Charlie Murphy Speaks On Prince Fondly With Laughs And True Stories

Comedian Charlie Murphy is known for making people laugh especially at his incredible stories with the likes of Rick James and Prince in them. But Murphy has also had his share of hurt. Like when his wife died of cervical cancer in 2009 leaving him as a single parent. But it was comedy that the turned to in order to change his pain to laughter.

He had to do that again this year when his longtime friend Prince also died on April 21, 2016. We take a look back at some of the funny memories Murphy gave us about the talented musician and friend to many.

In 2004, a sketch on Dave Chappelle’s, “Chappelle’s Show” had Charlie telling the “True Hollywood Story” (seen in the above video) of the time Prince and his entourage challenged Murphy and his friends to a most unusual basketball game. Wearing eccentric outfits, Prince and his boys supposedly wielded some unbelievable skills that day, then celebrated a game well-played with short stacks for everyone.

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It was one of the funniest skits on the highly successful, award-winning show. People were talking about it, commenting on it and creating memes about it on social media. When Dave Chappelle decided not to do season 3 of the show, the shows with Charlie Murphy and Prince became one of the highest viewed re-runs of the show.

And in the first four days following Prince’s death in April 2016, the classic sketch that has Chappelle playing the basketball-loving Prince was viewed online nearly 600,000 times.

“Yes, he really did play basketball. You know it’s not crazy for a black man to play basketball. He could play. And I swear to God, yes he makes pancakes,” confessed Murphy.

(Prince Rogers Nelson on high school basketball team/via twitter)

Prince confirmed the whole pancake rumor when he used Dave Chappelle’s image of him on the cover of his hit single, “Breakfast Can Wait.”

“I got game and he don’t,” Prince said in an interview in 2015. “And it’s not that I’m that great, it’s just he’s that bad. (laughing).”

Prince continued with “It’s funny too because shortly after that Dave came over to the house and we were just chilling and I turned to Dave and said, ‘Dave, you want some pancakes?’ And we bust out laughing!”

After his death, Charlie spoke with TMZ about his longtime friend:

“First thing I want to say is may he rest in peace. What Prince meant to me is pretty much what he meant to everyone,” explains Murphy. “He was a music icon, a musical genius. If I were to put a soundtrack to my life, he was my soundtrack: “When Doves Cry,” “Purple Rain,” “Raspberry Beret”…those songs all take me back to the time and feelings I had in that era. He also had a powerful influence. He was the one who made androgyny popular. To the point where I saw Jim Brown, the hardcore football player athlete wearing a glitter jacket.”

Charlie went on to say how shocked he was that people were surprised Prince was such an athlete. “If you were to see see one of Prince’s live shows with the the dancing, air splits and everything and his show being 2 and a 1/2 hours long, how can you not think that this dude was an athlete? He was an athlete and he will be missed.”

Here’s some hilarious outtakes from the Prince/Charlie Murphy skits below: