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Eddie Murphy: Images of a Star Taking Flight

Eddie Murphy: Images of a Star Taking Flight

Posted on by Admin

In its 50 years Saturday Night Live has been the launching pad for a great many stars of movies and television. The list includes Will Ferrell, Bill Murray, Adam Sander, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Chevy Chase, Mike Myers, Chris Rock, and many, many more (John Belushi, Dan Aykoryd, Kate McKinnon, David Spade, Chris Farley, Bill Hader….)

But none of these stars skyrocketed as high or as fast as Eddie Murphy. He debuted on Saturday Night Live in 1980, at the remarkable age of 19, and quickly caught fire behind the strength of such characters as Mr. Robinson, Buckwheat and Gumby. He then capitalized on that popularity with a string of hit movies that included 48 Hours, Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop. Not to mention his wildly popular 1983 standup special Delirious.

Photos in the LIFE archive capture the public life of a young man taking flight. He is photographed in the company of such luminaries as Jerry Lewis, Liza Minelli, Michael Jackson, Sylvester Stallone, Rick James, Luther Vandross, Jamie Lee Curtis and Arsenio Hall.

The paparazzi shots are telling, and so are the images in this collection that were shot for LIFE by Ted Thai. For those photos Murphy posed shirtless, with track pants and a ball cap. If you saw those pictures without knowing why Murphy was famous, you might guess that he was an athlete—and that comparison is appropriate. He was the comedy equivalent of another 1980s contemporary, Michael Jordan, a young man electrifying the stage with his prodigal talent.

Cast members Eddie Murphy (left) and Joe Piscopo (right) appearing with guest Jerry Lewis on Saturday Night Live, 1984.

DMI/Shutterstock

Comedian Eddie Murphy, 1983

Ted Thai/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Eddie Murphy

Ted Thai/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Comedian Eddie Murphy (left) and singer Rick James following Murphy’s performance at Madison Square Garden, 1986.

David Mcgough/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Eddie Murphy and singer Luther Vandross after Vandross’ performance at Radio City Music Hall, 1985.

DAVID MCGOUGH/DMI

Singer Michael Jackson and actor Eddie Murphy in Press Room at American Music Awards, 1989.

Kevin Winter/DMI

Sylvester Stallone and Eddie Murphy, 1991.

DMI

Eddie Murphy with Liza Minelli, 1990.

DMI

Eddie Murphy posed with the poster of his hit comedy Beverly Hills Cop.

DMI

Eddie Murphy, 1987.

DMI

Jamie Lee Curtis and Eddie Murphy, co-stars of the film Trading Places, in 1993.

DMI

Eddie Murphy with Vanessa Williams.

DMI

Eddie Murphy with talk show host Arsenio Hall, 1990.

DMI

Eddie Murphy, 1990.

DMI

Eddie Murphy, 1990.

DMI

Eddie Murphy

DMI

The post Eddie Murphy: Images of a Star Taking Flight appeared first on LIFE.

Michael Jordan: The One and Only

Michael Jordan: The One and Only

Posted on by Admin

The following is excerpted from LIFE’s new special issue Michael Jordan: The Greatest of All Time, available at newsstands and here online.

When it dropped in the mid-’90s, the 30-second spot felt like just another quick and clever Nike ad, though if you go back now and watch “The Hundred-Foot Hoop,” it seems to speak to us on several levels. At the fade-in, we see a basket hanging mercilessly high in a dimly lit warehouse. The storyline, at least initially, is simple: Michael Jordan enters, dribbling, then, looking grim but confident, drives in and up (and up) for the unmakeable but of course inevitable jam. The spoonful of message—that the man inside those supercool shoes can perform superhuman feats—went down without question back then, when Jordan was still in his Chicago Bulls prime and on a nightly basis redefining what was possible in the game of basketball. But the commercial doesn’t stop there. 

In a spasm of celebratory ecstasy, our hero, we see, has grabbed onto the rim, as slam-dunkers do, and now finds himself swinging slowly above the hardwood at an unsafe altitude. The moment of triumph has passed. Jordan first looks down, then at us, the audience that he always wanted to impress. He does not speak, but his big brown eyes pose an excellent question: “Where do I go from here?”

Michael Jeffrey Jordan was a skinny middle-class kid from Wilmington, North Carolina, who put aside the doubters—no, who used the doubters who appeared at every stage—to have himself a storybook career. His breakthrough came in the spring of 1982, when, in a game played in the Louisiana Superdome against Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas,
he hit an electrifying jumper with 15 seconds left to give his Carolina Tar Heels the National Championship. “Your life will never be the same after that shot, son,” his father, James, told him soon afterward.

A few years later, Jordan revitalized the Bulls, a motley bunch that played in a dreary, half-empty arena, a team that according to its owner was regarded by Chicagoans as “somewhere between mud wrestling and tractor pulling,” eventually leading them to six NBA championships. Along the way, Jordan took the excitement generated by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson—stars a few years ahead of him—and brought it to a new level, helping shake the NBA out of its 1970s doldrums and usher its players and franchises onto an international stage. In Jordan’s spare time, he revolutionized the sneaker business. 

Jordan broke into the league exactly 40 years ago, in the fall of 1984, and he left it for good in the spring of 2003. Over a 15-season playing career, he won 10 scoring titles, five MVP awards, and six Finals MVP awards, and he was named to the All-Defensive first team nine times. He played in 14 NBA All-Star Games and, competing against Bird, Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, and others in the pantheon of basketball gods, won three All-Star MVP trophies. He has the highest regular-season career scoring average and career playoff scoring average of all time (30.1 and 33.4 points per game, respectively). Numb yet? After a point, even such incomparable statistics don’t capture all of the player Jordan was. They say nothing about the way he did what he did, the rampaging love of the game he always demonstrated, or the role he played in the larger popular culture—the very things that made him the man and the brand we know and love.

Here is a selection of images from LIFE’s new special issue Michael Jordan: The Greatest of All Time.

Cover photo by Jerry Wachter/NBAE/Getty

Michael Jordan in his freshman year at North Carolina, January 1982.

Bettmann Archive

Michael Jordan, with Chicago Bulls general manager Rod Thorn, signed his first NBA contract in 1984.

Bettmann Archive

Michael Jordan in 1989 took on the Detroit Pistons, a team that served as an early foil on his way to the top.

Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

Michael Jordan celebrated winning his first NBA title in 1991.

Richard Mackson/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

Michael Jordan led the Dream Team to a gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Richard Mackson/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

Michael Jordan in 1994, when he took time off from the NBA and tried his hand at minor-league baseball with the Birmingham Barons.

Photo by Focus On Sport/Getty Images

Michael Jordan, when he returned to the NBA following his time in minor league baseball, briefly wore No. 45 before returning to his familiar No. 23.

NBAE via Getty Images

Michael Jordan in 2003, his final season.

Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images

Michael Jordan waved farewell after playing his final NBA game in April 2003, when he was a member of the Washington Wizards.

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Michael Jordan, representing his Jordan Brand, visited Paris in 2015 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his signature Air Jordan shoe.

Jordan Brand via Getty Images

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Bears: Strong, Wise, and Increasingly Among Us

Bears: Strong, Wise, and Increasingly Among Us

Posted on by Admin

The following is adapted from LIFE’s new special issue on bears, available at newsstands and online:

Globally, bear populations are plummeting, with several species designated as endangered or vulnerable to extinction. But in many parts of North America, people are seeing more bears than ever. Since the 1970s, American bears in the lower 48 states have been expanding their territories, and enthusiasts need not travel into dense forests to spot a black bear or grizzly. Many can just look into their backyards. In the early ’70s, there were fewer than 100 black bears in New Jersey; today there are about 3,000 and they have been found in every county in the Garden State. 

Over the past several decades, Americans have been cutting down more forests and developing commercial properties on lands that have long belonged to bears. With less space to roam, bears are becoming our new next-door neighbors, taking dips in swimming pools, lounging in hammocks, and rifling through garden sheds. Their hijinks, often caught on camera, attract millions of views on social media and portray bears as approachable and playful. But they are still predators, whose tolerance of humans has its limits. “The victim wasn’t off walking in the woods,” Charlie Rose reported in a 2014 CBS News program about a woman in Florida mauled by a bear. “She was attacked in her own suburban yard.” She survived, with 10 stitches and 30 staples to the head.

Since 1960, Florida’s human population has increased from 5 million to more than 22 million. To accommodate this surge, 7 million acres of forest and wetlands have been destroyed for new homes. So it might have been the woman’s backyard, but to the bear, it was also his.

If you find yourself in bear country, which today could be deep in Yosemite or just off New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway, there’s plenty of advice to avoid conflicts. If you encounter a bear, dispensing a canister of bear spray at the animal is more effective than any air horn or sound. While you’re urged to carry it in certain national parks, the product could be dangerous if not used according to its directions. In 2022, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation tweeted: “Listen, bear spray DOES NOT work like bug spray. We would like to not have to say that again.”

Most bears will avoid humans if they hear them coming, but if a bear has noticed you, the U.S. National Park Service provides some general tips: Stand still and identify yourself as a human by talking calmly and slowly waving your arms, so the bear doesn’t mistake you for a prey animal. “It may come closer or stand on its hind legs to get a better look or smell,” notes the park service’s website. “A standing bear is usually curious, not threatening.” 

Hike and travel in groups, as a collection of people are usually noisier—and smellier—than a lone person. A bear is more likely to notice your group and stay away. And remember that bears get more confident and linger when human food is involved. Keep your fare away and hidden; otherwise it could encourage a bear. If the bear is stationary, move away slowly and sideways. This movement allows you to keep an eye on the bear while avoiding tripping. Plus, moving sideways is non-threatening to bears.

Ultimately, stay calm and remember that most bears don’t want to attack you—they just want to be left alone. A bear woofing, yawning, growling, or snapping their jaws may just be bluffing their way out of a potential encounter. Continue to talk to the bear in low tones, keeping it calm until it leaves. Wild animals are dangerous and can be enjoyed from a distance, and hopefully that distance will widen after decades of encroachment on each other’s turf. And those who live on the periphery of their habitats know that the beauty of bears is worth protecting.

Here is a selection of images from LIFE’s new special issue on bears.

Alatom/Getty Images

Teddy Roosevelt’s act of kindness toward a bear during a 1902 hunt was the seed what would become known as the “teddy bear.”

Getty Images

Brown bears are the most widely distributed bear species in the world, and are found in northern North America, Europe and Asia.

Mari Perry/500px/Getty Images

Brown bear cubs, after being protected by their mother early in life, often briefly stay with their littermates before going on to lead independent lives.

Getty Images

When salmon migrate upriver, bears gather for a hearty meal.

© Gerald and Buff Corsi / Focus on Nature/Getty Images/iStockphoto

For polar bears, climate change is threatening their way of life.

© PAUL SOUDERS | WORLDFOTO/Getty Images

The koalas of Australia look like bears but are in fact marsupials.

B.S.P.I./Corbis Documentary/Getty Images

Bears’ teeth are similar to humans, with broad, flat molars that can be used to grind food.

Irena Anna Sowinska/Getty Images

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