Comedian and voice-over artist Charlie Murphy passed away April 12 at age 57 in a New York City hospital after losing his battle with leukemia. The statement came from his publicist, Domenick Nati. Hours before he passed away Murphy tweeted, “One to Sleep On: Release the past to rest as deeply as possible.”

Murphy was well known actor Eddie Murphy’s older brother, who developed a large amount of his fame while working with comedian Dave Chappelle. Charlie featured in some of Comedy Central’s “Chappelle’s Show” funniest skits titled “Charlie Murphy’s Hollywood Stories.” Although his first major movie role was in “CB4,” which was a 1993 comedy about a fictional rap group starring Chris Rock.

During his time on the Chappelle’s Show, Charlie Murphy re-enacted a few of his most famous Hollywood stories dating back to the late 80’s when he was working as a bodyguard for his older brother. His brothers’ high profile at the time exposed him to a few celebrities, while allowing him to witness as well as experience hilarious altercations with musicians Prince and Rick James.

In these legendary sketches, Murphy would spoof scenarios telling stories of these encounters that were later said to based on mostly truth by both Prince and Mr. James themselves, only making the sketches that much more entertaining.

Charlie was born July 12, 1959 in Brooklyn to Charles Edward and Lillian Murphy. His father was a transit officer, but unfortunately passed away while Charlie was only a child. His mother, a transit operator, later remarried a man by the name of Vernon Lynch Sr. who helped raise the boys until 2001 when he passed away. Before Charlie’s rise to fame in Hollywood, he spent several years in the Navy.

After Charlie’s death, the Murphy family released a statement mourning their loss, “Our hearts are heavy today with the loss of our son, brother, father, uncle and friend Charlie. Charlie filled our family with love and laughter and there won’t be a day that goes by that his presence will not be missed. Thank you for the outpouring of condolences and prayers. We respectfully ask for privacy during this time of great loss for all of us.”

It is never easy to endure the loss of a loved one, and it is even more difficult having already lost Murphy’s wife, Tisha Taylor Murphy, to cervical cancer back in 2009. The couple now leave behind two children, Xavier, 18, and Eva, 11, as well as another son Murphy had, aged 31, from a prior relationship.

In an interview from 2010, Charlie stated, “At the end of the day, when Charlie Murphy ain’t here no more, I’ll have a body of work that people can laugh and remember me by” and that is definitely the case here. With the profound work Charlie has generated as a comedian, actor, and writer for some of his older brother’s movies, his legacy will go on to live forever.