Eddie Murphy – Net Worth, Money and More
NET WORTH: $85 Million
PROFESSION: Actor, Comedian, Producer and Director.
Eddie Regan Murphy is an American Comedian, actor, writer, singer, director and musician. He is known for his role in Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984. He has been bestowed with a lot of awards and has been ranked no 10 on Comedy Central’s list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of all time. Murphy is influenced by Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor and his roles depict his tribute to one of his idols, Peter Sellers, who played multiple roles in several of his films.
CHILDHOOD
Murphy belongs to the arty boroughs of Brooklyn. He is the younger son of Lilian and Charles Edward Murphy. His father was an amateur actor and comedian who died when Murphy was still a child. He spent one year in foster care. Murphy often says that the time he spent in foster care played a very influential role in developing his sense of humor. By the bright age of 15, Murphy was writing and performing his own routines.
CAREER
Eddie Murphy is a man of many talents. His career can be divided into 3 categories-
STAND UP COMEDIAN
Murphy basically started out as a Stand Up Comedian and his early comedy involved a lot of swearing. It was interesting. Murphy has always had a refreshing take on things that go unnoticed by the masses. Eddie was successful in releasing two stand-up specials. They were Eddie Murphy in 1982 and Delirious in 1983. Raw was released in 1987 and it was filmed in the famous Madison Square Garden in the Big Apple.
ACTOR
Murphy entered the acting scene as a regular actor at Saturday Night Live. Buckwheat was his most popular character. Murphy made his big debut in 1982, with a film called 48 hrs. The movie was a hit with the audience! His next movie, Trading Places, proved to be an even bigger hit than 48 hrs. Murphy’s first starring role was in Beverly Hills Cop which grossed over $230 million at the box office.
Murphy has starred in a supernatural comedy called The Golden Child, in 1986. But, this movie was not as critically acclaimed as his earlier movies like 48 hrs, Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop.
Paramount Pictures released all of his early films, which is indeed an honor.
In the 90s, Murphy was criticized by filmmaker Spike Lee. Spike Lee often showed displeasure towards Murphy because Murphy never used his fame and show business stature to help black actors break into the films even though all the films Murphy produced were predominantly featuring black casts.
The early 1990s weren’t really a bright phase in Murphy’s life but his box office results began to recover in 1996 with The Nutty Professor.
In 2007, Murphy was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In December, 2013, it was announced that Murphy would star in the Fourth Film of the Beverly Hills Cop series.
SINGER
Murphy is a man of many talents! He is also a singer and musician. He lent his voice to the song “The Boys Are Back in Town”which was featured in 48 hrs. He has two hit singles, “Party All the Time” and “Put Your Mouth on Me”. He also performed in a music video of the single “Whatzupwitu” featuring Micheal Jackson, the King of Pop. All of the musical work of Eddie Murphy has not received its due credit. Murphy even performed several songs in the Shrek film franchise. Presently, he is working on a new album titled 9.
FAMILY
Eddie Murphy married his long time sweetheart in 1993. He had five children with his wife Nicole Mitchell. Mitchell successfully divorced Murphy in 2006. As of 2008, Murphy has been residing in Long Island, New York. Murphy has also had children out of wedlock with Melanie Brown, Tamara Hood, and Paulette Mcneely. In 2008, Murphy exchanged marriage vows with Tracey Edmonds thought their wedding was never official. It was more of a symbolic union.
CONTROVERSIES
Murphy has led a clean life, as compared to the many actors of his generation. The most famous lawsuit filed against him was in 1988 where Art Buchwald sues Murphy and Paramount Pictures, alleging that they had used ideas from a screenplay he had submitted to Paramount as the basis for the film Coming to America. He never came into the limelight for any controversies.
PHILANTHROPY
Eddie Murphy is a man with a big heart. He has more than often been a part of many organizations that support various medical causes. He has been known to be associated with the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, where he donated a huge sum of money. He donates money to the AIDS Foundation, and charities for cancer, education, creative arts etc. He is also known to have donated $100, 000 to the Screen Actors’ Guild’s strike relief fund. Murphy is a man who has his feet firmly planted in the ground. Though he has received a lot of recognition for his work, he hasn’t let that get to his head
ASSETS
- Granite Bay, his house in California, is worth $6.5 million.
- Rooster Cay, an island, was bought by him in 2007. This island, at that time, cost him $15 million.
- Murphy has an undying love for automobiles. He is the proud owner of Rolls- Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, Rolls- Royce Phantom, Mercedes Benz SLS and Aston Martin Vanquish
THINGS YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT EDDIE MURPHY
- He is Kylie Minogue’ number one fan.
- He’s the first actor to receive one million dollars for his first film.
- He owns his own, personal island in the Bahamas, “Rooster Cay.”
- He loves Elvis Presley.
- He has played multiple roles in seven different movies.
- He was originally considered for the title role of the horror movie, “Candyman” in 1992.
Known for playing multiple roles in seven of his films
NOTABLE WORKS AND ROLES
- Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop.
- Various on Saturday Night Live.
- Donkey in Shrek series.
FUN QUOTES
- “I keep telling people I’ll make movies until I’m fifty and then I’ll go and do something else. I’m going to be a professional gentleman of leisure.”
- ‘”The advice I would give to someone is to not take anyone’s advice.”
- “I’ve always had confidence. It came because I have lots of initiative. I wanted to make something of myself.”
