As fans mourn the sad news of Charlie Murphy’s passing at the age of 57 from Leukemia, I want to take a little time to celebrate his work from Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories, which I consider to be the greatest sketch comedy in the history of television.
Charlie Murphy’s narratives of how he came to meet pop stars Prince and Rick James were the apex of Comedy Central’s game changing Dave Chappelle Show. Charlie’s sibling-eyed take on the insane world of celebrity as he maneuvered through Hollywood alongside his legendary brother Eddie Murphy remains the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.
The two skits featuring Murphy’s dialogue and Chappelle acting out the parts of James and Prince rightfully spawned a million memes and GIFs, as lines like “I’m Rick James b*tch,” “game blouses,” “habitual line stepper” and “cocaine is a hell of a drug” became part of the common pop culture lexicon.
CHARLIE MURPHY’S TRUE HOLLYWOOD STORIES – PRINCE
CHARLIE MURPHY’S TRUE HOLLYWOOD STORIES – RICK JAMES
“Why don’t you purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka?” I laugh until it hurts. Every. Single. Time.
Thank you Charlie Murphy for that gift.
