Tommy Ford Photo Courtesy of @bigtommyford www.instagram.com

Remembering Tommy Ford 🌠

Tommy Ford unfortunately has passed on to the hereafter on Wednesday October 12, 2016, due to complications with an aneurysm...RIP

🎭 ~Tommy Ford RIP~ 📺

Remembering Thomas Mikal Ford, Actor/ Director/Writer/Author/ Motivational/Speaker from the hit 90s TV sitcom, Martin . Tommy Ford unfortunately has passed on to the hereafter on Wednesday October 12, 2016, due to complications with an aneurysm that ruptured his abdomen at the the age of 52. Gone to soon. An aneurysm is described as an abnormal blood-filled bulge of a blood vessel usually an artery, and he was reported to be hospitalized on Sunday on life support after knee surgery. This is a reminder that life is too short, Tommy Ford was a favorite to many, a loyal supporting actor who played a character on the Martin show that didn’t really have a steady job, but stayed so fresh and so clean. Ironically, in real life, Tommy Ford really did have a job, in all 5 seasons of Martin, which originally aired on the Fox Network now in syndication, i.e., a television or radio program broadcast by various TV and radio stations. All 5 seasons of the Martin TV Show is also available on DVD as a box set.

Martin Lawrence Tweets: “Prayers up for my brother @BigTommyFord and his family.”

It’s hard to imagine what his friend Martin Lawrence is going through, with time spent on the set and in their personal lives of friendship and brotherhood, they are bonded for life. In show business, it’s most important to know that we’re all in this thing together, and even though Tommy Ford has passed on, and we all miss him very much, he’s still with us always, if not just to make us laugh. Tommy Ford also starred in TV shows, A Different World, New York Undercover, The Jamie Foxx Show, The Parkers, Who’s Got Jokes? and Let’s Stay Together, as well as the classic film Harlem Nights with Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor & Arsenio Hall.

The important thing in remembering Tommy Ford is to do what you love. It’s only obvious that he loved being an actor because it translates on screen. The many times he delivered a funny line, you knew it was truly genuine. The style of dress and swagger was truly Tommy. He embodied what a black working actor should look like.

In the year of  1996, Tommy Ford was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series for his performance on the Martin show. Also an entrepreneur, he elaborated his since of style and swagger and partnered with Verse 9, developing a line of  what you can call an assortment of eclectic Hip-Hop type of contemporary fashionable reversible Ties, and Bow Ties called Tommy Ties and other accessories.

Many heartfelt condolences have poured out onto social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. As well as news articles on trade publications such as Variety and Hollywood Reporter since his passing on Wednesday, with photos and memories past and present.

We will indeed hold up his family and dear friends in our prayers. His life will be a testament and example to all that wish to cultivate their true talent and strive to reach their goals. Many have failed, many have given up, but only a few succeed.

Tommy Ford was one of few that kept on going, plays he did them, movies, he did them, TV shows, he did them, he was a success no matter how it’s measured and he created memories with those who he chose to call friends.

A lot can be said about Friendship, it’s the most important thing inside the entertainment industry because it’s very easy to get caught up in the glamour and glitz of showbiz, and forget who your real friends are. These relationships are paramount.

As for Tommy, well his friends are delighted to have ever been in his presence, and given the privilege of being called his friend. This is what this industry is capable of, bonding people together for the common good of the craft, and creating memories through creative talent. Rest in Paradise Tommy Ford family to my Godson.

BY SHAUNTI GRIFFIN