Before “Blackfish,” the CNN Films exposé about killer whales in captivity, became a ratings smash, comedian Charlie Murphy says he was spreading the world about the misunderstood mammals in his stand-up act.
“Two years ago, I had [a routine about] killer whales and everything I had been talking about was in that show which got huge numbers,” says Eddie Murphy’s brother, who shot to fame with his wild, behind-the-scenes tales about hanging with Prince and Rick James on Comedy Central’s “Chappelle’s Show.”
Charlie came up with the whale material because “you go to these places, you laugh and you’re cheering — and that animal is giving his life. What is his life like? You drive home, and he’s still in that tank. He ain’t driving anywhere. It’s about the effects of incarceration.”
Is his material always so deep?
“Always,” Charlie says. “You laugh and then you think about it, and laugh later for a different reason.”
Charlie’s headlining the New York Comedy Festival at Carolines on Broadway, where he got his first break years ago when Paul Mooney tapped him as an opening act.
The comedy fest kicks off Wednesday and also features appearances, at various venues, by Stephen Colbert, Jay Pharoah, Bill Burr, Kathy Griffin, Bill Maher, Larry David and David Steinberg.