- Was one of the most powerful celebrity according to 2003 Forbes Top 100 Celebrity List (#18)
- Murphy says he likes I SPY Character - he says his character in his latest flick is just the sort of guy he loves to play - aggressive, arrogant and loud. (November 2, 2002)
- Ranked #78 in Empire (UK) magazine's The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time list. (October 1997)
- Close friends with former late night talk show host Arsenio Hall
- Criticized tremendously by Spike Lee for not using his show business stature to help black actors break into film.
- Did stand-up comedy at the same Bay Area Comedy Club as Robin Williams and Caryn Johnson (who's stage name eventually became Whoopi Goldberg ) before getting into acting.
- Is terrified of flying.
- Idolized Richard Pryor and was inspired by him to do comedy. Went on to cast Pryor in his directorial debut HARLEM NIGHTS (1989).
- In a TV commercial never shown in the USA, Eddie Murphy kissed the front bumper of a Toyota sedan.
- In BEVERLY HILLS COP (1984), there's a part when Murphy's character is throwing one of the Beverly Hills thugs over a buffet table at a fancy Harrow country club. If you watch is closely, or freeze frame just as his face is seen, you can clearly notice that it's a stunt man throwing him over the table. In fact, the stunt man looks kind of like Richard Pryor! But he's clearly built better than Murphy.
- Paid for the funeral of comedic inspiration Redd Foxx
- Signed with Saturday Night Live and NBC when he was 19 years old.
- Turned down the role of Winston Zeddemore in GHOSTBUSTERS (1984).
- Voted Most Popular in high school, due to the stand-up comedy routines he would perform in the school's auditorium and jokes he would tell classmates during lunch.
- Was ordered by a court to give 19% of his earnings to co-writer Art Buchwald because Murphy did not give Buchwald credit for developing the story with him in COMING TO AMERICA (1988)
- During the filming of a scene in 48 HRS. (1982) where Denise Crosby hits him in the stomach with a rubber baseball bat prop, Murphy was afraid Crosby would actually hit him instead of stopping about a foot away like all staged movie blows. She demonstrated her control on both Walter Hill and Nick Nolte to assure Murphy, but ended up hitting him anyway during a take.
- He was at one time considered to play The Grinch (HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (2000))
- In the scene of LIFE (1999) where Rayford (Murphy) is getting beat up in a fight with Rayford Goldmouth says to Goldmouth: I know a bitch named Della who hits harder than you. This is a reference to HARLEM NIGHTS (1989), in which Murphy's character is beat up in a fight with a madame played by Della Reese.
- STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME (1986) was originally supposed to have him instead of Catherine Hicks. Murphy was supposed to be a professor concerned with UFO's who spots the de-cloaking Klingon ship at the Super Bowl. Apparently, all others are convinced the ship is a half-time special effect while Murphy believes it is real. Paramount declined this script for two reasons: Paramount didn't want to combine their two most profitable franchises (STAR TREK AND BEVERLY HILLS COP), and Murphy had signed on to do THE GOLDEN CHILD (1986) instead.
- Was nominated Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical in 2001 for NUTTY PROFESSOR II: THE KLUMPS.
- Murphy's latest movie, PLUTO NASH, has received some of the worst reviews of recent time, with not a single American critic having anything good to say about the movie at all.
- Funk-icon Rick James produced Murphy's How Could it Be R&B record
- Was once paid $1 per minute as a stand-up comedian
- Was champion of his high school for playing the doznes
- Sometimes Credited As: Fred Braughton
- Began performing as a stand-up comedian in Long Island clubs at age 15
- In a TV commercial never shown in the USA, Murphy kissed the front bumper of a Toyota sedan.
- Did stand-up comedy at the same Bay Area Comedy Club as Robin Williams and Caryn Johnson (whose stage name eventually became Whoopi Goldberg) before getting into acting.
- Named one of E!'s top 20 entertainers of 2001.
- At the height of his popularity in the mid 1980s, Murphy began a music career, spawning the popular song Party all the Time, which he recorded with Rick James. Also recorded an album in the early '90s entitled Whazzupwitu, in which he performs in a video of the single of the same name, alongside Michael Jackson. Murphy appeared in Jackson's Remember the Time video in 1992, alongside fellow celebrities Magic Johnson and Iman.
- Hosted the very first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. Went on to do it again the next year.
- Is the only cast member of Saturday Night Live to host while still a cast member. Nick Nolte was to host but fell ill and Eddie replaced him.
- Has starred in more different sequels than any other actor: BEVERLY HILLS COP II, ANOTHER 48 HOURS, DOCTOR DOOLITTLE 2, NUTTY PROFESSOR: THE KLUMPS, and SHREK II.
- Was paid $10,000,000 for SHREK 2 (2004)
- Was paid $20,000,000 for THE ADVENTURES OF PLUTO NASH (2002)
- Was paid $20,000,000 for DR. DOLITTLE 2 (2001)
- Was paid $20,000,000 (and 20% of the gross) for NUTTY PROFESSOR II: THE KLUMPS (2000)
- Was paid $17,000,000 for DOCTOR DOLITTLE (1998)
- Was paid $12,000,000 for THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1996)
- Was paid $15,000,000 for BEVERLY HILLS COP III (1994)
- Was paid $1,000,000 for BEST DEFENSE (1984)
- Nominated for Best On-Screen Team at MTV Movie Awards for SHREK (2002) - shared with Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers
- Nominated for Best Comedic Performance at MTV Movie Awards for SHREK (2002)
- Nominated for Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role at BAFTA Awards for SHREK (2002)
- Nominated for Best Comedic Performance at MTV Movie Awards for NUTTY PROFESSOR II: THE KLUMPS (2001)
- Nominated for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less), The PJs (1999)
- Nominated for Best Comedic Performance at MTV Movie Awards for THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1997)
- Nominated for Best Male Performance at MTV Movie Awards for THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1997)
- Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical at Golden Globe Awards for THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1997)
- Nominated for Best Comedic Performance at MTV Movie Awards for BOOMERANG (1993)
- Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical at Golden Globe Awards for BEVERLY HILLS COP (1985)
- Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical at Golden Globe Awards for TRADING PLACES (1984)
- Nominated for New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture - Male at Golden Globe Awards for 48 HRS. (1983)
Quotes- "Every bad decision I've made has been based on money. I grew up in the projects and you don't turn down money there. You take it, because you never know when it's all going to end. I made COP III because they offered me $15 million. That $15 million was worth having Roger Ebert's thumb up my ass."
- "Every bad decision I've made has been based on money. I grew up in the projects and you don't turn down money there. You take it, because you never know when it's all going to end. I made COP III because they offered me $15 million. That $15 million was worth having Roger Ebert's thumb up my ass."
- "I'd like to produce, direct, write, score, and star in a film in exactly the way [Charlie] Chaplin did. I'll do that before I'm thirty." - in 1985
- "I'm Gumby, damnit!"
- "The strangest thing I ever hear is when people say my career is in trouble. How can some journalist look at my career and ask if it's in decline? Why don't they write that shit about Christian Slater? He's made about 30 bad movies...So what if my career dies? I stopped thinking in terms of career $80 million ago. If it ends, I'll sit home and chill and raise babies."
Awards- Kids' Choice Awards: Blimp Award - Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie, SHREK (2002)
- People's Choice Awards: Favorite Motion Picture Star in a Comedy (2002)
- Annie Awards: Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Feature Production, SHREK (2001)
- Blockbuster Entertainment Awards: Favorite Actor - Comedy, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1997)
- National Society of Film Critics Awards: Best Actor, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1997)
- Saturn Award: Best Actor, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1997)
- ShoWest Convention: Special Award - Star of the Decade (1992)
- Image Awards: Special Award - Entertainer of the Year (1990)
- Razzie Awards: Worst Screenplay, HARLEM NIGHTS (1990)
- People's Choice Awards: Favorite Comedy Motion Picture Actor (1989)
- American Cinematheque Gala Tribute: American Cinematheque Award (1987)
- ShoWest Convention: Special Award - Star of the Year (1985)
- Grammy for his comedy album Eddie Murphy: Comedian, which featured his stand-up routine (1983)
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