Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He shot to fame on the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. Murphy has received accolades such as the Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, and an Emmy Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2015 and the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2023.
His father was murdered in 1969. Murphy later stated:
On July 9, 1976, the date with which Murphy marks the beginning of his career, he performed in a talent show at the Roosevelt Youth Center, doing an impersonation of singer Al Green as Green's song "Let's Stay Together" played. This led to work at other clubs within walking distance, and then late-night jobs at locations that required him to commute by train. To do this, he secretly skipped school, and after his mother discovered this at the end of his senior year, he was required to attend summer school.
Due to the popularity of Delirious, his concert film, Eddie Murphy Raw (1987), received a wide theatrical release, grossing $50 million; the movie was filmed in the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In 1982, Murphy made his big-screen debut in the film 48 Hrs. with Nick Nolte. 48 Hrs. proved to be a hit when it was released during 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 with fellow SNL alumnus Dan Aykroyd. The movie marked the first of Murphy's collaborations with director John Landis, who also directed Murphy in Coming to America (1988) and Beverly Hills Cop III (1994). Trading Places was an even greater box office success than 48 Hrs.
In the early 1980s, Murphy first earned national attention as a cast member on Saturday Night Live (SNL) and was credited with helping to revitalize the show. His characters included a grown-up version of the Little Rascals character Buckwheat; a streetwise children's show host named Mr. Robinson (parodying Fred Rogers, who found it amusing); and a morose, cynical Gumby, whose trademark slogan became an SNL catchphrase: "I'm Gumby, dammit!" According to Joseph Clokey, whose father Art Clokey created Gumby, both of them "thought Eddie was a genius in the way he played that character". The Buckwheat character was retired in spectacular fashion—assassinated, on camera, in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza—at Murphy's request, after he grew tired of constant demands from fans to "Do Buckwheat! Do Buckwheat!" In Rolling Stone's February 2015 appraisal of all 141 SNL cast members to date, Murphy was ranked second (behind John Belushi). "It is customary (and accurate) to say that Eddie Murphy is the only reason SNL survived the five-year wilderness without Lorne Michaels", the magazine noted. Murphy's early comedy was characterized by copious profanity and sketches lampooning a diverse group of people (including WASPs, African Americans, Italian Americans, overweight people, and gay people). He released two stand-up specials. Delirious was filmed in 1983 in Washington, D.C.
Murphy appeared in Best Defense (1984), co-starring Dudley Moore. Credited as a "Strategic Guest Star", the former was added to the film after an original version was completed but tested poorly with audiences. Best Defense was both 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". The same year, he won a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording for his album Eddie Murphy: Comedian (he has been nominated for a total of three Grammy Awards). Murphy starred in the successful action comedy film Beverly Hills Cop (1984). The film was Murphy's first solo leading role. Beverly Hills Cop grossed over $230 million at the U.S. box office, becoming the highest-grossing film released in 1984, the highest-grossing comedy of all time, and the highest-grossing "R"-rated film of all time; as of May 2018 , it was 46th in the list of all-time U.S. box office grossers after adjusting for inflation (third-highest amongst "R"-rated films). Murphy was offered a part in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), a role that, after being heavily re-written from comic relief to love interest, ultimately went to Catherine Hicks.
Section 746 of the 2010 US Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits securities trading based on non-public information misappropriated from a government source, is informally known as the "Eddie Murphy Rule". The term relates to the plot in the 1984 film Trading Places where illegally acquired market information was doctored and used (albeit not illegally in 1984) to short sell frozen orange juice concentrate.
By this time, Murphy's near-exclusive contract with Paramount Pictures rivaled Star Trek as Paramount's most lucrative franchise. By 1986, he launched Eddie Murphy Television Enterprises with a deal at Paramount Television. In his next subsequent role, he starred in the supernatural comedy The Golden Child (1986). Although The Golden Child performed well at the box office, the movie was not as well received 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 "street smart" settings of his previous efforts. Not long afterward, he reprised his role of Axel Foley in the Tony Scott-directed Beverly Hills Cop II (1987). It was a box-office success, grossing almost $300 million worldwide. By the end of the decade, Murphy was Hollywood's biggest box office star. In 1988, Murphy and his Eddie Murphy Television Enterprises company had struck a deal with CBS.
Murphy began a longtime romantic relationship with Nicole Mitchell after meeting her in 1988 at an NAACP Image Awards show. They lived together for almost two years before getting married at the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel in New York City on March 18, 1993. Murphy and Mitchell have five children together: Bria, Myles, Shayne, Zola, and Bella. In August 2005, Mitchell filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences". The divorce was finalized on April 17, 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. He recorded a duet with Shabba Ranks called "I Was a King". In 1992, Murphy appeared in the music video for Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time" alongside Magic Johnson and Iman. Though uncredited, Murphy provided vocal work on SNL castmate Joe Piscopo's 1985 comedy single, "The Honeymooners Rap". Piscopo impersonated Jackie Gleason on the single, while Murphy provided an imitation of Art Carney. In Coming to America, he 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; he also performed in the same film as the character Randy Watson, a small time club singer, a role he reprised in the 2021 sequel Coming 2 America.
On May 2, 1997, Murphy was stopped by police in West Hollywood, California, at 4:45 a.m. with Atisone Seiuli, a transgender prostitute, in his car. His publicist, Paul Block, denied that Murphy had intended to pay Seiuli for sex, saying that Murphy was only giving her a ride home. Murphy was not charged with any crime, but the incident caused him a number of public relation problems.
Murphy is also a singer, having frequently provided background vocals to songs released by the Bus Boys; the song "(The Boys Are) Back in Town" was featured in 48 Hrs. and Murphy's comedy special Eddie Murphy Delirious. As a solo artist, Murphy had two hit singles, "Party All the Time" (produced by Rick James) and "Put Your Mouth on Me", during the latter half of the 1980s. He had 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's and Donna Summer's 1979 song, "No More Tears". Both songs appeared on his 1982 self-titled comedy album. "Party All the Time" was featured on Murphy's debut album How Could It Be (1985), which 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 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 No. 8 hit "PATT (Party All the Time)" in 2006. "Put Your Mouth on Me" appeared on Murphy's 1989 follow-up album, So Happy.
Following his divorce from Mitchell, in 2006, Murphy began dating former Spice Girl Melanie Brown, who became pregnant and claimed the child was Murphy's. When questioned about the pregnancy in December 2006, by RTL Boulevard, Murphy told Dutch reporter Matthijs Kleyn, "I don't know whose child that is until it comes out and has a blood test. You shouldn't jump to conclusions, sir." Brown gave birth to a baby girl, Angel Iris Murphy Brown, on Murphy's 46th birthday, April 3, 2007.
Murphy starred in the motion picture version of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls (2006) 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. 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—it was speculated that one of the reasons Murphy lost out on winning the Academy Award was the negative reviews of his subsequent film Norbit, released in early February 2007. Murphy notoriously exited the 79th Academy Awards as soon as Arkin was announced the winner. In 2007 Murphy was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
On June 22, 2007, representatives for Brown announced that a DNA test had confirmed Murphy was the father. Brown had stated in an interview that Murphy has not sought a relationship with Angel, although it was later reported in 2010 that Murphy was getting to know her.
Murphy exchanged vows with film producer Tracey Edmonds, former wife of Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, on January 1, 2008, in a private ceremony on an island off Bora Bora. On January 16, 2008, the couple released a statement describing the ceremony as a symbolic union: "After much consideration and discussion, we have jointly decided that we will forgo having a legal ceremony as it is not necessary to define our relationship further" and that they would remain friends instead of pursue a further romantic relationship. Murphy bought property on Long Island, New York, later that year.
Murphy co-starred in Tower Heist (2011), directed by Brett Ratner, alongside Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, and Casey Affleck. Murphy played a thief who joins a group of hardworking men who find out they have fallen victim to a wealthy businessman's Ponzi scheme, and conspire to rob his high-rise residence. It was reported in 2011 that Murphy would host the 84th Academy Awards in 2012. However, he dropped out of his hosting duties on November 9, 2011, in the wake of the Brett Ratner scandal. On March 8, 2014, it was announced that Murphy would team up with Boomerang co-star Halle Berry in a new film titled Miles and Me. The film was also set to star Laurence Fishburne and was set to begin pre-production in 2014 from Paramount Pictures. No other word was released about the film or who else was attached. On March 15, 2015, it was announced that Murphy would play comedian Richard Pryor's father, LeRoy Pryor, in the upcoming biopic directed by Lee Daniels with Mike Epps playing Pryor; as of 2019, the project remains in development hell.
Murphy performed several songs in the Shrek film franchise. In the first film, he performed a version of the Monkees' "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; Murphy performed "Thank You (Falletin Me Be Mice Elf Again)" for Shrek the Third, once again with Banderas. In 2013, he released his first single in many years titled "Red Light", a reggae song featuring Snoop Dogg. He is also working on a new album titled 9.
On December 6, 2013, it was announced that Murphy would star in the fourth film of the Beverly Hills Cop series. Brett Ratner was at the time set to direct the film, Jerry Bruckheimer was confirmed to produce the film, and Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec would write. In a June 2014 interview, Murphy discussed the plot of the film, saying it would take place and film in Detroit, bringing in an estimated $56.6 million to the state of Michigan. On June 14, 2016, it was confirmed that Murphy was still set to reprise his role as Axel Foley in a fourth film. In December 2019, it was reported that the film had moved to Netflix, where Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, which was ultimately directed by Mark Molloy, will be released on July 3, 2024.
He has also received numerous honorary accolades including the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2015, the Critics' Choice Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2019 and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2023.
In 2020, he won his first Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for hosting Saturday Night Live. Murphy's films have grossed over $3.8 billion ($6.5 billion adjusted for inflation) in the United States and Canada box office, and over $6.7 billion worldwide. In 2015, his films made him the sixth-highest grossing actor in the United States. As a singer, Murphy has released three studio albums, including How Could It Be (1985), So Happy (1989), and Love's Alright (1993). He is also known for the hit song "Party All the Time" from 1985.
In February 2015, Murphy attended the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special where Chris Rock introduced him in a special tribute dedicated to him. Murphy was greeted with an enthusiastic standing ovation from the crowd of comedians and stars, however he received criticism for his brief appearance, declining to tell any jokes, and for not reprising his iconic SNL characters. On October 15, 2015, Murphy was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Those who honored Murphy at the event included Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Trevor Noah, George Lopez, Kevin Nealon, Kathy Griffin, Tracy Morgan, Joe Piscopo, Jay Pharoah and Dick Gregory. Murphy co-starred with actress Britt Robertson in the drama Mr. Church (2016) for which he received critical acclaim.
In May 2016, Murphy had a daughter by Australian model Paige Butcher, whom he had been dating since 2012. Murphy and Butcher are also parents of a son born in November 2018. In September 2018 they became engaged to be married. Their son's middle name pays tribute to Murphy's late brother, Charlie, who died of leukemia in 2017.
In October 2019, Murphy produced and starred in Dolemite Is My Name as Rudy Ray Moore. The film was distributed on Netflix and received overwhelming critical acclaim. The film holds a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes with the critics consensus reading, "Eddie Murphy makes Dolemite Is My Name just as bold, brash, and ultimately hard to resist as its subject." For his work, Murphy received a Golden Globe Award nomination for the film.
In December 2019, Murphy returned to Saturday Night Live to promote Dolemite; this was his first time hosting since 1984. His hosting duties received overwhelming acclaim from audiences and critics alike, making it the highest watched episode since 2008 when Tina Fey played Sarah Palin. Comedians Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, and Kenan Thompson welcomed Murphy back in the opening monologue. Murphy went on to reprise his popular SNL characters such as Mr. Robinson, Gumby, Buckwheat, and Velvet Jones. Murphy won his first ever Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for hosting the episode. Murphy and most of the cast reprised their roles in the Coming to America sequel Coming 2 America, which was released in March 2021.
In September 2021, Murphy and his Eddie Murphy Productions company signed a deal with Amazon Studios. On March 31, 2022, it was announced that Murphy will portray George Clinton in an untitled biopic, with John Davis and Catherine Davis producing through Davis Entertainment.