Cinema: A Wanna-See Guy

"Eddie's always had the power," says his friend Robert Townsend, "but now he's flexing his muscles more." And why not? Murphy, 27, may be the most popular movie comedian since Charlie Chaplin. Beverly Hills Cop ranks No. 9 among all-time box-office champs; Cop II was last summer's monster hit; Raw, released at Christmas, was the top-grossing concert film ever. Now Murphy has upended his strutting, misogynist image to play an innocent prince pursuing an independent woman. In Coming to America, Eddie is ready for love.

Hollywood's moneymen surely love Murphy. Last week CBS signed him to a three-year contract for shows he will direct, produce or appear in. Coming to America is the first in a lucrative five-film deal with Paramount Pictures. Murphy also hopes to direct The Butterscotch Kid (a comedy starring Arsenio Hall) and co-star with James Earl Jones in a film version of August Wilson's drama Fences. Says Jerry Bruckheimer, who co-produced both Cop movies: "He's such a wanna-see guy -- you wanna see what he'll do next. If he was available, there'd be a wild melee of people trying to get to his trailer, their pockets full of money."

Not many people get to the trailer, feeding rumors about Murphy's Elvis-like isolation. But Townsend, who directed him in Raw, shrugs off the tattle. "If he was alone on a mountaintop reading books about Howard Hughes, I'd worry. But Eddie's no prisoner. He's very social." Nor, he adds, has stardom soured Murphy's work. "Comedy is, after all, timing. And with his career, Eddie's timing has been solid gold."