*TMZ is now reporting that Tommy Ford, who played Tommy on the Fox series “Martin,” has died.
A false report of his death was tweeted earlier by actor Anthony Anderson, but turned out not to be true. His condition, however, was reported to be grave.
The actor had been on life support after an aneurysm ruptured in his abdomen. He was hospitalized on Sunday, and his condition had deteriorated since.
According to TMZ, Ford’s family made the decision to turn off life support this afternoon. He passed away at an Atlanta hospital surrounded by family and friends.
Ford played Martin Lawrence’s best friend for all five seasons of the show.
Tommy Ford background info via Wikipedia:
Thomas Mikal Ford (June 15, 1962 – October 12, 2016), known and also credited as Tommy Ford, was an American actor who was best known for his role as Tommy Strawn in the sitcom “Martin,” and for his recurring role as Mel Parker in the UPN sitcom “The Parkers.”
In Martin, Ford played Tommy Strong who was, at times, the straight man for Martin Lawrence’s jokes, but he very often inserted scene-stealing “bald-headed logic” and witty comments in odd situations. Also, his character was often the subject of many jokes regarding his mysterious employment status though Tisha Campbell-Martin revealed he was a counselor and presumably unemployed after Ford complained that his character lacked development. Ford received an NAACP Image Awards nomination in 1996 in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
After Martin ended, Ford found success in the FOX detective drama “New York Undercover.” He played the role of Lieutenant Malcolm Barker.
Ford played a recurring role in the UPN sitcom “The Parkers” as Nikki’s ex-husband (and Kim’s father), Mel Parker, in 7 episodes. He played Ben Cummings in “The Power of Passion” as one of the characters whose wife cheats on him with the pastor.[citation needed]
He was also 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?”
In film, Ford appeared in the Kid ‘n Play movie “Class Act” as Mink. In “Harlem Nights” he played Tommy Smalls, the brother of Arsenio Hall’s character. He can also be seen in the 1997 crime drama “Against the Law.”
Since October 9, 2016, Ford had been on life support after an aneurysm ruptured in his abdomen. On October 12, 2016, Ford passed away in an Atlanta hospital surrounded by family and friends.
Read/learn MORE at Wikipedia.
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