Things you didn't know about Charlie Murphy

After a private battle with leukemia, actor and comedian Charlie Murphy passed away on April 12, 2017 at the age of 57. While many people are perhaps more familiar with his younger brother Eddie, Charlie Murphy was a hilarious talent in his own right—who left his mark on the world as a writer, music producer, actor, comedian and family man. If all you know him for is the iconic "Charlayyy Murphaaaayy!" shouted across a dance floor by Rick James (as played by Dave Chappelle), then you're truly missing out. As we remember Murphy and his legacy, let's take a look back at some of the events that shaped his life.

Eddie Murphy told Rolling Stone in 2011 that Charlie was definitely the "tougher" brother as they grew up. "Charlie was in gangs, and even now, Charlie's like extra ultra-macho…He has a black belt in karate. I got through a lot of school because the kids knew I was his brother, 'You don't f— with Eddie, his brother will kill you.' Charlie was a really tough guy."

Charlie was once part of the "King Python's Gang" on Long Island, where he was known as "L'il Boss." During his teenage years, Murphy would join an offshoot of the Nation of Islam called the "Five Percenters" for a time, adopting the name Omar Allah while he was a member. His gang connections would eventually catch up to him, as Charlie recalled in his 2009 memoir, The Making of a Stand-Up Guy. An impulsive decision to commit armed robbery with some buddies would result in 10 months of jail time in the Nassau County jail. The same day he got out of prison, Murphy finally made an effort to straighten out his life, joining the U.S. Navy in 1978 at age 18. "That's when I became a man," he later said. "In the military the reason you take the right path is they eliminate other choices. I needed that. They set me straight."

There's no question that Charlie Murphy had some serious writing chops. He started working on screenplays to serve as vehicles for his brother, and helped write both Vampire in Brooklyn and Norbit. According to Charlie, the very first movie he ever wrote, entitled The Peddler, was purchased by Paramount in the '80s. It was intended to be a movie for Eddie, but was never produced.

In 2003, Murphy got a big break when he was tapped to become a writer on a new Comedy Central series, Chappelle's Show. "They said, 'Get Charlie Murphy in here!' They called me up and I wasn't doing anything. I came down and I just did my thing." His "thing" included the hilarious "Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories" series, which soon became one of the most popular sketches on the show. After Chappelle's Show rose to prominence, Murphy quickly found new professional avenues opening.

Before his writing and acting career took off, Murphy dabbled in music during the late '80s. In particular, he worked with the The K-9 Posse, a hip-hop group comprised of Wardell Mahone and Murphy's half-brother, Vernon Lynch, Jr. Murphy would help manage the short-lived group, as well as writing at least two songs on their debut album, which he also produced. If you want a real blast from the past, check out their music video for "This Beat is Military," in which you can spot Murphy as the drill sargeant.

Murphy leaves behind his brother Eddie, half-brother Vernon Lynch, Jr., and a host of other relatives. His wife, Tisha Taylor Murphy, preceded him in death in 2009, following a two-year-long battle with cervical cancer. The couple had two children together, and Charlie also had another child from a previous relationship.

While it's unclear how long Charlie Murphy had been struggling with leukemia, TMZ reported the star had been undergoing chemotherapy treatment for the disease. Reportedly, Murphy had kept his illness a secret from most people, including his co-stars on Power, only letting close friends and family know what was going on. TMZ also reports that Murphy's death came as something of a shock to those who knew about his diagnosis, because they were under the impression that he was getting better.

After Chappelle's Show was cancelled in 2006 following Dave Chappelle's departure, Murphy was left trying to figure out what to do next. His former co-star Donnell Rawlings dared Murphy to try his hand at stand-up comedy, something he'd never attempted before. "I was supposed to do five minutes," he recalled, "[but] I went up for 15 minutes and I haven't stopped doing it ever since." As he explained to VICE, getting started in the stand-up business wasn't easy for him. "It's like, if Michael Jordan all of a sudden had a big brother who plays basketball and he's good, too. That does not compute for most people. So, I had to have anger to do this because there were going to be people saying, 'You can't do this.'"

Since then, Charlie definitely proved that he could do this, as he toured with his comedy act all over the world and even released his own stand-up comedy special in 2010, appropriately titled, "I Will Not Apologize." He told The A.V. Club that year, "Before stand-up, I didn't even have an agent. Once I started doing stand-up—boom. I got an agent. In fact, I got three agents. I got a lawyer. Now I get taken seriously…everyone else in the room, they respect you and they're not looking at you like he's so-and-so's brother. The reality is that I'm not 'Eddie Murphy's brother.' I'm Charlie Murphy."

He was Charlie Murphy. And he will be greatly missed.