Eddie Murphy: From Beverly Hills Cop To Shrek

Eddie Murphy: From Beverly Hills Cop to Shrek This comedian is best known for his distinctive laugh and notorious for acting out more than one character in his films. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, today we’re taking a look at the life and career of Eddie Murphy. Eddie Murphy was born Edward Regan Murphy, as the youngest son to parents Lillian and Charles Edward Murphy in Brooklyn, New York on April 3, 1961. After his father left the family when he was three year’s old, Murphy moved with his mother and step-father, Vernon Lynch to Roosevelt, Long Island. Growing up it was obvious that Murphy was destined to be a performer by both Murphy’s parents and fellow classmates at Roosevelt Junior-Senior high school. Inspired by comedic legends Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor, Murphy started to write comedy routines at the age of 15 years old. At 16, he was sneaking out to Manhattan’s The Comic Strip where he was finally given a chance to perform on stage. After countless auditions, Eddie Murphy got his big break as a regular actor on Saturday Night Live. He was best known for his roles as Buckwheat, a grown up Little Rascal; Mr. Robinson, a spoof of children show’s host Mr. Rogers and an illiterate convict and poet named Tyrone Green. The fame from SNL launched Murphy’s acting career in 1982 with a lead role in the feature film 48 Hours. It wasn’t until 1984 that Murphy would be considered a box-office super star due to his role as detective Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop. In 1988, Murphy began what would become one of his professional trademarks. He starred as more than one character in the film Coming to America. He once again demonstrated his comedic versatility by playing the Klump family in a re-make of Jerry Lewis’ The Nutty Professor. In his career as a stand-up comedian, actor and director Murphy received countless nominations and awards for his achievements, including a Golden Globe and Academic Award for his performance as soul singer James “Thunder” Early in Dreamgirls. Unfortunately, due to an incident with a transvestite prostitute and his controversial comedic material at the start of his career, Murphy received criticism for his work and personal decisions during his career. Murphy is the father of eight children. His eldest was with Paulette McNeely, the next five were with ex-wife Nicole Mitchell Murphy and the youngest was by ex-girlfriend and spice girl Melanie Brown. Today, his family is his main priority and he chooses to concentrate on family-oriented films such as 1998’s Doctor Dolittle, Disney’s Mulan and the successful Shrek films. Despite the scandals and controversy, Eddie Murphy has created a successful career as a comedian, actor, writer, director and singer and is admired by many fans.