Eddie Murphy

EDDIE MURPHY
 
 
Eddie Murphy  (born April 3, 1961) is an American comedian, actor, writer, singer, and producer.  Murphy was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984.  He has worked as a stand-up comedian and was ranked #10 on Comedy Central’s list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.  In films, Murphy has received Golden Globe Award nominations for his performances in 48 Hrs., the Beverly Hills Cop series, Trading Places, and The Nutty Professor.  In 2007, he won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of soul singer James “Thunder” Early in Dreamgirls.  Murphy’s work as a voice actor in films includes Thurgood Stubbs in The PJs, Donkey in DreamWorks’ Shrek series, and the Chinese dragon Mushu in Disney’s Mulan.  In some films, he plays multiple roles in addition to his main character, intended as a tribute to one of his idols Peter Sellers, who played multiple roles in Dr. Strangelove and elsewhere.  In 2015, Murphy was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  (More from Wikipedia)
 
 

The saga of the Supremes formed much of the story line for the hit musical Dreamgirls.  The musical opened on Broadway in 1981 and won 6 Tony Awards.  Twenty-five years later, in 2006Dreamgirls was made into a popular film starring Jamie FoxxBeyoncé KnowlesEddie Murphy, and (fresh from finishing as a finalist on American IdolJennifer Hudson.  At $80 million, Dreamgirls is the most expensive film ever to feature an all–African-American starring cast.  

 

Dreamgirls created drama at the Oscars that year to match what was being portrayed on the screen.  Despite not being nominated for Best Director or Best Picture (or any nominations for Best Actor or Best Actress either, for that matter), Dreamgirls had the most Academy Award nominations in 2007 with eight – a first at the Academy Awards.  In a rare feat for an actor in a debut role, Jennifer Hudson was named Best Supporting Actress, but Eddie Murphy’s loss to Alan Arkin (for his role in the quirky and delightful comedy Little Miss Sunshine) as Best Supporting Actor was regarded as an upset.  Three of the songs from Dreamgirls were nominated for Best Song, but they also lost out to the Melissa Etheridge song “I Need to Wake Up” from the Al Gore documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth.  

 

It was a different story at the Golden Globes, where both Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy won in their categories, and Dreamgirls took the award for Best Picture – Comedy or MusicalBeyoncé Knowles was also nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical.  

 

(April 2015/1)

 

Last edited: March 22, 2021