Godfrey Cambridge
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Born Name:
Godfrey MacArthur Cambridge
Born Date: February 26, 1933
Born Place: New York City
Died Date: November 29, 1976
Died Place: Burbank, California
Occupations: Actor, stand-up comedian
Brief Biography: Godfrey MacArthur Cambridge was a pioneering African American actor and stand-up comedian known for his acerbic social satire and influential roles in film and theater. In 1965, Time magazine recognized him as one of the country's foremost comedians alongside Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, and Nipsey Russell.
Early Life and Education:
Born in New York City to parents who immigrated from British Guiana.
Childhood: Sent to Sydney, Nova Scotia, to live with his grandparents during his primary school years because his parents were dissatisfied with the New York public school system.
Education: He returned to New York at 13, graduating from Flushing High School. He initially won a scholarship to study medicine at Hofstra University but dropped out in his third year to pursue acting.
Stage and Screen Career:
Cambridge bridged the gap between stereotypical secondary roles and the leading parts of the blaxploitation era.
Theater: Won an Obie Award in 1961 for The Blacks and received a Tony Award nomination in 1962 for his role as Uncle Gitlow in Purlie Victorious.
Major Film Roles:
Watermelon Man (1970): Starred as a bigoted white insurance agent who wakes up one morning to find he has turned Black.
Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970): Played the recurring character "Gravedigger" Jones.
The President's Analyst (1967): Co-starred as a depressed government agent alongside James Coburn.
Comedy: Recorded four comedy albums for Epic Records and was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show and The Jack Paar Show.
Activism and Personal Life:
Civil Rights: Organized one of the first benefits for Martin Luther King Jr. in the late 1950s, raising $9,000 for the movement.
Health: Struggled with his weight throughout his life, at one point using medical hypnosis to drop from over 360 pounds to 200.
Born Date: February 26, 1933
Born Place: New York City
Died Date: November 29, 1976
Died Place: Burbank, California
Occupations: Actor, stand-up comedian
Brief Biography: Godfrey MacArthur Cambridge was a pioneering African American actor and stand-up comedian known for his acerbic social satire and influential roles in film and theater. In 1965, Time magazine recognized him as one of the country's foremost comedians alongside Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, and Nipsey Russell.
Early Life and Education:
Born in New York City to parents who immigrated from British Guiana.
Childhood: Sent to Sydney, Nova Scotia, to live with his grandparents during his primary school years because his parents were dissatisfied with the New York public school system.
Education: He returned to New York at 13, graduating from Flushing High School. He initially won a scholarship to study medicine at Hofstra University but dropped out in his third year to pursue acting.
Stage and Screen Career:
Cambridge bridged the gap between stereotypical secondary roles and the leading parts of the blaxploitation era.
Theater: Won an Obie Award in 1961 for The Blacks and received a Tony Award nomination in 1962 for his role as Uncle Gitlow in Purlie Victorious.
Major Film Roles:
Watermelon Man (1970): Starred as a bigoted white insurance agent who wakes up one morning to find he has turned Black.
Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970): Played the recurring character "Gravedigger" Jones.
The President's Analyst (1967): Co-starred as a depressed government agent alongside James Coburn.
Comedy: Recorded four comedy albums for Epic Records and was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show and The Jack Paar Show.
Activism and Personal Life:
Civil Rights: Organized one of the first benefits for Martin Luther King Jr. in the late 1950s, raising $9,000 for the movement.
Health: Struggled with his weight throughout his life, at one point using medical hypnosis to drop from over 360 pounds to 200.