Eddie Murphy's father died when Eddie was quite young, and he, his brother, and step-brother were raised by his mother, a telephone-company employee, and his stepfather, a foreman at a Breyer's Ice Cream plant. His comic talent was evident from an early age, and by 15 he was writing and performing his own routines at youth centers and local bars, as well as at the Roosevelt High School auditorium. Eventually, Murphy made it to a Manhattan showcase, The Comic Strip. The club's co-owners, Robert Wachs and Richard Tienken, were so impressed with Murphy's ability that they agreed to manage his career. Wachs and Tienken succeeded in getting Murphy an audition for the revamped "Saturday Night Live" (1975), where he was eventually cast as a featured player, but by the end of his first season, however, he had moved up to star status.

1. A Thousand Words (2012) - Actor 2. Tower Heist (Jaf... la turnul mare) (2011) - Slide

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3. Shrek Forever After (2010) - Donkey (voice)

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4. Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) - Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

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5. Imagine That (2009) - Evan Danielson 6. Meet Dave (Ţi-l prezint pe Dave) (2008) - Dave / Captain

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7. Shrek the Halls (2007) - Donkey (voice) 8. Norbit (2007) - Norbit / Rasputia / Mr. Wong 9. Norbit (2007) - (screenplay) & 10. Shrek the Third (2007) - Donkey (voice) 11. Dreamgirls (2006) - James 'Thunder' Early

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12. Shrek: Smash n' Crash Racing (2006) - Donkey (voice) 13. Saturday Night Live in the '80s: Lost & Found (2005) - Various (archive footage) 14. Meet the Cast of Shrek 2 (2004) - Himself 15. Shrek 2 (2004) - Donkey (voice) 16. Daddy Day Care (2003) - Charlie Hinton 17. The Haunted Mansion (2003) - Jim Evers 18. Shrek 4-D (2003) - Donkey (voice) 19. I Spy (2002) - Kelly 20. Showtime (2002) - Officer Trey Sellars 21. Shrek (2001) - Donkey (voice) 22. Bowfinger (1999) - Kit Ramsey / Jefferson 'Jiff' Ramsey 23. Saturday Night Live 25 (1999) - Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) 24. Saturday Night Live Christmas (1999) - Mister Robinson (archive footage) 25. Holy Man (1998) - G 26. Saturday Night Live: The Best of Eddie Murphy (1998) - uncredited 27. Saturday Night Live: The Best of Eddie Murphy (1998) - Himself / Various Characters (archive footage) 28. Mulan (1998) - Mushu (voice) 29. Metro (1997) - Insp. Scott Roper 30. Vampire in Brooklyn (1995) - Maximillian / Preacher Pauly / Guido 31. Vampire in Brooklyn (1995) - (story) & 32. Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) - Det. Axel Foley 33. Dangerous: The Short Films (1993) - Pharaoh ('Remember The Time' video) 34. "Late Show with David Letterman" (1993) - Himself (5 episodes, 1995-2011) 35. Johnny Carson's 29th Anniversary (1991) - Himself (archive footage) 36. Coming to America (1988) - (story) 37. Coming to America (1988) - Prince Akeem / Clarence / Randy Watson / Saul 38. Beverly Hills Cop (1984) - Det. Axel Foley 39. Trading Places (1983) - Billy Ray Valentine 40. "Saturday Night Live" (1975) - Various / ... (69 episodes, 1980-1984)

1. Was cast by "Saturday Night Live" (1975) and NBC in 1980 when he was 19 years old.

2. Ranked #78 in Empire (UK) magazine's Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time list (October 1997).

3. Born at 1:30pm-EST.

4. In a TV commercial never shown in the USA, Eddie Murphy kissed the front bumper of a Toyota sedan.

5. Has eight children: His first and oldest child was by 'Paulette McNeely': son Eric Murphy (born on 10 July 1989). He also has a child by 'Tamara Hood': son Christian Murphy (born on 29 November 1990) Murphy also fathered five children with Nicole Mitchell Murphy: daughter Bria L. Murphy (born on 18 November 1989 in Sacramento); son Miles Mitchell (born on 7 November 1992); daughter Shayne Audra (born on 10 Ocotber 1994); daughter Zola Ivy (born on 24 December 1999 in Los Angeles); and daughter Bella Zahra (born on 29 January 2002); and, One child with ex-girlfriend Melanie Brown a daughter, Angel Iris Murphy Brown (born on 3 April 2007).

6. Attended Nassau Community College in Garden City, New York, before beginning his acting career.

7. Did stand-up comedy at the same Bay Area Comedy Club as Robin Williams and Caryn Johnson (whose stage name eventually became Whoopi Goldberg) before getting into acting.

8. Was voted Most Popular while attending Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School in Roosevelt, New York, due to the stand-up comedy routines he would perform in the school's auditorium and jokes he would tell classmates during lunch.

9. Older brother Charles Q. Murphy is also an actor. Younger brother Vernon Jr. was half of the hip-hop group K-9 Posse, which released two albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

10. Won a Grammy for his 1983 comedy album "Comedian," which featured his stand-up routine.

11. Turned down the role of Winston Zeddemore in Ghost Busters (1984).

12. Idolized Richard Pryor and was inspired by him to do comedy. Went on to cast Pryor in his directorial debut Harlem Nights (1989).

13. At the height of his popularity in the mid 1980s, he began a music career, spawning the popular song "Party all the Time," which he recorded with Rick James. Also recorded an album in the early 90s, entitled "Whazzupwitu," in which he performs in a video of the single of the same name, alongside Michael Jackson. Murphy appeared in Jackson's "Remember the Time" video in 1992 alongside fellow celebrities Magic Johnson and Iman.

14. Dated actress Halle Berry.

15. Dated Robin Givens.

16. Close friends with former late night talk show host Arsenio Hall

17. Paid for the funeral of comedic inspiration Redd Foxx.

18. Was criticized tremendously by Spike Lee for not using his show business stature to help black actors break into film.

19. Named one of E!'s Top 20 Entertainers of 2001.

20. His wife Nicole Mitchell Murphy gave birth to their daughter Bella Zahra(30 January 2002).

21. Is the only cast member of "Saturday Night Live" (1975) to host while still a cast member. Nick Nolte was to host but fell ill and Eddie replaced him.

22. Was in a relationship with singer Whitney Houston before she married former husband, Bobby Brown.

23. Former wife, Nicole Mitchell Murphy, is an Associate with Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.

24. In 1997, he and his late-night encounter with Shalimar Seiuli was ranked #61 on E! TV's The Greatest Shocking Moments In Entertainment History.

25. His brother Charles Q. Murphy is a regular performer on the hit sketch comedy show "Chappelle's Show" (2003) on Comedy Central.

26. Has a house in Englewood, New Jersey.

27. Scored two hits on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts with "Party All the Time" (US #2, 1985) and "Put Your Mouth on Me" (US #27, 1989).

28. Although arguably the biggest movie star ever to come out of "Saturday Night Live" (1975), he has never attended a cast reunion and is not known to even talk about having been on the show.

29. Chosen as #10 in Comedy Central's 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comics of All Time.

30. Stepson of Vernon Lynch.

31. Hosted the MTV Movie Awards in 1993

32. At one time, was considered to play The Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000).

33. Met Nicole Mitchell Murphy in 1988 at an NAACP Image Awards show. They lived together for a year and a half before they married. They were married at the Grand Ballroom of The Plaza Hotel in New York City.

34. Was one of the last movie actors to sign an exclusive contract with a studio. In this case, it was Paramount Pictures, which released all of his early films.

35. Chris Rock is an admirer of Murphy and considers him his role model and inspiration to become an actor and comedian.

36. His favorite TV show is "Star Trek" (1966).

37. Nephew of Uncle Ray Murphy.

38. The first actor to receive $1,000,000 for his first film.

39. Huge fan of Elvis Presley.

40. Is mentioned, along with Vanessa Redgrave, and Joe Piscopo in the song "Jammin' Me", by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

41. He and his ex-wife, Nicole Mitchell Murphy, celebrated their first wedding anniversary in Montego Bay, Jamaica where they stayed for one week.

42. Ex-girlfriend Melanie Brown gave birth to a daughter, Angel Iris Murphy Brown, on 3 April 2007.

43. One of 115 people invited to join AMPAS in 2007.

44. A huge fan of the bands "Ratt" and "Cinderella", particularly the former as can be seen in The Golden Child (1986) where their song "Body Talk" (from their 1986 album "Dancing Undercover") is featured.

45. Got the idea of playing multiple roles in one film after watching another one of his idols, Peter Sellers, in one of his all time favorite films Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964).

46. Married Tracey E. Edmonds in a private ceremony on an island off Bora Bora on 1 January 2008, but their nuptials were not legal in the U.S. They initially decided to renew their vows in America, but eventually separated 2 weeks after their island wedding.

47. After picking up a pre-op transsexual prostitute on Santa Monica Boulveard in West Hollywood, he was arrested by LAPD deputies, but finally released (2 May 1997).

48. Was heavily influenced by Bill Cosby.

49. Born to Charles Edward Murphy, a transit police officer, and his wife Lilian, a telephone operator, his father left the family when Eddy was three years old and was stabbed five years later.

50. He is an avid fan of professional wrestling, with Hulk Hogan as his all time favorite wrestler.

51. Supports Senator Barack Obama's bid to win the Democratic nomination for the 2008 presidential election.

52. Was considered for the move Star Trek: The Voyage Home (1986) as a UFO-file who gets involved with Captain Kirk's search for a hump back whale.

53. Set a new Razzie Award record for most nominations by one person in a single year, with five nominations total. All of which were for the movie Norbit (2007). Murphy was nominated for Worst Actor (as the character Norbit), Worst Supporting Actor (as the character Mr. Wong), Worst Supporting Actress (as the character Rasputia), Worst Screen Couple (Eddie Murphy as Norbit and either Eddie Murphy as Mr. Wong or Eddie Murphy as Rasputia) and Worst Screenplay. He went on to "win" all three of the acting nominations, becoming the first person to ever "win" in both male and female acting categories in one year.

54. Although he frequently plays multiple characters in films and television, and has lent his voice to a dozen animated projects, he has never once voiced more then one character in the same animated project.

55. Was considered for the role of Furious Styles in Boyz n the Hood (1991).

56. Is a huge fan of Kylie Minogue.

57. At first denied that he was the father of Melanie Brown's daughter Angel until a DNA-test proved that he was.

58. Does an excellent impersonation of Stevie Wonder. This can be seen and heard on Saturday Night Live; Best of Eddie Murphy (last scene).

59. He doesn't drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes and the only drug he takes is caffeine.

60. Sold his Granite Bay vacation home, near Sacramento, for $6.1 million shortly after divorcing ex-wife, Nicole. [2008]

61. Vacations in Hawaii nearly every year, almost always staying at Maui's Four Seasons Hotel.

62. Was considered for the title role in Candyman (1992).

63. The first (and so far only) actor to receive a BAFTA nomination for a voiceover performance - Best Supporting Actor for Shrek (2001).

64. Was only nineteen years old when He joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live".