Charlie Murphy passed away on April 12 at age 57 in a hospital in New York after a battle with leukemia. That night, hundreds of miles away, John Mayer was performing a show in Columbus, Ohio, which featured a surprise appearance from Dave Chappelle. The duo proceeded to reminisce about Murphy and ultimately, as seen in the video above, decided to pay tribute to him in both word and song.
“Today, I got some terrible news,” Chappelle says at the 4:05 mark. “My good friend, Charlie Murphy, passed away this morning and everybody in comedy is heartbroken.” Chappelle then shares a memory of a recent night out with Mayer, where the singer-songwriter performed an intimate show for a small group of people. “You [Mayer] went to the piano and you sang a song,” says Chappelle. “And the song that you sang that night reminded me of my friend, Charlie Murphy. Our friend, Charlie Murphy.”
Mayer gives props to Murphy — calling back the phrase “habitual line-stepper” from the “True Hollywood Stories – Rick James” skit — and then proceeds to perform “You’re Gonna Live Forever in Me” with Chappelle offering his good friend and Chappelle Show collaborator a heartfelt tribute. “Rest in peace, Charlie Murphy. We love you. We love your comedy. We love your stories and we love your spirit.”
Murphy was a stand-up comedian and actor, who appeared in such films as CB4 and Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues and Jungle Fever. He co-wrote Vampire in Brooklyn and Norbit, both of which starred younger brother Eddie Murphy and was a writer on Chappelle Show, where he left a lasting on-screen legacy, appearing in multiple episodes of the iconic Comedy Central series.