The Big Break: Chris Rock Made Film Debut in ‘Beverly Hills Cop 2’ 35 Years Ago

variety.com:

Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentRight now, the name Chris Rock is synonymous with one thing: The Slap at the March 27 Oscars.

However, Rock’s career is a lot more varied than that one incident, though there are several clues in his work leading up to that moment.May 20 marks the 35th anniversary of his movie debut as a parking valet in the 1987 “Beverly Hills Cop 2.”Variety’s review described it as “noisy, numbing, unimaginative” and didn’t mention Rock.

A year later, however, he got a shout-out in the Dec. 9, 1988, review of “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka,” with Variety enthusing, “Chris Rock turns a walk-on into a standout” as a customer in a rib joint.Rock’s first big break came in 1984, when he booked a splashy standup gig in 1984 at Catch a Rising Star in New York.

Eddie Murphy saw and mentored him, Rock continued to work, and soon he made his television breakthrough on “Saturday Night Live” in the 1990-92 seasons.