Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy at Shrek the Third premiere
Eddie Murphy at Shrek the Third premiere
Born April 3, 1961 (1961-04-03) (age 48)
Brooklyn, New York City
Medium Stand-up comedy, Film, Television
Nationality American
Years active 1980 - present
Influences Jerry Lewis, Richard Pryor, Peter Sellers, Redd Foxx, Bill Cosby, Elvis Presley (to be a singer)
Influenced Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Dave Chappelle, Andy Milonakis, George Lopez, Chris Tucker, Jeff Garlin, Russell Peters
Spouse Nicole Mitchell (1993-2006)
Golden Globe Awards
Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
2006 Dreamgirls – James "Thunder" Early
Grammy Awards
Best Comedy Album
1984 Eddie Murphy: Comedian
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Outstanding Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
2006 Dreamgirls – James "Thunder" Early

Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe-, Grammy-, Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American actor, film director, producer, comedian and singer. 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.[1] He was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984, and has worked as a stand-up comedian.

Murphy has received Golden Globe Award nominations for best actor in a comedy or musical for his performances in Beverly Hills Cop, Beverly Hills Cop II, Beverly Hills Cop III, 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,[2] 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. His other trademark is a recurring line he says in movies "How you doin'?", which he states is his catchphrase in real life.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Murphy was born in Brooklyn, New York.[3] His mother, Lillian, was a telephone operator, and his father, Charles Edward Murphy, was a transit police officer and amateur comedian.[4][5] [6] 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.[5] Around the age of 20, Murphy was writing and performing his own routines, which were heavily influenced by Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor.[5]

Stand-up comedy

Murphy performed stand-up at the same Bay Area Comedy Club as Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg. His early comedy was characterized by frequent swearing and sketches lampooning a diverse group of people (including African Americans, Italian Americans, overweight people, and gays). This racy content was akin to that of Richard Pryor, whom Murphy has credited as his inspiration to enter comedy; [5] however, in his autobiography, Pryor Convictions, Pryor wrote that he found Murphy's comedy at times excessively insensitive. Murphy later apologized for insensitive jokes about gays and HIV.

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".[5] Murphy also performed celebrity impressions, such as Stevie Wonder, Little Richard, 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

Eddie Murphy's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 1982, Murphy made his big screen debut in the 48 Hrs. alongside Nick Nolte.[5] The movie was perhaps most notable for two scenes: 1) a scene involving Murphy (on a bet with Nolte) terrorizing a redneck bar,[5] 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 starred in Trading Places alongside fellow SNL alumnus Dan Akyroyd.[5] 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.[5] The film was Murphy's first full-fledged starring vehicle, originally intended to star Sylvester Stallone.[5] 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.[7]

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[8] 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.[5] 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 actually started singing earlier in his career, with the songs "Boogie In Your Butt" and "Enough Is Enough", the latter being a parody of Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer's 1979 song, "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)". They both appear on his 1982 self-titled comedy album.) "Party All the Time" was featured on Murphy's 1985 debut album How Could It Be, which also included a minor follow-up R&B hit in the title track, a duet with vocalist Crystal Blake. This track was written by Rusty Hamilton and was produced by Stevie Wonder's cousin Aquil Fudge after a brief falling out and bet with Rick James. In 2004, VH-1 and Blender voted "Party All the Time" number seven among the "50 Worst Songs of All-Time." Sharam used a sample of the song for the UK #8 hit "PATT (Party All The Time)" in 2006.

Murphy recorded the album Love's Alright in the early 1990s. He performed in a music video of the single "Whatzupwitu", featuring Michael Jackson. In 1999, the "Whatzupwitu" video, which featured Murphy and Jackson in a technicolor-like dream world, was voted as number three among the 25 worst music videos in the MTV era. He also recorded a duet with Shabba Ranks called "I Was a King", which was similarly panned. In 1992, Murphy also appeared in Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time" video alongside Magic Johnson and Iman.

Although uncredited, Murphy provided vocal work on SNL castmate Joe Piscopo's comedy single, "The Honeymooners Rap." Piscopo impersonated Jackie Gleason on the single, while Murphy provided an imitation of Art Carney.

In Coming to America, Murphy imitated Jackie Wilson when he sang "To Be Loved," but because the character he was playing had a thick accent, he had to sing it in character. In later years, Murphy performed several songs in the Shrek film franchise. In the first film, he performed a version of "I'm a Believer" in the film's final scene; in Shrek 2 he performed Ricky Martin's hit "Livin' La Vida Loca" along with co-star Antonio Banderas.

Eddie Murphy's all time favorite singer is Elvis, who is also his idol. He is also a huge fan of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Kylie Minogue.

Legal woes

In 1985, King Broder claimed Murphy had signed an "indefinite contract" with him when Murphy was 19 and sued him for $30 million for breach of contract when Murphy was worth an estimated $50 million. Broder even claimed Murphy got his 'Buckwheat' character from an idea he had for 'The Identical Triplets.' In court papers filed in State Supreme Court in Mineola, New York, Murphy said he and Broder had verbally agreed to dissolve the relationship before the end of 1980. Murphy stated, at the time, "[He] was working as a shoe salesman and had very limited professional experience when [he] signed the agreement." He also charged that Broder misrepresented himself as the agent for singers Tina Turner, Neil Sedaka and comedian Andy Kaufman. As Murphy was in the process of filming Beverly Hills Cop II at the time of the suit, Paramount Pictures ended up settling the case out of court and paying Broder an undisclosed amount so that they would not lose any more money in production costs.[9][10]

According to Murphy's childhood friend Harris Haith in his book, Growing Up Laughing With Eddie,

“ Long before Murphy did any writing for Coming to America, Art Buchwald had approached Paramount Pictures with the idea for a similar film. His material was rejected, but the information was retained by Paramount. They liked Buchwald's idea but did not see fit to pay him and saved it for use later down the road. Some years later, Paramount presented the idea of Coming to America to Eddie and gave him the contract. Murphy wrote a screenplay that came to light exactly as it aired on the silver screen. In 1988, Buchwald sued Murphy and Paramount Pictures, but Murphy was not found liable because Paramount had received the material and plagiarized it before giving it to Eddie. He did not know the origins of the piece, he just took the idea and expounded on it to bring about the final version of the movie. ”

However, Buchwald and his partner Alain Bernheim did win the suit against Paramount Pictures, were awarded damages, and then accepted a settlement from Paramount. The case was the subject of a 1992 book, Fatal Subtraction: The Inside Story of Buchwald v. Paramount by Pierce O'Donnell and Dennis McDougal.

Career slump

From 1989 until the mid-1990s and again in the mid '00s, box office results for Murphy's films dropped, hitting a low point with the critically- panned Beverly Hills Cop III (a movie Murphy would ultimately denounce during an appearance on Inside the Actors Studio),[5] although he did find minor box office success with The Distinguished Gentleman, Boomerang, Another 48 Hrs. and Vampire In Brooklyn. His directorial effort, Harlem Nights, is widely seen as a vanity project and the first step in Murphy's career slump. Harlem Nights featured Murphy (who had previously been known only as a performer) as director, producer, star, and co-writer (with his brother, Charlie Murphy), as well as supporting roles for Murphy's comic idols Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor.[5]

During this period Murphy was also criticized by filmmaker Spike Lee for not using his show business stature to help black actors break into film, despite Murphy's often populating his films (especially those he produces) with predominately black casts (Coming To America, Harlem Nights, Boomerang, Vampire In Brooklyn, Life, Norbit). Many black actors who would later gain wider recognition make early appearances in Murphy films such as Damon Wayans in Beverly Hills Cop, Halle Berry and Martin Lawrence in Boomerang, Samuel L. Jackson and Cuba Gooding Jr in Coming to America and Raw, Dave Chappelle in The Nutty Professor and Chris Rock in Beverly Hills Cop II and Boomerang.

Although Murphy has enjoyed commercial success since Saturday Night Live, he has never attended cast reunions, anniversary specials, or participated in the making of the Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live retrospective book by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller (2002).

Comeback and image makeover

Murphy's box office results began to recover in 1996, starting with The Nutty Professor. He followed with a series of very successful family-friendly movies like Mulan, Dr. Dolittle and its sequel, the Shrek series, Daddy Day Care, and The Haunted Mansion, along with Nutty Professor II. However, most of his movies meant for more adult audiences performed moderately; Metro, I Spy, and Showtime all ended to gross less than $40 million domestically, Holy Man performed badly, grossing less than $13 million, and The Adventures of Pluto Nash is on record as one of the biggest theatrical money-losers of all time, grossing just $7 million worldwide on a reported $110 million budget. A notable exception to this run of poorly received adult -themed films was the Frank Oz comedy Bowfinger, also starring Steve Martin. The film garnered generally positive critical reviews, and grossed a respectable $66 million at the box office.

In 2006, he starred in the motion picture version of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls as soul singer James "Thunder" Early. Murphy won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award in that category. Several reviews for the film highlighted Murphy's performance while he received some pre-release Academy Awards buzz.[11] Murphy was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on January 23, 2007, but lost to Alan Arkin for his performance in Little Miss Sunshine. Dreamgirls was the first film distributed by Paramount Pictures to star Murphy (who once was on an exclusive contract with the studio) since Vampire in Brooklyn in 1995. As a result of Viacom's acquisition of Dreamworks SKG, Paramount distributed his other 2007 releases: Norbit and Shrek the Third. He is currently filming NowhereLand for Paramount Pictures.

Murphy is expected to begin work on Beverly Hills Cop IV sometime in the near future, and it is expected that producer Jerry Bruckheimer will not participate in the fourth installment of the series. Murphy recently told The Sun Online that “the new script is looking good.”[12][5]

In 2007, Murphy was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[13][14]

In July 2008, Murphy announced that he was considering retiring from movies and returning to his stand up career after completing the long-awaited Beverly Hills Cop IV. [4] Later, he denied the comment.

As reported, Murphy will star in the new version of The Incredible Shrinking Man which will be released in the future.

Personal life

Murphy's imprints by the Graumans Chinese Theater. The inscription reads "Be Free".

In 1988, Murphy had a brief relationship with singer Lorraine Pearson of the pop group Five Star. He was also romantically linked to singer Whitney Houston, whom he dated.

Murphy began a longtime romantic relationship with Nicole Mitchell after meeting her in 1988 at an NAACP Image Awards show. They lived together for a year and a half before getting married at the Grand Ballroom of The Plaza Hotel in New York City on March 18, 1993.[15] In August 2005, Mitchell filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences." The divorce was finalized on April 17, 2006.[16]

In May of 1997, Murphy was stopped by police with a transsexual prostitute in his car shortly before the release of Holy Man, a situation which subsequently caused public relations problems for the star.[17][18]

Eddie and his family currently reside in Long Island, New York. Eddie also has a residence in Beverly Hills in which he shares with Johnny Gill [19]

Relationships

Following his divorce from Mitchell, he dated Spice Girl Melanie B or Melanie Brown, who became pregnant and stated that the child was Murphy's. When questioned about the pregnancy in December 2006, Murphy told a reporter, "I don't know whose child that is until it comes out and has a blood test. You shouldn't jump to conclusions, sir".[20] Brown gave birth to a baby girl, Angel Iris Murphy Brown, on Murphy's 46th birthday, April 3, 2007. On June 22, 2007, representatives for Brown announced in People that a DNA test had confirmed that Murphy was the father.[21]. Brown has revealed in an interview that Murphy has not sought a relationship with Angel [5] Brown's daughter is Murphy's eighth child; he has four daughters, Bria, Shane Audra, Zola Ivy, and Bella Zahra and one son, Miles Mitchell from his previous marriage to Nicole Mitchell, and two more sons, Eric Murphy and Christian Murphy from two other previous relationships.

Murphy exchanged marriage vows with film producer Tracey Edmonds, former wife of Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, on January 1, 2008 in a private ceremony on an island off Bora Bora.[22] It was announced on January 16, 2008 that they never legally wed, had decided to forgo legalizing their union and had instead chosen to remain friends.[23] He has recently been romantically linked to the sister of CSI: Miami star Eva LaRue [6]

Charitable work

Murphy has donated money to the AIDS Foundation, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, various cancer charities and $100,000 to the Screen Actors' Guild's strike relief fund.[24]

Filmography

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1980-1984 Saturday Night Live Cast member from
1983 Eddie Murphy: Delirious
1987 Eddie Murphy RAW
1989 What's Alan Watching?
1993 Dangerous: The Short Films
1999 - 2001 The PJ's Voice
2007 Shrek the Halls Donkey (voice) Voice
Film
Year Film Role Notes
1982 48 Hrs. Reggie Hammond
1983 Trading Places Billy Ray Valentine
1983 Eddie Murphy Delirious Himself Also Producer
1984 Best Defense Lieutenant T.M. Landry
Beverly Hills Cop Det. Axel Foley
1986 The Golden Child Chandler Jarrell
1987 Beverly Hills Cop II Det. Axel Foley
Eddie Murphy Raw Himself Also Producer
1988 Coming to America Prince Akeem/Clarence/Randy Watson/Saul
1989 Harlem Nights Quick (Real Name Vernest Brown) Also Director and Producer
1990 Another 48 Hrs. Reggie Hammond
1992 Boomerang Marcus Graham
The Distinguished Gentleman Thomas Jefferson Johnson
1994 Beverly Hills Cop III Det. Axel Foley
1995 Vampire in Brooklyn Maximillian/Preacher Pauly/Guido Also Producer
1996 The Nutty Professor Professor Sherman Klump/Buddy Love/
Lance Perkins/Cletus 'Papa' Klump/
Anna Pearl 'Mama' Jensen Klump/
Ida Mae 'Granny' Jensen/Ernie Klump, Sr.		 Also Producer
1997 Metro Insp. Scott Roper
1998 Mulan Mushu (voice)
Doctor Dolittle Dr. John Dolittle
Holy Man G
1999 Life Rayford "Ray" Gibson Also Producer
Bowfinger Kit Ramsey/Jeffernson 'Jiff' Ramsey
2000 Nutty Professor II: The Klumps Professor Sherman Klump/Buddy Love/
Lance Perkins/Cletus 'Papa' Klump/
Anna Pearl 'Mama' Jensen Klump/
Ida Mae 'Granny' Jensen/Ernie Klump		 Also Producer
2001 Shrek Donkey (voice)
Dr. Dolittle 2 Dr. John Dolittle
2002 Showtime Officer Trey Sellers
The Adventures of Pluto Nash Pluto Nash
I Spy Kelly Robinson
2003 Daddy Day Care Charles "Charlie" Hinton
The Haunted Mansion Jim Evers
2004 Shrek 2 Donkey (voice)
2006 Dreamgirls James 'Thunder' Early
2007 Norbit Norbit Rice/Rasputia Latimore-Rice/Mr. Wong Also Producer
Shrek the Third Donkey (voice)
2008 Meet Dave Starship Dave (Spacecraft), Captain
2009 NowhereLand Evan Danielson Post-production
A Thousand Words Filming
2010 Shrek Goes Fourth Donkey (voice) Filming
Beverly Hills Cop IV Det. Axel Foley Pre-production

Discography

Albums

Studio Albums
Year Film Notes
1982 Eddie Murphy Comedy US #52
1983 Comedian Comedy US #35
1985 How Could It Be Music US #26
1989 So Happy Music US #70
1993 Love's Alright Music
Compilation Albums
Year Film Notes
1997 Greatest Comedy Hits Comedy
1998 All I Fuckin' Know Comedy
Film Soundtracks
Year Film Notes
1986 Beverly Hills
2006 Dreamgirls With Beyoncé Knowles, Jermaine Bolling,
Jennifer Hudson, Keith Robinson
and Sharon Leal

Singles

Year Song Record Label Notes
1982 "Boogie in Your Butt/No More Tears" Columbia Comedy/music
1985 "Party All the Time" Columbia Music - US #2, UK #87
1985 "How Could It Be" (featuring Crystal Blake) Columbia Music
1989 "Put Your Mouth on Me" Columbia Music - US #27
1989 "Til the Money's Gone" Columbia Music
1993 "I Was a King" Motown Music - UK #64
1993 "Whatzupwitu" (featuring Michael Jackson) Motown Music
1993 "Desdemona" Motown Music

Awards/nominations

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Nicolas Cage
for Leaving Las Vegas		 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
for The Nutty Professor (1996 film)
1996		 Succeeded by
Robert Duvall
for The Apostle
Preceded by
George Clooney
for Syriana		 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
for Dreamgirls
2007		 Succeeded by
Javier Bardem
for No Country for Old Men
Preceded by
Paul Giamatti
for Cinderella Man		 Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
2007
for Dreamgirls		 Succeeded by
N/A
Preceded by
N/A		 Best Supporting Actor - Central Ohio Film Critics Association
2007
for Dreamgirls		 Succeeded by
N/A
Preceded by
Paul Giamatti
for Cinderella Man		 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture
2007
for Dreamgirls		 Succeeded by
Javier Bardem
for No Country for Old Men

References

  1. ↑ [1][2]
  2. ↑ Kilday, Gregg (2006-12-14). "'Dreamgirls' Snares Multiple Golden Globe Nods". The Hollywood Reporter.
  3. ↑ [3]
  4. ↑ Eddie Murphy Biography (1961-)
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 Stated in interview on Inside the Actors Studio
  6. ↑ Eddie Murphy Biography - Yahoo! Movies
  7. ↑ All Time Box Office Adjusted for Ticket Price Inflation
  8. ↑ according to the autobiography of the film's director and co-star, Leonard Nimoy
  9. ↑ Associated Press; The Daily Intelligencer, Doylestown, Pa., May 12, 1985 "Murphy Challenges Former Agent's Suit"
  10. ↑ The Capital, Annapolis, Md. Saturday March 14, 1987 pg. 1.
  11. ↑ Modderno, Craig (2006-12-03). "Eddie Murphy Inspires Oscar Buzz. Seriously.". New York Times.
  12. ↑ "Eddie cops film No4". Sun Online.
  13. ↑ abc7.com: Film Academy Invites 115 New Members 6/19/07
  14. ↑ Academy Invites 115 to Become Members
  15. ↑ "Eddie Murphy and wife divorce after 12 years". Hello!Magazine (2005-08-08).
  16. ↑ "Eddie Murphy and Nicole Mitchell Marriage". About.com.
  17. ↑ "The Mavens Speak". The New York Times (2006-08-09).
  18. ↑ "Owen Wilson Sits Out 'Drillbit Taylor' Promotion". The Los Angeles Times (2008-03-20).
  19. ↑ "Eddie Murphy Bowling Bashes".
  20. ↑ Associated Press (2006-12-07). "Mel B: 'No question' Murphy is baby's father". CNN.com.
  21. ↑ "Mel B Says DNA Proves Eddie Murphy Fathered Her Baby". People Magazine.
  22. ↑ Eddie Murphy and Tracey Edmonds Marry - Weddings, Eddie Murphy : People.com
  23. ↑ Movie & TV News @ IMDb.com - WENN - 17 January 2008
  24. ↑ Eddie Murphy's Charity Work

External links

Preceded by
Dennis Miller		 MTV Movie Awards host
1993		 Succeeded by
Will Smith
Preceded by
Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler		 MTV Video Music Awards host
1985		 Succeeded by
MTV VJs
Beverly Hills Cop series
Films
Beverly Hills Cop • II • III • IV 
Notable contributors
Eddie Murphy • Judge Reinhold • John Ashton • Martin Brest • John Landis • Tony Scott  Jerry Bruckheimer • Don Simpson • Harold Faltermeyer • Sherman Brothers 
Characters
Axel Foley • Billy Rosewood 
Music
"Axel F" • "Cross My Broken Heart" • "I Want Your Sex" • "Luv 4 Dem Gangsta'z" • "Nasty Girl" • "Neutron Dance" • "New Attitude" • "Shakedown" • "Stir It Up" • Wonderworld Song 
Persondata
NAME Murphy, Eddie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Murphy, Edward Regan
SHORT DESCRIPTION Academy Award nominated, Golden Globe Award-winning American actor
DATE OF BIRTH April 3, 1961
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH