Usually when someone passes those who casually
knew them mourn for a week or two. Those who
were in their inner circle grieve for a lifetime. In the
case of celebrities, it depends on the impact they
had on your life, but it’s usually the two-week
treatment - max. Well, Charlie Murphy made us all
feel like we were in the inner circle.
He possessed
that rare trait known as familiarity. Whether he was
your uncle, brother or just a cool friend, Charlie was
instantly comfortable to you. That’s why his passing
was so uncomfortable.
I never met anybody who had anything bad to say
about Charlie.
That’s not hindsight, but an
observation made many times in real time.
If he
had any enemies they were wise enough to keep
their animosity to themselves or suffer a stern butt
whooping from those who loved the guy or worse –
from Charlie himself. He was playful, but didn’t play.
Funny, but never funny style.
The kind of man
whose word meant something in an industry where
words offstage mean very little.
Charlie could’ve been anybody’s brother, but the
fact he was the sibling of one of the biggest stars in
Hollywood made it more unique that he was so cool.
Show business is full of nepotism and lanes blocked by
the undeserving. That wasn’t the case with Charlie.
Once you met him you forgot he was Eddie Murphy’s
brother because he was too busy being Charlie
Murphy. He was his own talent who refused to be
recognized as anything but that.
I could give the point-by-point events of his life and
career and it would be a fine way to say good-bye,
but the truth is Charlie’s physical body left. What
remains is the work. If there’s a Charlie Murphy
scripted film shown or he pops up in a movie or
viewed from a television appearance or stand-up
footage – Charlie ain’t gone nowhere. He will bring
a smile to faces generations from now.
So even
though millions didn’t know him in their personal life
they will be touched by his impact forever in their
personal lifetimes.
The first time I spoke to Charlie was over the
telephone in 2005. I was writing a book on Black
comedy and I was hoping Charlie would be a part
of it. I had no idea the influence he would have
on the project. Obviously, I wanted to talk to his
brother and maybe he could help me in that
regard, but as I told Charlie, I wanted him for the
work he’d done in his own right. He quickly let me
know he appreciated that because he was tired of
people trying to use him to get to Eddie.
Most of the phone interviews I’d done up to that
juncture lasted little more than 20 minutes. Charlie
and I talked for 90. Turned out he’d liked my work
for years and was more than happy to help me.
Once we discussed everything under the sun and
were in the midst of wrapping it up, it was Charlie
who asked if I was scheduled to talked to Eddie.
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