article by Daniel Kreps via rollingstone.com
Charlie Murphy, the older brother of Eddie Murphy, a “Chappelle’s Show” star and an accomplished comedian in his own right, died Wednesday in New York City. He was 57. Murphy’s publicist confirmed the comedian’s death, and the cause of death was leukemia.
“We just lost one of the funniest most real brothers of all time. Charlie Murphy RIP,” Chris Rock, Murphy’s CB4 co-star, tweeted. “Charlie Murphy changed my life,” tweeted “Chappelle’s Show” co-creator Neal Brennan. “One of the most original people I’ve ever met. Hilarious dude. Habitual Line Stepper. So sad.”
After making his big screen debut in 1989’s “Harlem Nights,” directed by his younger brother Eddie, and appearing in bit roles in Spike Lee films like “Mo’ Better Blues” and “Jungle Fever,” Murphy’s big break came as a cast member on “Chappelle’s Show,” where “Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories” resulted in a pair of that series’ most memorable sketches.
Both sketches featured Murphy reminiscing about he and Eddie’s celebrity encounters in the Eighties, with Dave Chappelle portraying Rick James and Prince in the now-legendary sketches. Charlie Murphy also co-wrote “Vampire in Brooklyn,” another film directed by Eddie, as well as 2007’s “Norbit.”
Murphy also appeared in 1998’s “The Player’s Club,” directed by Ice Cube. The rapper paid tribute to Murphy on Twitter Wednesday, “Damn, sorry to hear about my friend Charlie Murphy. He took a chance on a young director in The Player’s Club. Always made me laugh. RIP.”
Growing up in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn, Charlie often stuck up for his younger brother; in defending Eddie, Charlie joked about fearing his mom’s wrath if bullies picked on Eddie more than the bullies themselves. That guardian role made Charlie a natural to serve as Eddie’s security guard as the comedian quickly ascended to stardom.
Due to Charlie’s propensity toward overreacting while guarding his brother – “Whoever say something, I almost gave this old man a heart attack on a plane because he asked us if we were a basketball team. I took that personally,” Murphy said in a Chappelle’s Show outtake – forced Murphy to embark on his own career.
One night at an Eddie Murphy stand-up performance, Charlie went after one heckler “who tried to squeeze the lemon.” “I took it as a personal crusade until they were like, ‘You’re a little overzealous in how you’re performing your job.’ So that’s how I ended up not doing [security] anymore,” Murphy said.
To read more, go to: Charlie Murphy, Comedian and ‘Chappelle’s Show’ Star, Dead at 57 – Rolling Stone
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article by Alex Stedman via Variety.com
Devastated by the sudden death of Prince on Thursday, Dave Chappelle almost canceled his Friday San Francisco stand-up show.
But he didn’t, and instead remembered the late music icon with a four-hour comedy set, riffing on Prince and his impact on pop culture, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Chapelle explained that he contemplated not showing up that night, but his band told him, “‘Yo, Prince would definitely not condone that.’ And now there is no place I’d rather be.”
Devastated by the sudden death of Prince on Thursday, Dave Chappelle almost canceled his Friday San Francisco stand-up show.
But he didn’t, and instead remembered the late music icon with a four-hour comedy set, riffing on Prince and his impact on pop culture, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Chapelle explained that he contemplated not showing up that night, but his band told him, “‘Yo, Prince would definitely not condone that.’ And now there is no place I’d rather be.”
Taking the stage, Chappelle told the audience that “this is the black 9/11.” He said he only heard of Prince’s death after media outlets began calling him for comment. “I’ll tell you what: I didn’t know him well, but I knew him well,” he said.
Chappelle and Prince became intertwined after the comedian portrayed Prince in one of the most famous sketches from his Comedy Central series “Chappelle’s Show.”
Prince clearly took the joke in stride. In fact, he one-upped Chappelle by using an image of him in his Prince get-up, holding a plate of pancakes, as the cover art for 2013’s “Breakfast Can Wait.”
Chappelle admitted defeat in a 2014 interview with Jimmy Fallon. “That’s a Prince judo move right there,” Chappelle said. “You make fun of Prince in a sketch and he’ll just use you in his album cover. … That’s checkmate right there.”
Chappelle is one of many to pay tribute to Prince over the weekend. “Saturday Night Live” dedicated a “Goodnight Sweet Prince” tribute to the musician, and Bruce Springsteen opened his Boston show with a cover of “Purple Rain.”