Happy Birthday Eddie Murphy

On April 3rd, 1961, 48 years ago, in Brooklyn, New York, Edward Regan  Murphy was born. The world of comedy hasn’t been the same since. Say what you will about his latest movies, which incidentally I liked, but in the 1980’s, Eddie Murphy  was a comedic god. You could tell instantly that you were  witnessing the birth of a  natural funnyman  starting with  his stint on Saturday Night Live, particularly ‘Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood.’

  

Next came Murphy’s hilarious standups in ‘Raw’ and ‘Delirious’, to his film  debut in ’48 Hours’  followed by ‘Trading Places and ‘Beverly Hills Cop.’  By this  time, Murphy’s popularity was at its zenith. It was truly something remarkable to have lived through and watched as it all happened. In the last decade, Murphy reinvented himself with family-friendly fare including ‘Doctor Doolittle’ and his clever voice-over work in the ‘Shrek’ franchise. The height of his fame came in 2006, when  Murphy heartfelt  portrayal of James Thunder  Early in ‘Dreamgirls’ received a much-deserved  Oscar nod for  Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. How I would have loved to  have  to seen him up at the podium with the Academy Award statue in his hand that night. Alas, it was not meant to be.

Ever the professional, Murphy keeps forging ahead.  He has  2 films due out in 2009. The first, on June 12, ‘Imagine That’ -  Murphy plays a  financial executive who, along with a  failing career, is invited into his daughter’s imaginary world, where solutions to his problems await.

  

The second is a Nicholas Cage produced film, ‘A Thousand Words’. An intriguing plot of an ever-babbling guy, Jack, who, after an ill-fated  meeting with  a guru  and his  magical Bohdi tree, discovers that the tree  sheds one leaf for each word  he speaks. After one thousand words, Jack will die. This one is still in post-production, so no trailer as of yet.

As I first reported back in late February, Murphy is attached to star in  Oscar Winning director  Bill Condon’s Richard Pryor’s biopic.  Condon  was shopping his script “Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said?” to studios and independent distributors. As I said then, I still believe its Eddie’s best chance at another Oscar nomination and possible win.

So, as a devoted  fan, this movie geek would like to wish Eddie a very Happy Birthday – what better way  than with the  classic 80’s  Murphy music video, “Party All The Time”. Cheers!