Episode 466: Eddie Murphy: The Era of Eddie
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On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we discuss one of the all-time greats of comedy, Eddie Murphy. This New York native had a meteoric rise to fame in the early 1980s, and it led to a legendary run on Saturday Night Live and a stream of films such as the standup classics Delirious and Raw. With classics like 48 Hours, Golden Child, Coming to America, and Beverly Hills Cop under his belt, he became one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, and for good reason.
He started as a smart but unique child in Brooklyn. While his brother, Charlie Murphy, would be outside playing all day, Eddie would spend the time watching TV and perfecting his voices and impressions. Murphy’s parents split when he was three, and his father was murdered by his girlfriend when he was 8. In spite of it all, he was a well-adjusted, funny, confident child.
In high school, he led a talent show and got huge laughs doing an impression of Al Greene, and from that moment, he knew he wanted to be a comedian. He started working comedy clubs at the tender age of 15, and honed his craft through graduation and even a brief stint in college. He lied and said he was a disciple of Richard Pryor in order to get some traction in the clubs, and it seemed to work.
At only 19 years old, he got hired by Lorne Michaels on Saturday Night Live, and his second season, he exploded. His bits like Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood, Tyrone Greene, and James Brown made ratings soar. He soon signed to his first movie, 48 Hours, and then Trading Places. They proved very successful, and he signed for a $25 million dollar movie deal, and the era of Eddie was upon us.
He released hit after hit, comedy classics someone is lucky to pull off once, let alone several in a row. His fame rose, and he won a Grammy for his comedy album, and even his music reached number two on the Billboard charts. Of course, there were ups and downs, like the time he got pulled over with a transvestite hooker in his car and having won three Razzie awards for the period in time when he was just phoning in bad movies. But with hits like Shrek and the newer work like Dreamgirls and They Call me Dolomite, his star has started to shine again. Let’s hope he does more standup, and does it soon!
Visit Our Sources:
https://www.biography.com/actor/eddie-murphy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Murphy
https://thegrapevine.theroot.com/eddie-murphy-gets-the-last-laugh-wins-2020-razzie-rede-1842414110
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/10/eddie-murphy-dreamgirls-blu-ray-oscars
https://www.kennedy-center.org/artists/m/mo-mz/eddie-murphy/
https://theglowup.theroot.com/you-want-fries-with-that-nike-fuels-the-coming-2-ameri-1841993958
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