20 Facts About...Eddie Murphy

It's hard to believe but Eddie Murphy is celebrating 30 years in film this year. He made his big screen debut in Walter Hill's 48 Hours in 1982. Here are 20 other facts about the fast-talking comedy star.

20
Facts
About...


Eddie
Murphy













1. Born on April 3 1961 in Brooklyn, New York, Eddie Murphy's middle name is Regan.

2. Taking Richard Pryor as his inspiration, Eddie began writing and performing his own stand-up comedy routines at the age of 15.

3. At the age of 19, Murphy was hired as a back-up performer on the legendary television comedy show Saturday Night Live. He soon became the show's most popular attraction.

4. Classic characters created and performed by Murphy on Saturday Night Live included Gumby, Buckwheat and poet Tyrone Green.

5. As mentioned at the beginning of the article, Murphy was cast opposite Nick Nolte in the 1982 movie 48 Hours, on the strength of his performances on Saturday Night Live.

6. Eddie Murphy won a Grammy in 1984 for the album Eddie Murphy, Comedian.

7. Murphy is the only Saturday Night Live cast member to host the show whilst still a regular. This happened in 1984 when he stepped in for planned host Nick Nolte, who was ill.

8. Both Sylvester Stallone and Mickey Rourke were considered for the role of Axel Foley in Beverley Hills Cop.

9. Dan Aykroyd wrote the part of Winston Zeddemore in Ghostbusters with Eddie Murphy in mind but Murphy could not commit to filming due to schedules.

10. Eddie Murphy released a pop album in 1985 entitled How Could It Be. Party All The Time, taken from the album, reached number 2 on the US Billboard Charts.

11. He has a total of 8 children, 5 daughters and 3 sons.

12. Eddie Murphy was ranked number 10 on Comedy Central's 100 Greatest Stand-up Comics of All Time.

13. On Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups, Murphy came in at number 40.

14. The most successful film at the box-office featuring Eddie Murphy is Shrek 2 (2004), which stands at number 22 on the list of all-time highest grossing movies.

15. The most successful live-action Murphy movie at the box-office remains Beverley Hills Cop from 1984.

16. In 2006, Eddie Murphy won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Dreamgirls. This performance also garnered him an Oscar nomination.

17. He has been nominated for Golden Globe Best Actor on 3 occasions - Trading Places (1982), Beverley Hills Cop (1984) and The Nutty Professor (1996).

18. Eddie has played multiple roles in 7 different movies.

19. Eddie Murphy was due to be the host of the 2012 Oscar Ceremony but pulled out after his friend, film director Brett Ratner, resigned as producer.

20. Murphy is rumoured to be the voice of Hong Kong Phooey in an upcoming live-action movie version of the Hanna-Barberra cartoon.