NEW YORK CITY—On Wednesday, April 12, comedian Charlie Murphy, 57, older brother of actor and comedian Eddie Murphy, died in a New York City hospital after losing his battle with leukemia.

Charles Quinton Murphy was born on July 12, 1959 in Brooklyn, New York. Growing up, he often stuck up for his brother, Eddie, and defended him from bullies. In 1978, he enlisted in the United States Navy and served for 6 years.

In 1989, he made his feature film debut in “Harlem Nights,” alongside Eddie. He went on to appear in “Mo’ Better Blues” and “Jungle Fever” before landing a major role in the 1993 film “CB4.” He also appeared in the films “King’s Ransom,” “Night at the Museum,” and “The Perfect Holiday,” and the television series “Are We There Yet?” and “The Boondocks” as the voice of Ed Wuncler III. Murphy co-wrote several films with his brother, including “Vampire in Brooklyn” in 1995 and “Norbit” in 2007.

He is best known as a member of the Comedy Central sketch-comedy series, “Chappelle Show,” where he starred in some of Dave Chappelle’s most memorable skits from 2003 to 2006. He wrote and performed in “Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories,” where he recounted his experiences with celebrities in the 1980s, such as Rick James and Prince.

He launched his own sketch comedy series, “Charlie Murphy’s Crash Comedy” in 2009 and a stand-up special, “Charlie Murphy: I Will Not Apologize,” which premiered on Comedy Central in 2010. In 2016, he participated in the ‘Comedy Get Down’ tour with Cedric the Entertainer, Eddie Griffin, D.L., Hughley, and George Lopez.

On Tuesday, April 11 at 10 p.m., Murphy tweeted, “One to Sleep On: Release the past to rest as deeply as possible.”

Murphy is survived by three children. His wife, Tisha Taylor Murphy, passed away from cervical cancer in 2009.

After learning about his death, Kevin Hart, George Lopez, Mike Epps, and other actors and comedians took to social media to pay their tributes.

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