This Day in Film: "The Nutty Professor"

Eddie Murphy struck gold in 1996 when he donned a fat suit to add a modern twist to a film originally released in 1963. The Nutty Professor, originally starring Jerry Lewis decades prior, featured Eddie Murphy in the role of compassionate but morbidly obese professor Sherman Klump. In the movie, Klump, a science whiz if there ever were one, invents a miraculous weight-loss potion that he uses to win the heart of Carla Purty, a chemistry grad student in love with his work, played by Jada Pinkett Smith.

The potion works, only it leads to Klump developing a split personality, the arrogant Buddy Love. Murphy played seven characters in the film, including members of Sherman Klump’s family. The movie was a massive hit, earning more than $25 million in its opening weekend before going on to gross over $244 million worldwide. The movie also spawned a sequel, The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, co-starring Janet Jackson.

(Photo: Universal Pictures)