Entertainment

Eddie Murphy Says His Stand-Up Made His Father Quit Drinking and He’s Open to Returning to the Stage

Eddie Murphy reveals his stand-up once made his father quit drinking—and says he’s open to returning to the stage again.
By 
November 13, 2025
1 mins read
Being Eddie Murphy Netflix

Eddie Murphy’s gift has always been turning truth into laughter, and now, the comedy legend is revealing just how powerful that truth once was.

In Netflix’s new documentary Being Eddie (now streaming), Murphy opens up about how his early stand-up not only changed his career but also changed his family.

The RAW star recalled that the personal nature of his material hit close to home, so close that it led his father to stop drinking altogether.

“By the time you see me in Delirious, when I’m talking about my family and stuff, that’s after years and years of doing it,” Murphy said. “Stand-up, as you know, is intimate. I could be at Madison Square Garden, but when I started doing my dad drunk, you could hear my mother laughing in 20,000 people.”

In one of his most memorable bits from Delirious, Murphy impersonated his father, a scene that has lived rent-free in comedy history for decades. But what started as a bit became a moment of reflection for his dad.

“The stuff I was doing about my dad made my dad stop drinking,” Murphy admitted. “He was like, ‘That’s how it looked?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s how it looked.’ And he stopped drinking.”

It’s one of those moments that show how Murphy’s comedy, even at its wildest and most exaggerated, has always been rooted in honesty.

Now, decades after redefining stand-up comedy, Murphy says he’s open to returning to the stage. Speaking with Extra TV, he shared that the spark just has to feel right.

“I’m open to it now,” Murphy said. “Right after the pandemic, I was like, I’m never going out there. You could go out and do a show and catch COVID. I saw D.L. Hughley up doing stand-up, and he fell out on stage. Comics were falling out! I was like, I ain’t never going out there.”

He laughed, adding, “But that’s all past now. And now I’m open to it again. If it ever struck me that I could have some fun doing it, I’d get up there and do it again.”

For Murphy, it’s all about joy. “It has to be fun for me,” he explained. “If I’m having fun, it’s going to work. It’s going to be funny. And if I get that feeling again, I’ll absolutely do stand-up again.”