Charlie Murphy, Chappelle's Show star and older brother of actor and comedian Eddie Murphy, has died at age 57 after a long battle with leukemia. His publicist confirmed the sad news to The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday, and Eddie remembered his brother in a statement later that day. "Our hearts are heavy with the loss today of our son, brother, father, uncle and friend Charlie, the Murphy family said. "Charlie filled our family with love and laughter and there won't be a day that goes by that his presence will not be missed. Thank you for the outpouring of condolences and prayers. We respectfully ask for privacy during this time of great loss for all of us." Charlie became a household name during the 2000s thanks to his "Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Story" sketches on Dave Chappelle's Comedy Central skit show, which detailed his hilarious and ridiculous stories of...
- 4/12/2017
- by Brittney Stephens
- Popsugar.com
"I'm Rick James, bitch!" With those four words, Chappelle's Show made its mark as one of the most popular comedy programs of all time and spurred what many believe is the first viral sketch comedy video. And it was all thanks to Charlie Murphy. The brother of Eddie Murphy and fellow comedy star, who recently died at age 57, made several appearances on Dave Chappelle's now-cult '00s R-rated sketch series, playing characters and also narrating and appearing in a recurring segment titled Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories, in which he recalls his real-life encounters with celebrities in the '80s while Dave plays them. One of...
- 4/12/2017
- E! Online
Dave Chappelle gave "his first in-depth interview in nearly a decade" to GQ this month, and in it he addresses his abrupt "Chappelle's Show" departure, TV binge-watching habits, impressive selfie collection and whatever the hell is going on with D'Angelo's answering machine, among other topics. Check out our full roundup below. 1. Despite all but turning his back on show business for almost ten years, he still clearly enjoys entertaining people. In addition to playing ten sold-out shows at Radio City Music Hall over the summer, GQ interviewer Mark Anthony Green notes that the comedian is driven to put on a show even outside a performance context: "He's also toting around a small, very loud portable speaker that is connected to his phone. And once in a while he'll just press play for a few seconds. The sudden blaring of A Tribe Called Quest makes the guests at the Beverly Hills...
- 11/18/2014
- by Chris Eggertsen
- Hitfix
On February 11, 2004, the fourth episode of the second season of Chappelle's Show aired. The series had built a great deal of buzz with its 12-episode first season and had some classic sketches over the second season's first three episodes — including "The Racial Draft" and "The Niggar Family" — but nothing compared to what happened that night: The Rick James installment of "Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories" debuted. Besides being an incredible, hilarious sketch that is able to tell a complete story with both pathos and dense punch line concentration, it instantly became a phenomenon. Very early in the days of social media — Facebook was weeks old — people shared the sketch any way they could, whether it was through MySpace, Aim away messages, or just shouting "I'm Rick James, bitch" so often that people had to go home and see what they were talking about. For...
- 2/11/2014
- by Jesse David Fox
- Vulture
Dave Chappelle is planning his comeback. Maybe. Six years after shutting down production on his hilarious "Chapelle Show," the comic is rumored to be starting production on a new show. However, the rumor mill has it that the controversial comedian does not want to return to network television, and is instead hoping to air the show on a subscription service such as Netflix or Hulu.
Fans (and undoubtedly the network) were shocked when Chappelle famously flamed out on his old show, seemingly out of the blue. Chappelle walked out weeks before production started on the third season. Citing a lack of creative freedom, not only did he bail on the hit show, but also on the a $50 million dollar contract that went with it. Instead of showing up to work, he fled to Africa and then went on Oprah, as one does. Since then he's been living a low-key life...
Fans (and undoubtedly the network) were shocked when Chappelle famously flamed out on his old show, seemingly out of the blue. Chappelle walked out weeks before production started on the third season. Citing a lack of creative freedom, not only did he bail on the hit show, but also on the a $50 million dollar contract that went with it. Instead of showing up to work, he fled to Africa and then went on Oprah, as one does. Since then he's been living a low-key life...
- 6/17/2011
- by Melissa Locker
- ifc.com
Chappelle's Show: The Series Collection
DVD, Best Medicine
As comedian Dave Chappelle has stated many times when talking about the perception that he ran away from the reported $55m he would have made from continuing his TV show, "I didn't run, I walked … like John Wayne, I walked." You can tell something was off in the three "lost episodes" from his final season: a sketch about being charged $11,000 for a haircut isn't going to get many going, "Ooh, that's so true, I hate it when that happens." The more money at stake, the less freedom Chappelle was given and his methods were hardly conventional to start with. For instance, he noticed Charlie Murphy, brother of Eddie and member of Chappelle's writing staff, was cracking everyone up with his amazing, star-studded tales. So Chappelle decided to have him tell his tales on the show, resulting in some classic sketches like...
DVD, Best Medicine
As comedian Dave Chappelle has stated many times when talking about the perception that he ran away from the reported $55m he would have made from continuing his TV show, "I didn't run, I walked … like John Wayne, I walked." You can tell something was off in the three "lost episodes" from his final season: a sketch about being charged $11,000 for a haircut isn't going to get many going, "Ooh, that's so true, I hate it when that happens." The more money at stake, the less freedom Chappelle was given and his methods were hardly conventional to start with. For instance, he noticed Charlie Murphy, brother of Eddie and member of Chappelle's writing staff, was cracking everyone up with his amazing, star-studded tales. So Chappelle decided to have him tell his tales on the show, resulting in some classic sketches like...
- 7/2/2010
- by Phelim O'Neill
- The Guardian - Film News
Photo by Pop Culture Passionistas
Next Tuesday night, America's Got Talent comes back for a sixth season with one big change. Howie Mandel has replaced David Hasselhoff as the third judge. While it's true no one can truly replace The Hoff, Howie seems like a good option. Based on this promo, the season promises to be a good one.
We sat in on a panel discussion with the Howie, Sharon Osbourne, Piers Morgan, Nick Cannon and Executive Producers Jason Raff and Ken Warwick. Here’s what they had to say about changes this season, getting exposure on Agt, and break-out stars. Be sure to tune in to NBC on Tuesday, June 1 for the two-hour premiere starting at 8:00 Pm.
Q: Any major format changes?
Ken: Obviously apart from the wonderful part of Howie, who is fantastic, there are the YouTube shows, which we're announcing today, is going to be the...
Next Tuesday night, America's Got Talent comes back for a sixth season with one big change. Howie Mandel has replaced David Hasselhoff as the third judge. While it's true no one can truly replace The Hoff, Howie seems like a good option. Based on this promo, the season promises to be a good one.
We sat in on a panel discussion with the Howie, Sharon Osbourne, Piers Morgan, Nick Cannon and Executive Producers Jason Raff and Ken Warwick. Here’s what they had to say about changes this season, getting exposure on Agt, and break-out stars. Be sure to tune in to NBC on Tuesday, June 1 for the two-hour premiere starting at 8:00 Pm.
Q: Any major format changes?
Ken: Obviously apart from the wonderful part of Howie, who is fantastic, there are the YouTube shows, which we're announcing today, is going to be the...
- 5/28/2010
- by Pop Culture Passionistas
- popculturepassionistas
Ty James, who is working on a musical and film, says, 'The exact person that needs to play him has pretty much agreed to do it.'
By Kyle Anderson
Rick James and his daughter Ty
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images
Five years ago, one of the greatest and most controversial entertainers in a generation died. Rick James, who helped bring R&B and funk to the masses and inspired an early wave of hip-hop with songs like "Super Freak" and "Give It to Me Baby," died of heart failure August 6, 2004. Following his struggle with drugs and a stint in jail, James received a second wave of popularity when he appeared on an episode of "Chappelle's Show" and Chappelle turned the phrase "I'm Rick James, bitch!" into a household phrase.
But his real legacy is being carried on by daughter Ty. In the five years since her father's passing, she...
By Kyle Anderson
Rick James and his daughter Ty
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images
Five years ago, one of the greatest and most controversial entertainers in a generation died. Rick James, who helped bring R&B and funk to the masses and inspired an early wave of hip-hop with songs like "Super Freak" and "Give It to Me Baby," died of heart failure August 6, 2004. Following his struggle with drugs and a stint in jail, James received a second wave of popularity when he appeared on an episode of "Chappelle's Show" and Chappelle turned the phrase "I'm Rick James, bitch!" into a household phrase.
But his real legacy is being carried on by daughter Ty. In the five years since her father's passing, she...
- 8/6/2009
- MTV Music News
Ty James, who is working on a musical and film, says, 'The exact person that needs to play him has pretty much agreed to do it.'
By Kyle Anderson
Rick James and his daughter Ty
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images
Five years ago, one of the greatest and most controversial entertainers in a generation died. Rick James, who helped bring R&B and funk to the masses and inspired an early wave of hip-hop with songs like "Super Freak" and "Give It to Me Baby," died of heart failure August 6, 2004. Following his struggle with drugs and a stint in jail, James received a second wave of popularity when he appeared on an episode of "Chappelle's Show" and Chappelle turned the phrase "I'm Rick James, bitch!" into a household phrase.
But his real legacy is being carried on by daughter Ty. In the five years since her father's passing, she...
By Kyle Anderson
Rick James and his daughter Ty
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images
Five years ago, one of the greatest and most controversial entertainers in a generation died. Rick James, who helped bring R&B and funk to the masses and inspired an early wave of hip-hop with songs like "Super Freak" and "Give It to Me Baby," died of heart failure August 6, 2004. Following his struggle with drugs and a stint in jail, James received a second wave of popularity when he appeared on an episode of "Chappelle's Show" and Chappelle turned the phrase "I'm Rick James, bitch!" into a household phrase.
But his real legacy is being carried on by daughter Ty. In the five years since her father's passing, she...
- 8/6/2009
- MTV Music News
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