After his father died, his mother married Vernon Lynch, a foreman at a Breyer’s Ice Cream plant. His siblings are Charlie Murphy and Vernon Lynch, Jr. Eddie had aspirations of being in show business since he was a child.

A bright kid growing up in the streets of New York, Murphy spent a great deal of time on impressions and comedy stand-up routines rather than academics. His sense of humor and wit made him a stand out amongst his classmates at Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School.

By the time he was fifteen, Murphy worked as a stand-up comic on the lower part of New York, wooing audiences with his dead-on impressions of celebrities and outlooks on life.