years as a Boiler Technician.

In 1983, shortly before being discharged from the Navy, Murphy witnessed a mushroom cloud over Beirut. He later learned that it was the aftermath of the Beirut barracks bombing in which 307 people were killed.

Career

Although he had minor roles in several films in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Murphy's first major role in a motion picture was in the 1993 film CB4, where he portrayed the antagonist, Gusto.

In 2005, he appeared in King's Ransom (alongside Anthony Anderson and Jay Mohr). In the film, Murphy portrayed "Herb", a gay ex-con who is hired by King (Anderson) to kidnap him in a fake kidnapping.

Murphy also worked behind the scenes with the hip hop group K-9 Posse, a hip hop duo composed of his half-brother Vernon Lynch, Jr. and Wardell Mahone.

On their 1988 self-titled debut, Murphy was credited as the album's executive producer as well as songwriter on the songs "Somebody's Brother" and "Say Who Say What". He also made an appearance in the video for the duo's first single "This Beat Is Military".

Murphy achieved fame as a recurring performer on Chappelle's Show, particularly in the Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories sketches. In these, Murphy recounts his misadventures as part of his brother Eddie's entourage, including encounters with various celebrities such as Rick James and Prince.

After Chappelle's Show host Dave Chappelle left the show, Murphy and Donnell Rawlings hosted the "lost episodes" compiled from sketches produced before Chappelle's departure. Murphy has done voiceovers for Budweiser radio commercials, provided the voice for Iraq War veteran/criminal Ed Wuncler III on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim series The Boondocks, and the voice for a pimp named Jizzy-B in Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game. Murphy provided the voice for Spock on the G4TV's Star Trek 2.0 shorts, and the dog in his younger brother Eddie's 2007 film, Norbit.

On March 20, 2009, Murphy began starring in his own sketch comedy series Charlie Murphy's Crash Comedy on Crackle. A stand-up special, Charlie Murphy: I Will Not Apologize premiered on Comedy Central in late February 2010. 

Murphy also made special appearances in 1000 Ways to Die and the TBS sitcom Are We There Yet? as Frank Kingston. In 2014–15, Murphy played Vic on the Adult Swim live action show Black Jesus.

Personal life

Murphy was a resident of Tewksbury Township, New Jersey. He was married to Tisha Taylor Murphy from 1997 until her death from cervical cancer in December of 2009. The couple had two children together, and Murphy has another child from a previous relationship. Charlie Murphy was a karate practitioner.

Murphy died from leukemia on April 12, 2017.