Chappelle’s Show co-creator Neal Brennan shared an anecdote in his latest podcast that shows how deeply Eddie Murphy loved Dolemite even years before he starred in Dolemite Is My Name.
Murphy stars in the Netflix film as Rudy Ray Moore, the moviemaker who created the beloved 1970s blaxploitation icon. In his latest How Neal Feel podcast, Brennan shared an anecdote about a visit to Murphy’s home:
There was a Dolemite documentary that came out in 2002 or something. And Eddie put it on to watch it at his house. And in the documentary — Paul Mooney’s in the documentary — and he goes, “Oh. Eddie Murphy loves Dolemite.” He goes, “Eddie Murphy has Dolemite parties.” So we’re watching this, and it’s kind of embarrassing, because Mooney’s like calling him out. And Eddie goes, “I’m having one right now, shit.” Like, “Yeah. I fucking have Dolemite parties.” He loves Dolemite.
Brennan capped the story with a compliment: “What Eddie is to me, Dolemite is to Eddie.”
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Murphy has gotten excellent reviews for his portrayal of Moore, a scrappy artist who adapted the raunchy character sometimes called the Godfather of Rap because of his streetwise way with words and seductively outsized persona, inspired by real-life hustlers.
The new film, written by The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski and directed by Craig Brewer, is in limited theatrical release now and comes to Netflix on Oct. 25. Besides Eddie Murphy, the film also stars Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson, Titus Burgess, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Wesley Snipes.
Every week on “How Neal Feel,” Brennan, who is best known for Chappelle’s Show and the Netflix special Three Mics, speaks about race, gender, and the politics of comedy with co-host Bianca Sia. New audio episodes premiere every Tuesday, and video versions appear on YouTube on Thursdays. We recommend it highly. MM
Dolemite Is My Name was released in theaters on October 4, 2019, and will be available for streaming on Netflix on October 25, 2019, courtesy of Netflix. Featured image courtesy of Netflix.
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