Godfrey (comedian)

Last updated

Godfrey
Godfrey (comedian).jpg
Godfrey at a 2007 American Music Awards after-party
Born
Godfrey C. Danchimah Jr.

(1969-07-21) July 21, 1969 (age 56)
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • actor
  • podcast host
Years active1995–present
Website godfreylive.com

Godfrey C. Danchimah Jr. (born July 21, 1969), professionally known mononymously as Godfrey, is an American comedian and actor who has appeared on BET, VH1, Comedy Central, and feature films, such as Soul Plane , Original Gangstas , Zoolander , and Johnson Family Vacation . He was also a spokesperson for 7 Up during the popular '7up yours' advertising campaign and a cast member on the first season of The It Factor , a reality television show. Currently, he is a regular performer at the comedy club Comedy Cellar in New York. He is also known for doing the voices of Mr. Stubborn and Mr. Tall (season 2) in The Mr. Men Show and hosting the FOX game show Bullseye . Godfrey also hosted his own radio show on SiriusXM until he parted ways with the show in July 2019. He now owns and hosts a podcast called In Godfrey We Trust on the Gas Digital Network. He is also known for collaborating with other social media stars such as King Bach, Destorm Power. He was once a regular guest on VladTV.

Contents

Biography

Godfrey's parents are from Nigeria. Their Nigerian heritage is of the Igbo tribe. They immigrated to the US to escape the Nigerian Civil War. Godfrey is a nephew of Nigerian musician Sonny Okosun. [1]

Godfrey was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on July 21, 1969. Soon after, the family settled in Chicago where Godfrey grew up. He attended Lane Technical College Preparatory High School and received an academic scholarship to the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where he majored in psychology.[ citation needed ]

At the University of Illinois, he made the varsity football team and performed at a traditional talent show for new team members.[ citation needed ]

Career

Godfrey in 2007 Godfrey comedian LF.jpg
Godfrey in 2007

Godfrey honed his stand-up skills at the All Jokes Aside comedy club in Chicago in the early 1990s. In 1995, Godfrey made his New York debut at Carolines on Broadway and the Comic Strip Live and was soon signed by the William Morris Talent Agency. He began working regularly in television, first behind the cameras as a warm-up comedian for Cosby and Soul Man . His first on-camera appearance featured him performing stand-up comedy for NBC's Friday Night Videos , followed by more small television and film roles. In 2000, Godfrey appeared in the Aspen Comedy Festival and on Comedy Central's Premium Blend . He also played a comical role in the movie Soul Plane , acting as an African pilot. He has also been in numerous episodes of BET's Comic View .

A self-styled karate master, he continues to do film and television work alongside his stand-up career in New York. His first one-hour special, "Godfrey: Black by Accident" was shot for Comedy Central on January 22, 2011, at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City to a standing room only audience. [2]

As a guest of Mike Ward's show called "F*ck les variétés", part of the Just for Laughs 2012 festival of Montreal, his performance was highly acclaimed. [3] In the following year, he had his own solo show called "The Godfrey Complex" in the same festival for a whole week. [4]

His second one-hour special, "Godfrey: Regular Black" was filmed for Showtime in Chicago, his home town, on August 12, 2016.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1996 Original Gangstas Marcus
Joe's Apartment Cockroach (voice)
Chain Reaction Chidi Egbuna
2000In the WeedsStan
2001 30 Years to Life Comedian
Zoolander Janitor Derek
2004 Johnson Family Vacation Motorcycle Cop
Soul Plane First Officer Leslie Gaemon
The Cookout Jasper
2005VirginiaGriffin
Short FuseDogan
2006 Phat Girlz Akibo
2007 A Dennis the Menace Christmas Santa/Bob The AngelVideo
CarelessSabio
2008Stand UpDante
Show StoppersFinal Judge
Bum Boot CampBumShort
Don't Shoot the Pharmacist!Kevin
The SweepJerome
UnemployedJamal
2009Omar Saved from CheatingOmarShort
2010SexcutTV Actor
A Man, a Woman, a Genie, a GunGenie
2016Like LambsOfficer Michaels
The Hudson TribesMayor Joubert Lafitte
2019Rapid Eye MovementMarcus Crawford
2020 The Binge Hags' Father
The Truth About Santa ClausHerbie
2021 Americanish Gabriel Jackson
2023 The Perfect Find Jimmy
UnbraidedNarrator (voice)Short
2024AthazagoraStan the DriverShort

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1995Midnight MacHBO ExecutiveEpisode: "Episode #1.1"
1999 LateLine Mfune UmbwebweEpisode: "The Minister of Television"
2000ThunderboxHimself/HostMain Host
Rock of Ages
200130 by 30: Kid Flicks
2002 The It Factor HimselfMain Cast
I Bet You Will Himself/HostMain Host
Late FridayHimselfEpisode: "Episode #2.6"
It's Showtime at the Apollo Episode: "Queen Latifah/Godfrey"
Third Watch RickyEpisode: "Blackout"
2003The Celebrity Look-Alike ShowHimself/HostMain Host
I Love the '80s Strikes Back HimselfRecurring Guest
2004 I Love the '90s Recurring Guest
Retrosexual: The 80'sTV series
2005 I Love the '90s: Part Deux TV series
Black in the 80sRecurring Guest
Comedy Central Presents Episode: "Godfrey"
I Love the '80s 3-D Episode: "1985"
I Love the Holidays TV series
2006BET's Top 25 CountdownEpisode: "Moments in Black History"
I Love Toys TV series
I Love the '70s: Volume 2 Recurring Guest
Celebrity Paranormal Project Episode: "Pearl's Story"
100 Greatest Songs of the '80sMain Guest
2006–14 Comics Unleashed Recurring Guest
2007What I Learned About... From the MoviesEpisode: "Sports"
2008 I Love the New Millennium Recurring Guest
NESN Comedy All-StarsEpisode: "Episode #1.4"
truTV Presents: World's Dumbest... Recurring Cast: Season 1, Guest: Season 2
2008–09 The Mr. Men Show Mr. Stubborn & Mr. Tall (voice)Main Cast
2009 30 Rock RickEpisode: "The Bubble"
Z Rock Pure DarkEpisode: "Z Will Rock You"
Black to the Future HimselfEpisode: "Hour 4: The 00s"
2009–11Comedy.TVEpisode: "Episode #1.7" & "#1.18"
2010UndateableMain Guest
2010–11 Louie Guest Cast: Season 1–2
Latino 101Main Guest
2010–12Laugh FactoryRecurring Guest
2011Love LustEpisode: "Love Lust & Secret Societies"
The Heart, She Holler N-Word The RobotEpisode: "Fear Is Dog Spelled Bassackwards"
2012 20/20 HimselfEpisode: "Best in TV: The Greatest TV Shows of Our Time"
Just for Laughs: All-AccessEpisode: "Episode #1.6"
2012–18The Ha!ifax Comedy FestRecurring Guest
2013 Juste pour rire Episode: "Gala Fuck les Variétés"
PITtvEpisode: "Godfrey: Shout-Out!"
Insane Clown Posse TheaterEpisode: "Godfrey"
Inside Joke at MoontowerEpisode: "Episode #2.2" & "#2.26"
Upload with Shaquille O'Neal Himself/Co-HostMain Co-Host
2014 Deadbeat Shaky HandsRecurring Cast: Season 1
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Adam ChurchEpisode: "Reasonable Doubt"
Black Dynamite Al Sharpton (voice)Episode: "Roots: The White Album"
2014–16 Steven Universe Kofi Pizza (voice)Recurring Cast
2015 The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore Himself/PanelistRecurring Panelist: Season 1
Bullseye Himself/Co-HostMain Co-Host
ASSSSCAT 3000: New YorkHimselfEpisode: "Godfrey"
World's Funniest Himself/PanelistEpisode: "Cat's Entertainment"
Get Your LifeHimselfEpisode: "Girl Get Your NYPTSD"
Benders Rajon TuckerRecurring Cast
2016King Bachelor's PadHimselfEpisode: "Angry Neighbor"
Above Average PresentsEric SimmsEpisode: "The Kicker: For Fans. For Fun."
2017What's Your F@#King Deal?!HimselfEpisode: "Brad Williams, Nick Vatterott and Godfrey"
Neon Joe, Werewolf Hunter Plaid JeffMain Cast: Season 2
2017–18 StarTalk Himself/Co-HostEpisode: "Episode #4.12" & "#4.16"
Lucha Underground FBI Agent WinterRecurring Cast: Season 3-4
2018This Week at the Comedy CellarHimselfRecurring Guest
GlimpseChristian WhiteEpisode: "Esperanto"
Our Cartoon President Barack Obama/Cory Booker (voice)Recurring Cast: Season 1
2019CBC Winnipeg Comedy FestivalHimselfEpisode: "Just My Luck"
King Bachelor's PadEpisode: "Joker Parody"
2020Tournament of LaughsEpisode: "And A Round of 32 We Go, Part 2"
2021Tiffany Haddish Presents: They ReadyEpisode: "Godfrey"
Harlem Cole ThompsonEpisode: "Saturn Returns"
2021–22 Wild 'n Out Himself/Cast MemberMain Cast: Season 16–18
That Damn Michael Che CalvinRecurring Cast: Season 1, Guest: Season 2
South Side DelonteRecurring Cast: Season 2, Guest: Season 3
2022We Need to Talk About CosbyHimselfEpisode: "Part 1–4"
So Dumb It's Criminal: Hosted by Snoop DoggEpisode: "Hit and Run, Just for Fun"
Dark Side of Comedy Episode: "Richard Pryor"
Human Resources Mr. Beef (voice)Recurring Cast: Season 1
2023 I'm a Virgo A.I. Voice (voice)Recurring Cast
My Dad the Bounty Hunter Ja Boluu (voice)Episode: "This is Doloraam"

Documentary

YearTitle
2002 Comedian
2009Dane Cook, 30 Premeditated Acts
2010 I Am Comic
2011Stars & Music
201240 Greatest Feuds 3
The Science of Doctor Who
2023Out of the Loop

Comedy releases

YearTitle
2011Godfrey: Black by Accident
2016Godfrey: Regular Black

See also

References

  1. "Episode 611 – Godfrey". WTF with Marc Maron. June 15, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  2. "Godfrey: BLACK BY ACCIDENT". theblacklistnyc.com.
  3. Vallet, Stéphanie (July 19, 2012). "Gala F*ck les variétés: vulgaire et choquant à souhait – Stéphanie Vallet – Juste pour rire". La Presse.
  4. "The Godfrey Complex Hosted by Godfrey w/ Ali Wong, Damien Lemon, Joe List, Big Jay Oakerson, and More!". laughstub.com. New York City. 2015. Archived from the original on July 24, 2015.