Thomas Mikal Ford, American actor, Died at 54

  Actors

Thomas Mikal “Tommy” Ford was born on June 15, 1962, and died on October 12, 2016.
He was an American actor.
Ford 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.
He was raised in Long Beach, California.
He gained his Associate of Arts degree from Long Beach City College in 1985, then transferred to the University of California, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in acting.
Ford played Tommy Strawn, in Martin, 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.
In that show, 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.
He received an NAACP Image Awards nomination in 1996 in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
When Martin ended, Ford found success in the detective drama New York Undercover.
He played the role of Lieutenant Malcolm Barker.
He played a repeated role in the UPN sitcom The Parkers as Nikki’s ex-husband and Kim’s father, Mel Parker, in 7 episodes.
Ford 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?
During the film, Ford appeared in the Kid ‘n Play movie Class Act as Mink.
Ford played Tommy Smalls, the brother of Arsenio Hall’s character, in Harlem Nights.
Ford can also be seen in the 1997 crime drama Against the Law.
He died at an Atlanta area hospital after an aneurysm in his abdomen ruptured
Thomas Mikal Ford passed away at 54 years old.