Charles Quinton "Charlie" Murphy (July 12, 1959 – April 12, 2017) was an American actor, comedian, voice artist, and writer. Murphy was known as a writer and cast member of the Comedy Central sketch-comedy series Chappelle's Show. He was the older brother of Eddie Murphy. Murphy was born on July 12, 1959 in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. His mother, Lillian, was a telephone operator, and his father, Charles Edward Murphy, was a transit police officer and an amateur actor and comedian.
As an adolescent, he spent 10 months in jail. In 1978, on the day Murphy was released from jail, he enlisted in the United States Navy and served for six years as a Boiler Technician. In 1983, shortly before being discharged from the Navy, Murphy witnessed a mushroom cloud over Beirut. He later learned that it was the aftermath of the Beirut barracks bombing in which 307 people were killed.
Murphy was a resident of Tewksbury Township, New Jersey. He was married to Tisha Taylor Murphy from 1997 until her death from cervical cancer in December 2009. The couple had two children together, and Murphy has another child from a previous relationship. Charlie Murphy was a karate practitioner. Murphy died from leukemia on April 12, 2017, at age 57.
