Biographic - Sunday November 10, 2019 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

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Born Edward Regan Murphy in Brooklyn, New York, on April 3, 1961, by his late teens Eddie Murphy was working as a comedian and impressionist. At 19, he joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live" staying with the show for four seasons. By the time he left, he was a movie star, thanks to his starring roles in "48 Hrs." and "Trading Places" his career went into overdrive with 1984's "Beverly Hills Cop" a smash hit that spawned two sequels. The likes of "coming To America" and "The Golden Child" as well as the concert film "Raw" and the HBO special "Delirius" helped make him one of the biggest superstars of the 1980s- he even enjoyed a top 5- chart hit with his 1985 single "Party All The Time" produced by Rick James. 1989's "Harlem Nights" which was also his directorial debut marked a downturn in his box-office fortunes that continued into the mid-90's A switch to more family-friendly fare, such as "The Nutty Professor" "Dr. Dootlittle" and "Daddy Day Care" put him back on top, pushing his salary to upward of $20 million per movie. His performance in the 2006 musical "Dreamgirls" earned him an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe. The following year, he co-wrote and starred in "Orbit." He voiced the character Donkey in all four blockbusters in the "Shrek" animated move series. In 2015, he was awarded the Mark Twain prize for american humor by the John F. Kennedy center for the performing arts. Having appeared in just one movie in seven years- 2016's "Mr. Church-Eddie" is back with "Dolemite Is My Name" which is now streaming on Netflix. Next year, he will star in the sequel to "Coming To America" and there are plans for a fourth "Beverly Hills Cop" movie.

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