BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Eddie Murphy Owns a Significant Place in Black History
The iconic comedian blazed a trail as an actor
Introduction
It was nearly impossible to not laugh each time Eddie Murphy showed up on my television. As a young child in the early 1980s, I was smitten with his every appearance in a Saturday Night Live sketch.
But even though SNL launched Murphy’s career, it was his overwhelming success as a film star during the decade that stamped him as an iconic trailblazer in black cinema.
Sure, African American movie legends such as Sidney Poitier and Cicely Tyson fought extreme racism and segregation — and they portrayed more important characters. But Eddie managed to steal the comedy spotlight from Richard Pryor and build it into massive commercial success as an actor.
He Was a Natural Movie Star From the Start
This earned him unprecedented clout in the film industry for a person of color, thanks to a string of box office hits. First, there was Murphy’s stunning movie debut in 1982’s 48 Hrs.
He portrayed Reggie Hammond, an ex-con who partners with a cop (Nick Nolte) to catch two cop killers. A scene in that film featured the 21-year old…
