Eddie Murphy is a popular comedian, movie star, and part-time singer who started life in the housing projects of Brooklyn. His parents divorced when Murphy was a toddler, and his father, a policeman, was killed by an angry girlfriend when Murphy was 8. Murphy and his older brother, Charles, were placed in foster care when their mother was hospitalized for a long period of time. By high school, Murphy was the class clown, and by age 17 he was performing comedy in clubs where a kid his age wouldn't otherwise have been allowed in. The smaller venues paid $25-$50 a night, and he soon worked his way to larger clubs, including New York's Comic Strip.