The older brother of Eddie Murphy, Charlie Murphy, who was also a successful stand-up comedian and performer has died. According to Charlie’s rep Domenick Nati, he died from leukemia on Wednesday morning in a New York hospital. He was 57. Charlie had been going through chemotherapy and was actually getting better at a point. Thus, his family members said they were absolutely shocked and surprised when he kicked the proverbial bucket.
A long-time comic, Charly Murphy rose to fame for his part on Dave Chapelle’s popular Chapelle’s Show on Comedy Central, where he was a co-star and writer. Aside being best-known for his appearances on the show, Charlie also collaborated with writing his brother’s starring films Norbert and Vampire in Brooklyn. He also voiced a role in the animated TV series that include The Boondocks and appeared in the comedy series Black Jesus. Charlie’s feature films include Our Family Wedding, King’s Ransom and CB4. He is also credited with appearances to air later this year on the hit TV drama series Power. Other movies he had appeared in include; Jungle Fever, Lottery Ticket. He recently toured with Cedric the Entertainer, Eddie Griffin, George Lopez and D.L. Hughley on “The Comedy Get Down.” A day before his death, Charlie tweeted; “One to Sleep On: Release the past to rest as deeply as possible.”
Following the comedian’s death, counterpart Chris Rock, took to Twitter to announce the sad news and pay tribute; “We just lost one of the funniest most real brothers of all time. Charlie Murphy RIP.”