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
Sunday, December 10
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 4)
Friday, December 8
- Eddie Murphy (The PJs) - Watch Eddie on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Only Murders in the Building/High Fidelity/People of Earth/Selfie) - Da'Vine appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- John Caponera (The Good Life) - John is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
- Robert Smigel (Let's Be Real) - Triumph the Insult Comic Dog aka Robert Smigel chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Noah Galvin (The Real O'Neals) and Molly Gordon (Ramy) - Noah and Molly talk about Theater Camp on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Eric Stonestreet (The Santa Clauses/Modern Family) - Eric talks about The Santa Clauses on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - Kenan sits down with Sherri to talk about his new book, When I Was Your Age, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Sebastian Maniscalco (Bookie) - Sebastian appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (September-December)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
11/07 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/14 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
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