Eddie Murphy explains the dual influence of Elvis Presley
Eddie Murphy has spoken about Elvis Presley’s conflicting place in cultural history, claiming he had a two-fold impact on his life. For the actor, the King is both an inspiration and a cautionary tale.
After shooting to fame in the 1980s after appearing on Saturday Night Live, Murphy has remained one of the most famous faces in comedy ever since. With films like The Nutty Professor, Daddy Day Care, Dr Dotlittle and plenty more, the actor established himself as one of the most beloved and renowned figures in the genre.
But as his star rose fast, Murphy is now acutely aware of the dangers of that. “I was totally in my Elvis trip [around the time he filmed Raw and the Delirious TV special],” he told The New York Times. In 1983, when he filmed Delirious, Murphy became a household name and reached new heights of fame. It not only shot him into the limelight but afforded him more money than he’d ever had before, which can be a bad thing for some.
As he calls it his “Elvis trip”, he’s referring to Presley’s own swift rise to the top, as he suddenly became the most famous man in America. With money at his disposal and status on his side, that’s when Presley began overspending and overindulging, eventually leading him to ill-health and contractual chaos later in life. But at the time, he was having fun, and during his own Elvis moment, so was Murphy. “Elvis had a huge influence on me: the leather suits; in Raw, I come out, I have a scarf. I was rolling like Elvis, too. I didn’t have the Memphis Mafia, but I had my little crew of dudes,” he said of the moment.
But upon reflection, The King’s influence doesn’t feel quite so infatuating. Murphy said, “When I got older, it was like, oh, my God, Elvis wasn’t cool at all.”
Instead, Presley became another name in a list of figures from which Murphy thinks the world should learn a lesson. Placing Elvis on the same list as Michael Jackson and Prince, he said, “Those guys are all cautionary tales for me.” When it comes to the vices that often come along with success, he learned from their struggles. “I don’t drink. I smoked a joint for the first time when I was 30 years old — the extent of drugs is some weed,” he said.
For him, success has always been too delicate and too risky to ever do anything to make it more so. “When you get famous really young, especially a Black artist, it’s like living in a minefield. Any moment something could happen that can undo everything,” he said.
But as he got through with his career and health intact, his own self-discipline and restraint in the face of hedonism is something he celebrates. “Now, at this age, I can look back and be like, “Wow, I came through a minefield for 35 years.” How do you make it through a minefield for 35, 40 years? Something has to be looking over you,” he said.
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