Godfrey

Jerry Seinfeld’s sitcom run was over by the time he teamed up with Superman to sell credit cards. Dane Cook became a red-hot comedian before he started shilling for ESPN2. And Bill Cosby was already America’s dad when he started pitching pudding. But Godfrey has taken the backdoor approach, starring in a series of 7Up commercials (remember the “Up Yours” campaign?) before becoming a headlining stand-up comic. The Chicago-raised comedian, a fan of such tried-and-true territory as New York subways and white people attempting to play sports, utilizes the same mannerisms onstage as he does in ads: He’s energetic and jumpy, and he shouts every word he says.