Charlie Murphy.
(Image credit: HECTOR MATA/AFP/Getty Images)

Comedian Charlie Murphy died of leukemia Wednesday morning, TMZ reports. He was 57. The older brother of Eddie Murphy, Charlie co-wrote films including Norbit and Vampire in Brooklyn and starred on Are We There Yet?, The Boondocks, and Black Jesus. He is perhaps best known for his role as a co-star on Dave Chappelle's sketch series, Chappelle's Show.

TMZ reports that Murphy had been undergoing chemotherapy and that family members are "absolutely shocked because they thought he was getting better." Murphy's wife, Tisha Taylor Murphy, died from cervical cancer in 2009. They had two children together, and Murphy had a third child from an earlier relationship.

Watch Murphy's famous routine describing a game of pick-up basketball with Prince on Chappelle's Show below. Jeva Lange

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Iframe Code

Chappelle's Show

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.