Movie Musings: Disney and More

Eddie Murphy: A Winner of a Comedian

“Loser, whaddya mean a loser? How about if I pop one of your antennas off and throw it across the yard? Then who’s a loser? Me or you?” Disney’s Oscar-nominated Mulan (1998) recognize this as one of many funny lines made famous by Eddie Murphy, the voice of “Mushu.” 

Not only is Murphy a legendary comedian. His voice talents included the very hilarious “Donkey” in the Shrek film franchise (2001-2010). But beyond animated voice-overs, this comedian is an actor—and one of the few comedians to take on a multiple of roles within the same film. He is also a singer. And while there are many comedians who received acting Oscar nominations, he remains the only comedian to receive an acting Oscar nomination for a performance in a movie-musical. Known as the king of one-liners in movies, he also has kept film audiences in stitches just by his own distinguishable laugh. 

Edward Regan “Eddie” Murphy was born on April 3rd 1961. He was named after his father, Charles Edward Murphy, who in addition to being a transit police officer, was an amateur actor and comedian. Eddie tragically lost his father when he was eight years old and later his mother became ill. As a result, Eddie and his older brother Charlie were raised in foster care. Throughout his time in foster care, Eddie was “bitten by the comedy bug” and began writing and performing his own routines around 15 years of age. Later, he and Charlie were able to return to their then-recovered mother and were raised by her and their stepfather, Vernon Lynch. 

At the age of 19, Eddie landed a regular cast member spot on Saturday Night Live (1975-present). He stayed on SNL from 1980 to 1984. In 1982 he released his first stand-up album, Eddie Murphy, and made his feature film debut in 48 Hrs., with Nick Nolte. He also sang  background vocals to the song “(The Boys Are) Back in Town” in “48 Hrs,” and released a second stand-up album, Delirious, in 1983. It was around this time that Eddie Murphy was presented the script for Beverly Hills Cop (1984). The film had originally been written as an action/thriller for Sylvester Stallone but had been revised into a comedy by Donald Petrie Jr. who is known for being the pioneer of buddy-cop films, having been the writer of Touchstone’s Turner and Hooch (1989) with Tom Hanks. The film’s producer, Jerry Bruckheimer had also been considering Richard Pryor, James Caan, and Al Pacino to play Foley, but ultimately decided that Murphy would be the best. Eddie accepted the role. A huge hit, it spawned two sequels, Beverly Hills Cop 2 (1987) and Beverly Hills Cop 3 (1990). (In between the first two “Beverly Hills Cop,” movies Eddie continued singing and released a solo album called How Could It Be in 1985). 

Having been by inspired by Peter Sellers playing four different characters in the film Dr. Stangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), Eddie starred in the film Coming to America (1988) released the year after the first sequel to “Beverly Hills Cop.” He too played four different characters in the successful film, and playing several different characters in the same film became one of Eddie Murphy’s trademarks. He played three characters in Vampire in Brooklyn (1995), seven in The Nutty Professor (1996), two in Bowfinger (1999), eight in Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000), three in Norbit (2007), and two in Meet Dave (2008). In between doing “The Nutty Professor,” and “Bowfinger,” Disney cast Eddie as the voice of Mushu in “Mulan.” Disney later cast him as Jim Evers in the film based on the Disney park attraction of the same name, The Haunted Mansion (2003), where he reunited with “Bowfinger,” co-star, Terrence Stamp. Besides his two Disney-labeled roles, Eddie Murphy starred in Touchstone Pictures’ Metro (1997) and Holy Man (1998) and Hollywood Pictures The Distinguished Gentleman (1992).

In 2006, Bill Condon cast Eddie Murphy in the role of James/Jimmy “Thunder” Early in his movie-musical adaptation based on the Broadway musical of the same name, Dreamgirls. The role was unusual, but not unconventional for Eddie, because while he had had some experience with singing, the role was not humorous and Eddie had no experience with musical theatre. Despite it all, his performance as Jimmy “Thunder” Early earned him a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and even his very first Academy Award nomination in the category of Best Supporting Actor. He won every major award, except the Oscar, losing that year to Alan Arkin in Little Miss Sunshine (2006). He is now one of few actors to receive every major acting award for the same performance, except the Oscar.

Eddie Murphy is one of the most hysterical comedians of all time. From “Beverly Hills Cop,” to SNL to “The Nutty Professor,” he never ceases to keep people laughing their heads off. And with exceptional “singing pipes” in films like “48 Hrs.” and “Dreamgirls,” he displays that he is one heck of an all-around performer.