Charles Quinton Murphy was born in Brooklyn on July 12, 1959 to parents Lillian Laney and Charles Edward Murphy Sr. His mother was a telephone operator and his father was a transit police officer and amateur actor and comedian. His father was murdered when he was just a young child and it was a very tough time for him, which lead him down the wrong path as he grew up. Around the age 18 he had some trouble with the law and that made his mother force him to join the Navy. That is where he began to turn his life around for the better.
While in the service he was introduced to a woman named Rosalind Ballance. They would later get married and have their first child, Charles Edward Murphy Jr. They would later separate.
In 1985 he was honorably discharged from the Navy. After the service he began working with his younger brother Eddie. While working with his brother, Charlie wanted to pursue his own career as an actor. He was cast in such movies as, Harlem Nights, Mo’ Better Blues and Jungle Fever but it wasn’t until 1993 when he was booked for his first major role in the film, CB4 where he played the hilarious role of Gusto. Around this time he would meet a young lady by the name of Tisha Taylor. They got married in 1997 and had 2 children together, son Xavier and daughter Ava.
While he also starred in movies, he also made appearances on shows such as, Martin and The Kid Who Loved Christmas. In 2002 he became a regular cast member of the Chappelle Show. This is where his fame really began to take off. While on the show he shared one of the funniest stories ever told, about him and good friend Rick James. He would soon and forever be referred to as CHAALLIIEE MURRPHHAAAYYY! After his success on Chappelle Show he would take to the stage as a stand up comedian because of a dare. He was only supposed to do five minutes but ended up doing fifteen. His rough and rugged attitude along with his unique ability to tell stories as a comic pulled in fans from all over the world. He sold out shows in Iceland, Sweden, Norway, United Kingdom, Holland, Australia, Canada, Abu Dhabi and Scotland.
In 2009 Charlie became a widow after Tisha’s death due to her battle with cervical cancer. This changed Charlie’s life as a parent. With such a busy schedule doing gigs and working on shows he made sure to head straight home to spend as much time with his children as possible, even sometimes canceling or not booking future gigs.
In 2010 he did his first comedy special titled “I Will Not Apologize”. This was just the tip of the iceberg for Charlie. He would go on to headline many shows and even share the stage with other comedic legends. For the last few years he’s been a part of the funny “Comedy Get Down” Tour with four of the funniest comics in the game (DL Hughley, George Lopez, Cedric the Entertainer and Eddie Griffin).
Recently Charlie was diagnosed with Leukemia. Many people were unaware of his health condition because he was very private about it. Even though he was going through a tough battle, you could never tell because he was always in good spirits when you spoke with him. He stilled went to work making millions of people laugh. On April 12, 2017 his visit here was done and he went to be with his wife. He is survived through his 3 children and grandson. He’s now with our creator and putting smiles on the faces of everyone there.
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