Quotes from Charlie Murphy

If you don't know things, you know, you just go by your instinct.

A comic's like anybody else - he does what he does to support himself and feed his family. But if a comic says the wrong thing, there's a chance the audience will want to take you down.

Eddie had the perfect template of what not to do. His big brother did all the wrong things.

I'm always working, and I'm a single parent, so I don't think I have time for stuff most normal people do.

The whole thing with the Rick James story sketch and the Prince story sketch - I recounted my past, you know? - and that's what I was doing. It's not like I sat down and said I want to come up with a great story about Rick James. That stuff really happened.

I used to irritate people. I'd give them a hard time, and when it drove them crazy, that was funny to me.

I wasn't drawn to comedy: it was drawn to me - from fighting in school to going to jail, then joining the military and getting into Hollywood.

Comedy has bits, has jokes, has stories, and it has characters.

My background is part of my comedy. Your experiences are where the jokes come from.

You have comedians who just do jokes, and they're called comics, not comedians. You have comedians that do bits - a person that has a lot of jokes that have a beginning, a middle and an end, but it's not a real story. And you have someone that does great stories, the one that blends those things together - that person is doing comedy.

If I look at my family tree and follow every generation before us, going all the way back to the slaves, then Eddie Murphy is the highest achievement as far as my bloodline is concerned. How could you be jealous? You can only be proud, unless you got some serious issues.

I was always proud of my brother. He helped me tremendously, but we're family, so we were never in his shadow.

I didn't go to no school for acting. I learned it all by trial and error.

I was into basketball, football, karate, boxing.

Gangs are formed by kids who want love.

I don't hang out with soft cats.

I guess I must have a good metabolism.

'Chappelle's Show' was like the Tupac of TV shows. It came out, it got everybody's attention, it was a bright shining star, but it burned out, and for some strange reason, it burned out quick.

I may make you angry or make you feel sorry for me, but in the end, you appreciate my show because it's not one-dimensional.

I look at the world and I find the funny in it, because there's funny in everything. No matter how ugly it may be, there's a funny way to look at it.

My own son called me Eddie Murphy's brother once. Once.

Several of my uncles are comedians. My father is a comedian; my grandfather was known for his jokes. It definitely runs in the family.

I've been called Mr. Eddie's brother, but I don't trip on that. Whether you realize it or not, that's a sign of disrespect. If you address me, call me by my name. You can't lower me or make me feel uncomfortable.

I feel blessed to be able to do my stand up comedy all over the world, because some people never even leave New York.