In Memoriam

Charlie Murphy passes away at 57

Talented comedian and actor Charlie Murphy has passed away after a courageous battle against Leukemia. He was 57 years old.

Published

9 years ago

April 12, 2017

UVM Staff

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Charlie Murphy, comedian and talented actor, has died after a courageous battle against Leukemia.

He was 57.

According to Murphy’s manager, he died Wednesday in a New York City hospital.

Charlie Murphy dead at 57

Murphy was a charismatic comedian in a lane of his own.

Murphy developed his own career and was so well established that you often forgot he was the older brother of Eddie Murhpy.

Now his light continues in another capacity.

Life

Murphy was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. His childhood and his parents, Lillian and Charles Murphy, became fodder for his brother’s stand-up routines.

Before Charlie Murphy’s own rise to fame, he served in the U.S. Navy from 1978 to 1983.

His star rose after he starred in and wrote for Chappelle’s Show. His most popular sketches were about the times he partied with Prince and Rick James.

In addition to Chappelle’s Show, Murphy appeared in The Boondocks, CB4, Harlem Nights and The Players Club and was a voice actor for Budweiser commercials, “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas,” Black Jesus and G4TV’s Star Trek 2.0.

Charlie Murphy, Photo Source: Timothy M. Moore, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

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Unheard Voices, an award-winning, family owned online news magazine, began in 2004 as a community newsletter serving Neptune, Asbury Park, and Long Branch, N.J. Over time, it grew into a nationally recognized Black-owned media outlet. The publication remains one of the few dedicated to covering social justice issues. Its honors include the NAACP Unsung Hero Award and multiple media innovator awards for excellence in social justice reporting and communications.