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| Eddie Murphy, unknown date. Pretty young, we'd say. |
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| Eddie Murphy (with Hollywood 100th Anniversary) |
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| Forecourt Ceremony held on Thursday, May 14, 1987 |
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Born: April 3, 1961, in Brooklyn, New York
Age at the time of the ceremony: 26
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Eddie Murphy is a movie star. After starting in television, he broke free and became so popular, that he has been headlining in feature films more-or-less ever since. Blessed with a distinctive voice, Murphy has turned in some very funny performances, both onscreen and in animation.
Murphy's mother was a telephone operator, while his father was a transit policeman. Divorcing when young Eddie was three, his father died in a fracas with a jealous woman when Eddie was nine. With his mother Lillian falling ill, Eddie and his brother lived for a year in foster homes. Later, the boys were living with Lillian and her new husband in Roosevelt New York. By age 15, Murphy was working on his comedy routines.
Murphy joined the cast of Saturday Night Live, aired over NBC for 62 episodes, starting in November 1980, and ending in April 1984, He is widely credited with revitalizing the show. His first album of recorded material, Eddie Murphy, was released in November 1982 on Columbia Records.
As with other SNL figures, the big screen beckoned. Producers Joel Silvers and Lawrence Gordon placed Murphy in a cop action movie, 48 Hrs. (released in December 1982), with Nick Nolte. The film was a hit, with Murphy doing no wrong as far as Paramount Pictures management was concerned.
The next summer saw Murphy star with former SNL comic Dan Aykroyd in Trading Places (released in June 1983), also starring Jamie Lee Curtis. The next Christmas brought Beverly Hills Cop (which played the Chinese in December 1984), which became a world-wide smash.
The Golden Child (which played the Chinese in December 1986), would become Murphy's first dud at the box-office, while Beverly Hills Cop II (which played the Chinese in May 1987), was still a hit. Paramount elected to shoot Murphy's stand-up comedy routine and release it as a film in theatres. Eddie Murphy Raw (which played the Chinese in December 1987) did well. It would be followed by another big hit:
Coming to America (which played the Chinese in June 1988), was another considerable hit, allowing Murphy to leap into the director's chair for his period film Harlem Nights (which played the Chinese in December 1989), co-starring with Murphy's idol, Richard Pryor. Another 48 Hrs. (which played the Chinese in June 1990), made more money than the first one, while the rom-com Boomerang (released in July 1992), did well also.
His first film for Disney,
The Distinguished Gentleman (released in December 1992), was a stand-up double, as was Beverly Hills Cop III (which played the Chinese in May 1994). His Vampire in Brooklyn (which played the Chinese in October 1995), flopped, but Murphy's remake of the Jerry Lewis classic The Nutty Professor (released in June 1996), sure didn't.
Hangin' with the Disney people, Murphy did the voice of the tiny dragon Mushu, who protects Mulan (released in June 1998). He starred in a remake of Doctor Doolittle (released in June 1998), which did not at all flop like the original with Rex Harrison.
After co-starring with Steve Martin in
Bowfinger (released in August 1999), Murphy provided the voice for Donkey in Shrek (which played the Chinese in May 2001), becoming by far and away his biggest box-office hit so far.
For television, he created and did the voice of the father for 30 episodes of
The PJs aired over the Fox, and later, WB Networks, beginning in January 1999. He co-starred with Robert De Niro in Showtime (released in March 2002), and took over for Bill Cosby in the feature remake of I Spy (released in November 2002), with Owen Wilson taking over for Robert Culp.
Returning to Disney, Murphy headlined their film of
The Haunted Mansion (released in November 2003), widely considered a flop, but it did OK, actually. Doing the Donkey voice again for Shrek 2 (released in May 2004), became his biggest money-maker ever.
Dreamgirls (released in December 2006), with Beyoncé, did well, and Murphy as Donkey in Shrek the Third (released in May 2007), couldn't miss — it didn't. Tower Heist (released in November 2011), with Ben Stiller, snuck by, while A Thousand Words (released in March 2012), flopped. The modestly-budgeted Mr. Church (released in September 2016), with Britt Robertson, marks perhaps the first more-drama-than-comedy role for Murphy. He got rave notices for Dolemite Is My Name (released in October 2019) with Keegan-Michael Key, and Amazon Studios financed Coming 2 America, airing in March 2021. Her is the comedy You People with Jonah Hill (released in January 2023).
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| Mann's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, California. Eddie Murphy Forecourt block. Executed by John Tartaglia. Thursday, May 14, 1987. 48 x 71 inches. |
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| Mann's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, California. Eddie Murphy Forecourt ceremony, Thursday, May 14, 1987.Eddie Murphy looks up while signing his signature in the cement. |
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