Godfrey (comedian)
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Godfrey Danchimah (born 1969) has appeared on BET, VH1, Comedy Central, and feature films such as Soul Plane,"Original Gangsters", Zoolander and Johnson Family Vacation. He was also a spokesperson for 7 Up during the popular '7up yours' advertising campaign. He was also 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 City.
Godfrey's parents fled to the United States from Nigeria to escape the Nigerian/Biafran Civil War. Godfrey was born in Nebraska on July 21, 1969. Soon after, the family settled in Chicago where Godfrey grew up. He received an academic scholarship to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he majored in psychology. Here he tried out for and made the varsity football team, where he performed at a traditional talent show for new team members. He stole the show performing impressions of his coaches and teammates and discovered his comedic talent. Godfrey honed his stand-up skills at the legendary All Jokes Aside Comedy Club in Chicago in the early 90's. In 1995, Godfrey made his New York debut at Caroline's Comedy Club and The Comic Strip 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 The Cosby Show and Soulman. 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 continues to do film and television work alongside his stand-up career in New York.
Comedy fans have likened his performance style to that of a highly animated bartender. His fans enjoy his high-energy persona, although, others point to a lack of comedic substance in his act, and feel that Godfrey over-compensates by using a loud delivery and broad physical gestures to cover up weaknesses in his writing.
