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Eddie Murphy

Eddie MurphyAKA Edward Regan Murphy

Born: 3-Apr-1961
Birthplace: Brooklyn, NY

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: Black
Sexual orientation: Matter of Dispute
Occupation: Comic, Actor

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Beverly Hills Cop

Eddie Murphy is a popular comedian, movie star, and part-time singer who started life in the housing projects of Brooklyn. His parents divorced when Murphy was a toddler, and his father, a policeman, was killed by an angry girlfriend when Murphy was 8. Murphy and his older brother, Charles, were placed in foster care when their mother was hospitalized for a long period of time. By high school, Murphy was the class clown, and by age 17 he was performing comedy in clubs where a kid his age wouldn't otherwise have been allowed in. The smaller venues paid $25-$50 a night, and he soon worked his way to larger clubs, including New York's Comic Strip.

At 19, he was hired as a minor player on Saturday Night Live. He was quickly promoted to full-fledged cast member. On SNL, Murphy's running gags included "Little Richard Simmons", "Velvet Jones", "Buckwheat", "Gumby", "Raheem Abdul Muhammad" (the militant black movie critic), and "Mr. Robinson", a blaxploitated homage to Mr. Rogers. In 1982, Murphy issued his debut comedy album, a self-titled effort that was criticized by the humor-deprived for making fun of Asians, women, and especially gays. The same year he made his big screen debut in 48 Hours, stealing the film from big star Nick Nolte.

Then came Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop (in a part originally written for Sylvester Stallone), and Coming to America. He reportedly turned down the Ghostbusters part that went to Ernie Hudson. In recent years, Murphy has reinvented himself in family-friendly fluff comedies like Doctor Dolittle, Daddy Day Care, and Shrek, and he was Oscar-nominated for his supporting role in 2006's Dreamgirls.

In 1985, Murphy released How Could It Be, a album of pop music including the million-selling single "Party All the Time." His other musical albums include So Happy (1989) and Love's Alright (1993).

Murphy has been harshly criticized by Spike Lee for not using his show business clout to help black actors break into film. Murphy did, however, pay for the funeral of Redd Foxx, one of his comedic inspirations, when he died destitute.

In the early hours of 2 May 1997, Murphy was driving his wife's SUV down Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. Murphy pulled over, and a transvestite hooker named Atisone Kenneth Seiuli (or "Shalomar") got in. They drove off together, but didn't get far before Murphy was pulled over by a Los Angeles Sheriff's Department squad car. The cops spent half an hour talking amiably with Murphy, warning him about the neighborhood and perhaps getting his autograph before shaking his hand and letting him go. Seiuli, though, was arrested on an outstanding warrant for violating probation on an earlier prostitution charge.

As quick as Seiuli could post bail, the story was in the tabloids. According to Seiuli, in their brief conversation in the vehicle, Murphy had put two hundred-dollar bills on her leg, and "asked me if I did this for a living, being a transsexual prostitute. I said yes. Eddie said, 'Do you like to wear lingerie?' I said yes. He said, 'Can I see you in lingerie?' I told him, 'Whenever I have the time.' He said, 'I'll make the time.' "Then he asked me, 'What type of sex do you like?' I said I was into everything." Or at least, that was Seiuli's story.

Murphy's version was, not surprisingly, not the same. "I'm married with three children. I'm not going to be out there screwing hookers off the street or anything like that. I'm just being a nice guy... I was being a good Samaritan. It's not the first hooker I've helped out. I've seen hookers on corners... and I'll pull over... and they'll go, Oh you're Eddie Murphy, oh my God, and I'll empty my wallet out to help". The next weekend, Saturday Night Live aired a sketch titled, "Good Samaritan Eddie Murphy," with Tim Meadows as Murphy, ferrying transsexuals throughout metropolitan Los Angeles, out of the goodness of his heart.

One by one, a parade of local transvestite escorts chatted with The Globe, The National Enquirer, and more mainstream publications such as Gay & Lesbian Times, telling about their assorted encounters with Murphy. Several subsequently recanted their stories, and were reportedly well paid to do so by a man connected with Murphy's lawyer. Murphy sued the tabloids, but later quietly settled.

Candace Watkins, a purported mother figure to several of the transsexuals involved, later wrote In the Closet with Eddie Murphy under the pen name Carnal Candy. The book was filled with tales from Watkin's girlfriends about their alleged liaisons with Murphy.

On 22 April 1998, Seiuli, wearing only a black bra padded a leather bikini thong (both from Frederick's of Hollywood) was found dead under her fifth-floor apartment window. She had apparently locked herself out of her apartment, tried sneaking in through an open window, and fallen to her death. There is no reasonable insinuation that Murphy was involved in Seiuli's death.

Father: Charles Q. Murphy (policeman, amateur comedian, d. 1969 murder)
Mother: Lillian Murphy Lynch (telephone operator)
Father: Vernon Lynch, Sr. (stepfather, Breyer's ice cream factory foreman, d. 2001)
Brother: Charlie Murphy (actor/writer, b. 12-Jul-1959)
Brother: Vernon Lynch Jr. (stepbrother, writer)
Girlfriend: Lisa Figueroa (med student, dated early 1980s)
Girlfriend: Halle Berry
Girlfriend: Whitney Houston
Girlfriend: Robin Givens
Girlfriend: Tamara Hood (one son)
Son: Christian Murphy (b. circa 1991 with Hood)
Wife: Nicole Mitchell (model, b. 5-Jun-1968, m. 18-Mar-1993, div. 22-May-2006, five children)
Son: Miles Mitchell Murphy (b. 7-Nov-1992 with Mitchell)
Daughter: Bria (b. 18-Nov-1989 with Mitchell)
Daughter: Shane Audra (b. 10-Oct-1994 with Mitchell)
Daughter: Zola Ivy (b. 24-Dec-1999 with Mitchell)
Daughter: Bella Zahra (b. 29-Jan-2002 with Mitchell)
Girlfriend: Nicolle Rader
Girlfriend: Paulette McNeely
Girlfriend: Melanie B (Scary Spice, together 2006, one daughter)
Daughter: Angel Iris Murphy Brown (b. 3-Apr-2007)
Girlfriend: Tracey Edmonds (film producer, m. 1-Jan-2008 not recognized by USA, separated)

    High School: Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School Roosevelt, NY (1979)
    University: Nassau Community College, Garden City, NY (no degree)

    Obama for America
    Hollywood Walk of Fame 7000 Hollywood Blvd
    Endorsement of Toyota
    Wedding: Eddie Murphy and Nicole Mitchell (1993)
    Paternity Test (Jun-2007)

    TELEVISION
    Saturday Night Live 1980-84
    The PJ's Thurgoode Orenthal Stubbs (voice, 1999)

    FILMOGRAPHY AS DIRECTOR
    Harlem Nights (17-Nov-1989)

    FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
    Mr. Church (22-Apr-2016)
    A Thousand Words (9-Mar-2012) · Jack McCall
    Tower Heist (2-Nov-2011) · Slide
    Shrek Forever After (21-Apr-2010) · Donkey [VOICE]
    Imagine That (12-Jun-2009) · Evan Danielson
    Meet Dave (9-Jul-2008)
    Shrek the Third (17-May-2007) [VOICE]
    Norbit (9-Feb-2007)
    Dreamgirls (15-Dec-2006)
    Shrek 2 (15-May-2004) · Donkey [VOICE]
    The Haunted Mansion (26-Nov-2003) · Jim Evers
    Daddy Day Care (4-May-2003) · Charlie Hinton
    I Spy (23-Oct-2002) · Kelly
    The Adventures of Pluto Nash (16-Aug-2002)
    Showtime (11-Mar-2002) · Trey Sellars
    Dr. Dolittle 2 (19-Jun-2001) · Dr. Dolittle
    Shrek (22-Apr-2001) [VOICE]
    Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (24-Jul-2000)
    Bowfinger (13-Aug-1999)
    Life (13-Apr-1999) · Rayford Gibson
    Holy Man (9-Oct-1998)
    Doctor Dolittle (13-Jun-1998) · Dr. John Dolittle
    Mulan (5-Jun-1998) [VOICE]
    Metro (17-Jan-1997)
    The Nutty Professor (28-Jun-1996) · Sherman Klump, etc.
    Michael Jackson: Video Greatest Hits - HIStory (16-Jun-1995)
    Vampire in Brooklyn (23-Jan-1995) · Guido
    Beverly Hills Cop III (25-May-1994) · Axel Foley
    The Distinguished Gentleman (4-Dec-1992) · Thomas Jefferson Johnson
    Boomerang (1-Jul-1992) · Marcus
    Another 48 Hrs. (8-Jun-1990) · Reggie Hammond
    Harlem Nights (17-Nov-1989) · Quick
    Coming to America (29-Jun-1988) · Prince Akeem, etc.
    Eddie Murphy Raw (25-Nov-1987) · Himself
    Beverly Hills Cop II (20-May-1987) · Axel Foley
    The Golden Child (12-Dec-1986) · Chandler Jarrell
    Beverly Hills Cop (5-Dec-1984) · Axel Foley
    Best Defense (20-Jul-1984) · Landry
    Trading Places (8-Jun-1983) · Billy Ray Valentine
    Eddie Murphy Delirious (1983) · Himself
    48 Hrs. (8-Dec-1982) · Reggie Hammond

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Eddie Murphy


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