"48 Hours" (1982), "Trading Places" (1983), "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984) and its 1987 sequel, and "Coming To America" (1988) were all classics, elevating the stand-up comic and "Saturday Night Live" alumnus to superstar status and making him one of the most profitable actors of the era. To date, his films have earned more than $1 billion.
But after wowing 1980s audiences with his trademark fast-talking, mother-f***er-spouting humour, Murphy suddenly got a bit too big for his boots (not that he was under-confident in the first place), and starred in a series of flicks that would make Martin Lawrence cringe.
These duds included the sub-standard "Another 48 Hours" (1990) and "Beverly Hills Cop III" (1994), while "Harlem Nights" (1989), "Boomerang" (1992) and "Vampire In Brooklyn" (1995) were downright risible.
So it was a welcome relief for fans of the 39-year-old Brooklynite, when he decided to reprise the role made famous by Jerry Lewis in "The Nutty Professor". The resulting hit re-established the Richard Pryor-worshipping comedian as someone at the top of his game.
Another remake, "Dr Dolittle", and the prison dramedy "Life" followed, displaying Murphy's gift for playing characters under layers of make-up. He then gave perhaps his best ever performance in "Bowfinger", playing a pair of siblings - one an action star, the other a numbskull.
There was a brief flirtation with scandal and the tabloids in 1997 after he picked up a transvestite prostitute, who he says he was just helping out. In fact, the actor has been married happily to wife Nicole Mitchell since 1993 and has four children.
Following his latest huge success in "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps", Murphy can next be seen in "Dr Dolittle 2" and the soon-to-be-released "Pluto Nash" as a bartender on the Moon. Let's hope he doesn't stop there.
