Remembering American Actor 'Tommy Ford'
- team My Publicist
- Oct 17, 2016
- 4 min read
It is with great sadness that we announce the untimely passing of our beloved client, father, brother, husband, and friend, prolific American Actor/ Director/Writer/Author/ Motivational/Speaker/Advocate, Thomas Mykal Ford 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.
Born Thomas Mykal Ford on Sept. 15, 1964 in Los Angeles, the actor, who was hospitalized Sunday October 9, 2016, died Wednesday, October 12, 2016. Tommy had undergone Knee Replacement surgery two weeks prior to his death, leaving fans wondering if his surgery caused the aneurysm.
Tommy had been hospitalized and on life support after suffering a ruptured aneurysm in his abdomen. “An aneurysm is an abnormality in a blood vessel wall. Most of the time this is something that we don’t pick up unless we find them incidentally or they become symptomatic. Sometimes people will complain of headaches, dizziness or things like that and we scan their brains and we find it. They are not always deadly. You can find it and a neurosurgeon can go in there and clip it, it is a intervention where they try to prevent the aneurysm from rupturing. A knee surgery would not cause an aneurysm. The aneurysm is totally unrelated” says Dr. Carol Richardson-Te.
A week after the surgery, he was released from the hospital. He also shared a photo of the scar along his left knee and issued a statement:
“I’m having a Knee Replacement surgery this morning. Please keep me in your prayers! Love you all,” Ford wrote in the Instagram post in which he announced the surgery. Five days before his death, Ford posted pictures of himself going through physical therapy. “Working really hard in physical therapy! My progress is amazing,” he wrote. “Thank you for all of your prayers and words of encouragement! I’m excited about getting back to work!”
Ford was on life support for several hours before his death and there were erroneous reports that he had died earlier Wednesday.
Ford has over 80 credits to his name, but he remains best known for starring as Tommy on the 1992-1997 sitcom Martin with comedian Martin Lawrence. He continued working non-stop, appearing in four movies in 2016 alone. Ford also had three films already finished at the time of his death, as well as three others in progress.
He began his career in 1985 and starred in Harlem Nights (1989) with Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor. He also played Mel Parker on The Parkers from 1999 to 2001.
After starring in Martin as the straight man, Ford starred in the short-lived Fox drama New York Undercover during the 1998-99 TV season. He also became known as the “Pope of Comedy” for starring in Who’s Got the Jokes? in 2006-2008.
No one could have been prouder of his works with the children then his Publicist team.
This past year, Tommy was HONORED by the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, the largest political caucus in the nation, with the 'Heritage Award' where he brought all of his mentees' to share the moment. Many of these young men had never worn a tie. Tommy spent half the day getting these young men a tied-Up for the event. One of his principles was to LEAD by example.
Tommy's passion was to bring the community and its men together for a common cause...Children and our future generation.
Tommy was thrilled to introduce his 'I AM BEAUTIFUL" Inspirational Children's book series! This series is a powerful educational tool! It offers children simple, tangible, and positive solutions to resolve conflict as it guides them towards living drug-free and violence-free lifestyles.
His message to children is, "you are beautiful regardless of your shape, size, abilities, disabilities, strengths or weakness"!
Understanding that young people mirror the images of those they perceive are cool, Mr. Ford maximized his celebrity status to powerfully influence children to make positive choices. He delivered “words of wisdom” through his electrifying communication style! Tommy possessed an uncanny ability to penetrate the minds and hearts of young people through the universal language of laughter!
One Storybook: I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR ME! - This marvelous storybook outlines the importance of making sound choices and building good character. It encourages kids to avoid trouble by thinking before they act!
One Workbook: STOP THE VIOLENCE! - Goes through the alphabet from A to Z identifying many of life's challenges that our young people are facing on a daily basis: loneliness, mistakes, peer pressure, disappointment, etc., offering non-violent solutions and positive words of encouragement.
One I'VE GOT A JOB... Literacy Program Book Marker
In his honor, please consider purchasing his children's books.
SHOP: I'VE GOT A JOB Book Package @ www.tommygotajob.com/children-s-books/
Check out the Tommy Ford's Literacy Program featuring 'Real Men Read!' trailer...
Remembering Tommy Ford's acting legacy.
One of the running gags on Martin was that Tommy never had a job. In an interview with Blog Talk Radio, Ford said that during a table read before the second season, the script did include a line where Tommy would tell Martin that he did have a job. However, what that job was remains a mystery.
Ford’s other business was as a motivational speaker, which gave him a chance to express his passion for helping children live healthy lives. He toured the country giving speeches, and you could make a booking request through his site. A quote on his site reads:
Young people mirror the images of those that they perceive are cool! Actors, singers, rappers, athletes and entertainers. I have done more than 200 episodes of television, more than two dozen films, and close to 100 theatrical performances! While I have the platform it is my opportunity to let our children, youth and adults know that they’re beautiful, they’re powerful, they’re valuable and they’re worth-while!
Ford was also a celebrity spokesman for Drama Therapy, which believes that acting workshops can also help at-rick youths. “It has had amazing success for teacher/administrator training. It is a creative out-of-the-box alternative for corporate conferences and workshops,” Ford noted on his site.
“For me, the biggest insult I could imagine was a man who had no job” -Thomas Mykal Ford
Rest In Paradise Thomas Mykal Ford
On behalf of the family, we would like to thank everyone for their love, support and prayers. Funeral arrangements will be forthcoming. Please respect the privacy of the Ford family during our time of grief.”
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