THe late great comedian Charlie Murphy is no longer with us. He was perhaps best known as a writer and cast member of the Comedy Central sketch-comedy series Chappelle’s Show as well as the co-star of the sitcom Black Jesus. Not only was he the older brother of actor and comedian Eddie Murphy, he was also a great story teller.
On the 2018 season of the highly-rated Starz hit show, POWER, you saw his familiar face in an unfamiliar role: playing a prison guard named Marshal Williams.
Charlie Murphy kept his battle with leukemia so private, most people who worked with him on “Power” had no idea he was sick. Production sources on the show, which stars 50 Cent, told TMZ that they had no idea Charlie was dealing with cancer. Charlie never told anybody on set and put in the work like everybody else.
Murphy’s character takes a special interest in “Ghost,” who is played by Omari Hardwick. This proves problematic for Hardwick’s character as he attempts to navigate prison without revealing his ties to the underworld.
“Promoting is not that easy for me,” said Hardwick. “But with Charlie having passed, I feel honored to promote the show this season if that makes sense. It’s more of an honor because he was such a part of this season. We’re all better because we got to work with his crazy ass.”
A rep for the Starz network issued a statement, “Starz sends our deepest condolences to Charlie’s family and friends. He joined ‘Power’ for our upcoming season, and his talent shines in every scene. We were fortunate to have worked with him.”
Despite his acting skills, Charlie Murphy is a great storyteller. No, like FOR REAL. It’s not just how he tells the story with such detail like it was just yesterday. He also paints a picture that is so vivid, you can’t help but to laugh. But the best part of Charlie Murphy’s stories is that most of his stories are true. It’s like, “how can any of these stories be true?” but time and time again its confirmed that it’s true.
Now that Charlie’s gone, let’s still remember him with a few of his funniest moments: