Charlie Murphy Gives Fans Crash Course in Stand-up

Michael Marotta - Knight Ridder/Tribune

Charlie Murphy is a "stand-up guy" -- just ask Dave Chappelle, Prince or the late great Rick James.

While known for two things -- being the older brother of Eddie and narrator of cult-hit segment "Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories" on 2005's "Chappelle's Show" -- Murphy is now carving his own niche in comedy.

He gave two hourlong performances to two capacity crowds Saturday night at the Wilbur Theatre, and the performances will be available on his first-ever feature DVD, "Makings of a Stand-Up Guy," later this year.

Though Murphy's knack for storytelling is legit, he does owe his fame to his brother. The first-person anecdotes on "Chappelle's Show" -- from nightclub run-ins with James to playing basketball with Prince -- while not completely rooted in reality, derived from hanging with Eddie's entourage in the 1980s.

Today, no matter where he goes, folks shout his name the way the James-impersonating Chappelle would call out to him on the show.

"I'm still having fun with that Charlie Murphy (expletive), hell yeah," he told the crowd. "Nobody ever whispers that (expletive). My name is now just one loud (expletive) sound. That (expletive) is crazy but I ain't complaining; I've been trying to get people's attention for a long time."

For years Murphy had smaller roles in Hollywood, from "Harlem Nights" to "CB4," but "Chappelle's Show" and his own sketch-comedy series, Crackle Web television network's "Crash Comedy," has made his name more than a catchphrase.

Murphy said he knew he'd arrived when a homeless drunk in San Francisco shouted out, "Char-lie Murphy!"

"Now that's famous -- that (expletive) didn't even know his own name," Murphy quipped.

But Murphy isn't just relying on old TV skits for cheap laughs and packed houses. After briefly touching on his name fame early on, Murphy launched into other topics, from Animal Planet's "Dog Whisperer" to former NFLer Michael Vick's jail time.

"If Johnnie Cochran was alive there's no way Michael Vick would be in prison," he said. "The week Johnnie Cochran died at least 10 people had to cancel their murders."

He also re-enacted scenes from the film "300," suggested Jigsaw from the "Saw" movies should oversee celebrity rehab and also verbally cut up Britney Spears, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Octomom, Bernie Madoff and Sarah Palin.

It was a rapid-fire performance by a seasoned comic riffing on current events, but none got a more raucous response than him simply shouting his name.

Charlie Murphy, that's the price of fame.

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