Murphy, like many comedians, started in standup clubs.
His early comedy was characterized by frequent swearing and sketches lampooning a diverse group of people (including White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs), African Americans, Italian Americans, overweight people, and gay people).
Murphy first earned national attention as a cast member on Saturday Night Live (SNL) and was credited with helping to revitalize the show during the early 1980s.
He started making movies after leaving SNL and was very successful at first with movies like 48 Hrs., the Beverly Hills Cop series, Trading Places, and The Nutty Professor.
In his prime, Eddie Murphy was one of the funniest men alive. He was killing it with standup after standup, and his movies were just as hilarious.
Unfortunately, we’re talking about the ’80s here, and even a great turn as Donkey in the Shrek series can’t distract from how much of a downward spiral his career has found itself in.
Theatrical abominations like Norbit, Meet Dave, Imagine that and A Thousand Words all earned him Golden Raspberry nominations, all within the last decade. These days, Murphy seems more like a parody of his former self than the comedian we know and love.