On April 3rd, 1961 in Brooklyn, New York, an actor was born. Little did anybody know Edward Regan Murphy certainly had a lengthy path to cover. His career is claimed to represent ‘a typical Hollywood rags-to-riches story as he was catapulted from humble and tough origins in Brooklyn to movie superstardom by the time he was just nineteen!’
Edward’s parents divorced when he was three and his mother remarried after his father died when Eddie was just nine. After moving to the African-American suburb of Roosevelt with his step father, his mother and brother, Ed grew up finding himself. The fact that Eddie, along with his brother, was left to foster care in the early days of his childhood and that he was found in front of the television very often led him to developing a skill of impersonations and developing a remarkable sense of humor.
In the early 1980s, Eddie enrolled at a community college during which he continued his practice at skilled impersonations. Although his academic life endured a heavy loss, Eddie was too keen to give up yet. His early comedic practices comprised usually of inspirations through an exceptional comedian, Richard Pryor leading him to a comic strip club in Manhattan. Opportunity knocked when he learned that the producers of a popular comedy show, Saturday Night Live were on a quest to find a black cast member for one of their seasons. Upon selection, he occasionally appeared on the show until one momentous moment, he improvised while the show had no preferred material to view on air against about four minutes of the remaining time. And THAT’S when it all started! His performance came to be known as ‘masterful’ and Eddie Murphy was called back for the succeeding season.
Saturday Night Live provided a premium platform for Eddie while working on which, he successfully nurtured his amusing skills and created unforgettable African-American characters some of which included Mister Rogers, Buckwheat and Tyron Green. Murphy’s intensified passion led to a commendable devotion in showbiz.
In 1982,
