Godfrey C. Danchimah Jr. (born July 21, 1969), professionally known mononymously as Godfrey, is a Nigerian-American comedian, impressionist 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, etc. He was once a regular guest on VladTV.
Godfrey | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Godfrey at a 2007 American Music Awards after-party | |
| Born | Godfrey C. Danchimah Jr. July 21, 1969 Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Website | godfreylive |
Biography
editGodfrey'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.
At the University of Illinois, he made the varsity football team and performed at a traditional talent show for new team members. He stole the show, performing impressions of his coaches and teammates, discovering his comedic talent.
Career
edit
Godfrey honed his stand-up skills at the All Jokes Aside comedy club in Chicago in the early 1990s. He also plays a pretend tough guy on the World Famous Chad Zumock Podcast. 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 shot in Chicago, his home town, on August 12, 2016.
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Original Gangstas | Marcus | |
| Joe's Apartment | Cockroach (voice) | ||
| Chain Reaction | Chidi Egbuna | ||
| 2000 | In the Weeds | Stan | |
| 2001 | 30 Years to Life | Comedian | |
| Zoolander | Janitor Derek | ||
| 2004 | Johnson Family Vacation | Motorcycle Cop | |
| Soul Plane | First Officer Leslie Gaemon | ||
| The Cookout | Jasper | ||
| 2005 | Virginia | Griffin | |
| Short Fuse | Dogan | ||
| 2006 | Phat Girlz | Akibo | |
| 2007 | A Dennis the Menace Christmas | Santa/Bob The Angel | Video |
| Careless | Sabio | ||
| 2008 | Stand Up | Dante | |
| Show Stoppers | Final Judge | ||
| Bum Boot Camp | Bum | Short | |
| Don't Shoot the Pharmacist! | Kevin | ||
| The Sweep | Jerome | ||
| Unemployed | Jamal | ||
| 2009 | Omar Saved from Cheating | Omar | Short |
| 2010 | Sexcut | TV Actor | |
| A Man, a Woman, a Genie, a Gun | Genie | ||
| 2016 | Like Lambs | Officer Michaels | |
| The Hudson Tribes | Mayor Joubert Lafitte | ||
| 2019 | Rapid Eye Movement | Marcus Crawford | |
| 2020 | The Binge | Hags' Father | |
| The Truth About Santa Claus | Herbie | ||
| 2021 | Americanish | Gabriel Jackson | |
| 2023 | The Perfect Find | Jimmy | |
| Unbraided | Narrator (voice) | Short | |
| 2024 | Athazagora | Stan the Driver | Short |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Midnight Mac | HBO Executive | Episode: "Episode #1.1" |
| 1999 | LateLine | Mfune Umbwebwe | Episode: "The Minister of Television" |
| 2000 | Thunderbox | Himself/Host | Main Host |
| Rock of Ages | |||
| 2001 | 30 by 30: Kid Flicks | ||
| 2002 | The It Factor | Himself | Main Cast |
| I Bet You Will | Himself/Host | Main Host | |
| Late Friday | Himself | Episode: "Episode #2.6" | |
| It's Showtime at the Apollo | Episode: "Queen Latifah/Godfrey" | ||
| Third Watch | Ricky | Episode: "Blackout" | |
| 2003 | The Celebrity Look-Alike Show | Himself/Host | Main Host |
| I Love the '80s Strikes Back | Himself | TV series | |
| 2004 | I Love the '90s | Recurring Guest | |
| Retrosexual: The 80's | TV series | ||
| 2005 | I Love the '90s: Part Deux | TV series | |
| Black in the 80s | Recurring Guest | ||
| Comedy Central Presents | Episode: "Godfrey" | ||
| I Love the '80s 3-D | Episode: "1985" | ||
| I Love the Holidays | TV series | ||
| 2006 | BET's Top 25 Countdown | Episode: "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 '80s | TV series | ||
| 2006-14 | Comics Unleashed | Recurring Guest | |
| 2007 | What I Learned About... From the Movies | Episode: "Sports" | |
| 2008 | I Love the New Millennium | Recurring Guest | |
| NESN Comedy All-Stars | Episode: "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 | Rick | Episode: "The Bubble" |
| Z Rock | Pure Dark | Episode: "Z Will Rock You" | |
| Black to the Future | Himself | Episode: "Hour 4: The 00s" | |
| 2009-11 | Comedy.TV | Episode: "Episode #1.7" & "#1.18" | |
| 2010 | Undateable | Main Guest | |
| 2010-11 | Louie | Guest Cast: Season 1-2 | |
| Latino 101 | Main Guest | ||
| 2010-12 | Laugh Factory | Recurring Guest | |
| 2011 | Love Lust | Episode: "Love Lust & Secret Societies" | |
| The Heart, She Holler | N-Word The Robot | Episode: "Fear Is Dog Spelled Bassackwards" | |
| 2012 | 20/20 | Himself | Episode: "Best in TV: The Greatest TV Shows of Our Time" |
| Just for Laughs: All-Access | Episode: "Episode #1.6" | ||
| 2012-18 | The Ha!ifax Comedy Fest | Recurring Guest | |
| 2013 | Juste pour rire | Episode: "Gala Fuck les Variétés" | |
| PITtv | Episode: "Godfrey: Shout-Out!" | ||
| Insane Clown Posse Theater | Episode: "Godfrey" | ||
| Inside Joke at Moontower | Episode: "Episode #2.2" & "#2.26" | ||
| Upload with Shaquille O'Neal | Himself/Co-Host | Main Co-Host | |
| 2014 | Deadbeat | Shaky Hands | Recurring Cast: Season 1 |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Adam Church | Episode: "Reasonable Doubt" | |
| Black Dynamite | Al Sharpton (voice) | Episode: "Roots: The White Album" | |
| 2014-16 | Steven Universe | Kofi (voice) | Recurring Cast |
| 2015 | The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore | Himself/Panelist | Recurring Panelist: Season 1 |
| Bullseye | Himself/Co-Host | Main Co-Host | |
| ASSSSCAT 3000: New York | Himself | Episode: "Godfrey" | |
| World's Funniest | Himself/Panelist | Episode: "Cat's Entertainment" | |
| Get Your Life | Himself | Episode: "Girl Get Your NYPTSD" | |
| Benders | Rajon Tucker | Recurring Cast | |
| 2016 | King Bachelor's Pad | Himself | Episode: "Angry Neighbor" |
| Above Average Presents | Eric Simms | Episode: "The Kicker: For Fans. For Fun." | |
| 2017 | What's Your F@#King Deal?! | Himself | Episode: "Brad Williams, Nick Vatterott and Godfrey" |
| Neon Joe, Werewolf Hunter | Plaid Jeff | Main Cast: Season 2 | |
| 2017-18 | StarTalk | Himself/Co-Host | Episode: "Episode #4.12" & "#4.16" |
| Lucha Underground | FBI Agent Winter | Recurring Cast: Season 3-4 | |
| 2018 | This Week at the Comedy Cellar | Himself | Recurring Guest |
| Glimpse | Christian White | Episode: "Esperanto" | |
| Our Cartoon President | Barack Obama/Cory Booker (voice) | Recurring Cast: Season 1 | |
| 2019 | CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival | Himself | Episode: "Just My Luck" |
| King Bachelor's Pad | Episode: "Joker Parody" | ||
| 2020 | Tournament of Laughs | Episode: "And A Round of 32 We Go, Part 2" | |
| 2021 | Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready | Episode: "Godfrey" | |
| Harlem | Cole Thompson | Episode: "Saturn Returns" | |
| 2021-22 | Wild 'n Out | Himself/Cast Member | Main Cast: Season 16-18 |
| That Damn Michael Che | Calvin | Recurring Cast: Season 1, Guest: Season 2 | |
| South Side | Delonte | Recurring Cast: Season 2, Guest: Season 3 | |
| 2022 | We Need To Talk About Cosby | Himself | Episode: "Part 1-4" |
| So Dumb It's Criminal: Hosted by Snoop Dogg | Episode: "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
edit| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2002 | Comedian |
| 2009 | Dane Cook, 30 Premeditated Acts |
| 2010 | I Am Comic |
| 2011 | Stars & Music |
| 2012 | 40 Greatest Feuds 3 |
| The Science of Doctor Who | |
| 2023 | Out of the Loop |
Comedy releases
edit| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2011 | Godfrey: Black by Accident |
| 2016 | Godfrey: Regular Black |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Episode 611 – Godfrey". WTF with Marc Maron. June 15, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
- ^ "Godfrey: BLACK BY ACCIDENT". www.theblacklistnyc.com.
- ^ Vallet, Stéphanie (July 19, 2012). "Gala F*ck les variétés: vulgaire et choquant à souhait – Stéphanie Vallet – Juste pour rire". La Presse.
- ^ [1] Archived July 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine?
External links
edit
- Official website
- Godfrey on Instagram
- Godfrey at IMDb
- Comedy Central entry for Godfrey Archived September 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
