Thursday, October 13, 2016
Remembering Martin's Tommy Ford; Fox Picks Up Full Season of Lethal Weapon
Actor Tommy Ford, who was best known for his role as Tommy Strawn in Martin, has died. He died on October 12 at an Atlanta area hospital after an aneurysm in his abdomen ruptured. Mr. Ford was 52.
Ford played Tommy Strawn in Martin, which aired for five seasons on Fox from 1992-1997. Tommy was one of Martin's three best friends. He was the straight man for Martin Lawrence's jokes, but he very often inserted scene-stealing "bald-headed logic" and witty comments in odd situations. There were many jokes regarding his mysterious employment status. He was the only character to physically appear in all 132 episodes of the series. Ford received a NAACP Image Awards nomination in 1996 for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series" for the role.
He earlier starred in the short-lived 1990 NBC sitcom Singer & Sons. He played the streetwise Reggie Patterson, the son of Sarah Patterson (Esther Rolle). The series also starred Harold Gould, Bobby Hosea, Brooke Fontaine, Fred Stoller, Arnetia Walker, Anne Berger and Phil Leeds.
Ford had a recurring role as Mel Parker in seven episodes of the UPN sitcom The Parkers from 1999-2001. He was Nikki's (Mo'Nique) ex-husband and Kim's father (Countess Vaughn).
In 1998, he played the role of Lieutenant Malcolm Barker in the fourth and final season of the Fox police drama New York Undercover. He was the commanding officer of the NYPD's Special Investigations Division.
Some of his sitcom guest appearances included Kate & Allie, A Different World, Uncle Buck (1990), Living Single, The Jamie Foxx Show, Let's Stay Together and Zoe Ever After.
He was known as the "Pope of Comedy", due to exposure as a judge on TV One's comedy competition show Bill Bellamy's Who's Got Jokes?.
Mr. Ford very funny in Martin. We thank him for all of the laughs he brought us. He will be greatly missed.
Share your memories on our Martin message board. View photos in our galleries.
Fox has ordered a full season of the hit action drama Lethal Weapon, picking up an additional five episodes. This brings the total order to 18 episodes for the 2016-17 season. Combining action and drama with ride-or-die friendship and humor, Lethal Weapon reimagines the hit movie franchise, as it follows classic cop duo Riggs (Clayne Crawford, Rectify) and Murtaugh (Emmy Award nominee Damon Wayans, My Wife and Kids, In Living Color), who work a crime-ridden beat in modern-day Los Angeles. Grief-stricken after the loss of his young wife and unborn child, ex-Navy SEAL-turned-detective Martin Riggs moves to California to "start over" at the LAPD. He's paired up with Roger Murtaugh, who's just coming back to the job after a near-fatal heart attack. Riggs' penchant for diving headfirst into the line of fire immediately clashes with Murtaugh's prudent, by-the-book technique. One has everything to live for, the other has nothing to lose.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Tuesday, August 26
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 25)
Tuesday, August 26
- Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Tiffany guest hosts a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Andy Samberg (Digman!/Brooklyn Nine-Nine) - Catch Andy on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows/The Thundermans) - Harvey appears on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Matt Rogers (No Good Deed/I Love That for You) and Bowen Yang (Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens) - Matt and Bowen are guests on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Sandra Oh (Arli$$) - Sandra appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Nicole Byer (Grand Crew/Loosely Exactly Nicole) and Sasheer Zamata (Home Economics/Woke/Robbie) - Nicole and Sasheer are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) and Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Amanda and Olivia chat with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Erika Alexander (Run the World/Living Single/The Cosby Show) - Erika talks about Invasion on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Austin Butler (Ruby & the Rockits/Zoey 101/Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide) - Austin talks about Caught Stealing on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Lea Thompson (Caroline in the City) - Lea is a guest on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Henry appears on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Shakira Ja'nai Paye (Demascus) - Shakira is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive
Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts