>>PREVIEW
CHARLIE MURPHY
June 17
Archie Boyce Theatre (Calgary Exhibition and Stampede)
And then Charlie Murphy had to pee. He chases an anecdote he’s probably told a 1000 times about working on Chappelle’s Show into a phone behind the washroom door of a Hawaiian radio station.
"I was actually heading to the bathroom," apologizes the comedian. "Soon as I walked out, they hand me the phone. I’m dancing outside this place right now. I got to go. I don’t want you to hear this."
That’s how the interview ends. The man who kicked the shit out of Rick James, challenged Prince to basketball and blueberry pancakes and the shakiest hater at the Player Hater’s Ball, once the feared bodyguard of his older brother, Eddie Murphy, unable to finish his pee-pee dance because of an interview. Such is the life of someone who doesn’t put a priority on urinating. With more than five movies slated for release this year, a new reality show in the works at Comedy Central with Donnell Rawlings (Think Kenny vs. Spenny, but you know… with black people) and a rejuvenated screenwriting career, you’d need a Norbit-sized grenade to stop him. This is the man whose name demands to be said in full, even when he’s talking about himself.
"I remember being bored on the couch," says Charlie Murphy. "I’m just trying to make everybody know that Charlie Murphy is here, man. That’s what Charlie Murphy do."
Today is spent in Hawaii, promoting his standup comedy show. Despite his busy movie schedule and a following of college boys sloshing his name in Rick James impressions at the bottom of a plastic cup, standup is where his heart is at. After his day job ended when Chappelle decided to find himself in Africa, Charlie Murphy found he liked it under the blinding light that only a tiny standup stage can offer.
"People wanted to see me do standup," he explains. "I wasn’t scared of taking on the challenge, but my first time onstage was very scary, man. Get on stage and see if you can stand there for five minutes. I got up there for 15 minutes and got a round of applause when I left, so I thought maybe I’ll keep trying this."
Don’t expect rehashes of his True Hollywood Stories or reenactments of old skits. Charlie Murphy has moved pass that, exploring life after Chappelle. Says the comedian, "My standup act is one where a lot of things I say, even though they funny, are thought provoking. You laughing about it, but that’s real. That’s what people want to hear."
And the people approve. Charlie Murphy plays soldout shows around the world on a regular basis. Of course, that doesn’t stop some asshole from trying to interrupt his set with a "I’m Rick James, bitch" or any other line from the show that propelled him into the spotlight. It’s something Charlie Murphy has grown accustomed to.
"That was more prevalent back then, ’cause I had less to say," admits Charlie Murphy about overzealous audience members unwilling to let go of the past. "The less you have to say, the less you engage the audience and more you give somebody in the audience an opportunity to pirate the show. Fighting was all I knew back then. ‘You going to break the show up, I tell you what? Comedy and tragedy are related, I just punch you in the face and the audience will still get their money’s worth.’ And the person would shut up with that.
"People would be scared by then. ‘I thought Charlie Murphy was nice.’ That was all I knew how to do back then. Now, I just handle them with words. I will take you right to the rack. As soon as they start up, ‘You think you can ruin me? I’ll ruin you.’ I welcome criticism. At the same time, I want to defend myself. You want to get in the word game, come on and get in the ring."
Underneath the smile that would put a thousand Wal-Mart greeters out of work and an endless enthusiasm, the pugilist shows his teeth. He’s a man unfazed by the fame, money and women. Regardless of his connection to two of the world’s biggest comedians, regardless of his time in the spotlight, Charlie Murphy never forgets where he comes from. His name, yelled into a telephone, is the first thing he hears. That’s how the interview begins. |
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