July 4, 2006
 
TV PROFILE: Charlie Murphy Steps into Chappelle’s Shoes
 
By Terry Morrow
Scripps Howard News Service
 

Charlie Murphy, older brother of Eddie Murphy, will step in for Dave Chappelle on "Chappelle's Show." (SHNS photo courtesy Comedy Central)

It's called "Chappelle's Show," but now it's also Charlie Murphy's. "I deserve this. I have been in movies 17 years and never got an opportunity like this," Murphy says during a telephone interview.
 
After more than two years between new episodes, "Chappelle's Show" is back sans Dave Chappelle. He walked away in the middle of making season three. So Comedy Central, with enough material for three new episodes, is running what Chappelle left behind (9 p.m., EDT/PDT).
 
But without Chappelle to shepherd the introductions and exits from the sketches, the channel asked "Chappelle" regulars Charlie Murphy and Donnell Rawlings to step in.
 
We'll see sketches starring Chappelle, but everything else is Murphy and Rawlings, mainly doing a little bit of standup in front of a studio audience -- the kind of stuff Chappelle would have done normally. For Murphy, the 47-year-old brother of Eddie Murphy who was the brunt of several "Chappelle" jokes and sketches, this is his chance to shine. He unapologetically wants to go with it.
 
"I always thought I was capable of doing more," he says. "I have been on the road doing standup for years. How can you tell me that I can't do this? How can you tell me I am not funny?
 
"You can't do that anymore."
 
Up until now, Murphy says his career was in the shadows of his brother. These days, Murphy doesn't care what Chappelle might think of this latest twist (Chappelle has reportedly said he doesn't like the idea of Comedy Central airing these "lost" episodes).
 
If Chappelle wants to walk away from his show, Murphy says, then it shouldn't matter if Murphy picks up the pieces. "My gift (for comedy) comes from God. I use it within the confines of my own personal belief in myself," he says. "Dave is Dave. I'm Charlie. "He's got his kids to feed, and I've got mine. I don't make decisions based on what somebody else thinks. I don't work for him."
 
There's no denying that exposure on "Chappelle" heightened Murphy's profile.
 
He went from being Eddie Murphy's brother to a comedy talent all his own.
 
Charlie Murphy first came to the attention of audiences when Chappelle reenacted Murphy's tall-tales encounters with pop mega-star Prince and Rick James. According to these stories, the diminutive and high-heel wearing Prince bested Murphy in basketball while James slapped Murphy in one of the show's hallmark moments.
 
From there, Murphy made other appearances and even spawned the show's most-popular catchphrase: "I'm (fill in a name here), (word that rhymes with witch)."
 
The catchphrase dogged Chappelle so badly that he said it interfered with his standup routines. Fans would yell the catchphrase from the audience, interrupting punch lines and the flow of the routine. Murphy hears it all the time, too, but he says he can handle it.
 
"People yell out 'Charlie Murphy.' That's not a character. It's my real name," he says. "You know what that took the place of? It took the place of 'wow, he sure looks like Eddie Murphy.'"
 
Now, Murphy's career is going beyond "Chappelle." He's working on "Twist the Cap," a big-screen comedy. He's also recently completed work on "Unearthed," a sci-fi thriller.
 
"'Chappelle's Show' has shown people I can do more than one thing," he says.
 
"Anyone who is talking about things I can do or things I can't do doesn't know what they are talking about."
 
Contact Terry Morrow of The Knoxville News Sentinel in Tennessee at www.knoxnews.com