Eddie Murphy
Murphy was born in Brooklyn, New York. His biological father, Charles Murphy, a policeman and amateur comedian, left the family when Murphy was three and was stabbed to death when Murphy was eight. Murphy and his brother Charlie, and half-brother Vernon Lynch, Jr. were raised by his mother Lillian Murphy, a telephone-company employee and his stepfather Vernon Lynch, a foreman at a Breyers Ice Cream plant. Murphy was considered an exceptionally bright and athletic child, but one time he was nearly expelled for assaulting a teacher after he referred to Murphy as a “caveman”. The teacher received only minor injuries and later dropped all charges. Around the age of 19, he was writing and performing his own routines along with his then comedy partner Mitchell Kyser at youth centers and local clubs, as well as at the Roosevelt High School auditorium. These routines were heavily influenced by Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor. According to his former manager, Ujima, who first met Murphy when he and Kyser auditioned for a talent show he gave in July 1977, “Eddie would tell anyone who would listen that he would be a household name by the time he was 23, and that’s exactly what happened.” After leaving Ujima’s management and hooking up with King Broder, who paired him with two white comedians as “The Identical Triplets” and mostly got him exposure on cable TV, Murphy decided to seek his own gigs and eventually made it to a Manhattan showcase, The Comic Strip Live. The club’s co-owners, Robert Wachs and Richard Tienken, were so impressed with Murphy’s impressions of celebrities, along with his overall outlook on life, that they agreed to manage his career and help him find his own direction.
Murphy was voted “Most popular” while attending Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School in Roosevelt, New York, due to the stand-up comedy routines he would perform in the school’s auditorium, and jokes he would tell classmates during lunch. Murphy then attended Nassau Community College in Long Island, New York, before beginning his acting career.
Credit : Wikipedia
Technorati Tags: Celebrity, Actor, Comedian, Eddie Murphy
