Comedian Charlie Murphy died yesterday after a battle with leukemia. He was 57. TMZ reports that the late comedian’s manager revealed that Murphy died at a New York City hospital, where he had been undergoing chemotherapy. Family members say they were shocked to learn of the comedian’s passing because they thought his health was progressing.
A long time comic, Murphy rose to fame for his work on Chapelle’s Show, where he was a co-star and writer. His recurring skit Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories, which recalled celebrity encounters he and his younger brother Eddie Murphy had with Rick James and, Prince.
It was these bits I drew inspiration from in 2008, when Charlie stopped by the show to promote his appearances at the Funny Bone that weekend. We had a good conversation about his career, and then -- after the interview was over -- I told him I wrote a bit for him, "Charlie Murphy's True KFAB Story," and asked if he wanted to do it.
The head-shaking started immediately, not just from Charlie, but from his entourage around him that morning. Excuses like "copyright violation" and "too busy, we gotta go" started flying around. I said that's fine, and thanked him for coming on the radio show.
"Wait ... let me read it," said Charlie. I handed him the script. After a minute of staring at it, he starts to smile. "Ok, let's do this."
I quickly ushered him into a production studio before he changed his mind, and he recorded his lines, ad-libbing as he went along (I don't think I've ever written the word "buttcheeks" ... until now).
Thus, a bit was born, with the only stipulation from his crew being that they wanted to approve of the finished product first before I put it on the air. Thankfully, they approved.
CLICK HERE for Charlie Murphy's True KFAB Story.