“I do a little bit of everything,” Tommy Davidson says of his stand-up act. “It’s a little bit political. It’s a little bit of storytelling. It’s a little bit autobiographical. It’s a little bit of improv. The only thing that’s on my mind when I get on stage is that everybody from any background leaves there feeling joy and love about their fellow man, period. Whether you’re a (cisgender) man or woman or transgender, I’ve never been a comedian who’s been a divider” — a not-so-subtle reference to comedians such as Dave Chappelle.
“I’m about giving the audience exactly what they came for: A little bit of sunshine in a gray little world.”
Davidson also has a long career as an actor. His credits include everything from the seminal sketch comedy series “In Living Color” to movies such as Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled” to the animated series “The Proud Family,” both the original and the recent Disney+ revival. “When I did ‘The Proud Family’ 20 years ago, I raised my girls and my son on that,” he said. “And now here they are in their 20s and 30s and I’m raising a whole new generation of kids. How fortunate can I be?”
There have been so many high points in Davidson’s career, including his 2020 memoir “Living in Color: What’s Funny about Me.” When asked about a low point, it was a story from his early years that came to mind: “This is about the failure of a TV show that I worked my butt off for, as the star. And when it was all said and done, I was left with nothing.”
My worst moment …
“This was in the late ‘80s, before ‘In Living Color,’ and I had built myself up as the hottest talent in town and I had all these opportunities.
“One of them was a show on CBS with Candice Bergen called ‘Murphy Brown.’ Another was a development deal with Disney for movies and TV. Another was an audition for ‘A Different World,’ which followed ‘The Cosby Show’ on NBC and was the biggest show at the time.
“And then there was an offer from Eddie Murphy’s company to star in the CBS pilot of the TV adaptation of ‘Coming to America.’ The show was going to center around Prince Tariq, the little brother of the Prince Akeem character in the movie, and it was going to be about what his life is like when he comes to America. (Murphy was an executive producer but was not set to appear in the series.)
“So here’s what happened. I didn’t get ‘A Different World.’ I passed on the Disney development deal and I passed on ‘Murphy Brown’ to play Prince Tariq in ‘Coming to America.’
“And I chose it because it was Eddie Murphy — another brother, another Black dude doing really well, you know? It was perfect because, next to Eddie Murphy, I was the funniest guy at the time. His company had an option with Paramount to do television shows, which is huge, and this is the one he wanted to do. And it was starring me! How could it be better? So here was a series that I would star in and have control of. So it just made the most sense to me. I thought it was going to be a huge hit. Most people would have told you: Go with Eddie Murphy, right?
“But I didn’t get any help from Eddie Murphy’s company to develop it at all. I just got left there with the studio and a writer (sitcom veteran Ken Hecht) who was really out of touch with comedy. He had written for Black sitcoms from years ago, like ‘Good Times,’ but the world had changed by 1989. Eddie’s a superstar so he was in a different seat of power when he made the movie version of ‘Coming to America.’ He was worth a lot to Hollywood, whereas this was my first big opportunity, I was still catching the bus to work. The power dynamic was different.
“Anyway, the show didn’t get picked up.
“Networks never tell you directly. You find out through events — they were going to air the pilot on the Fourth of July and see what happened. It was just one of those situations where I couldn’t get the truth. But the truth was self-evident.
“So I was devastated. I was hurt and frustrated and scared, like all the work I had done was for nothing. I was feeling really down and not encouraged. I just wasn’t feeling positive about myself and what I had achieved up to that point. It was demoralizing because I went from all of that hotness to nothing. I had nothing.”
At the time, did Davidson feel Murphy should have done more to advocate for the show?
“He should have, yes. I was left alone to fend for myself. And I say that in awareness of how the universe also works itself out and how much I love him. It could have helped, but who knows if it would have made a difference?
“So I disliked the behavior, but I love the man. And everything happens for a reason.
“At the time, I debated whether this was the career for me. I considered going home to D.C. I could do bad by myself, ya know? It was my manager, Sinclair Jones, who kept me together. He said, ‘No matter how hard we try, there’s nothing we can do that will change what’s already happened. So let’s just go back to the comedy clubs. Let’s go back to your strong point. Go back to the clubs and go back to your talent.’
“And as a result of that, going back to the grind, I got to be a headliner in the main room at The Comedy Store. And I got a call one night and they said, ‘You have a show in the main room with Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy.’ I thought I was opening for them but no, I was on the lineup.
“This was a few months after ‘Coming to America,’ so of course, I still had feelings — not that I was going to beat his ass when I saw him, but that I was going to have to earn my spot in this business and it had nothing to do with him, actually. It had to do with how much drive do I have? How much desire do I have? Why am I doing it? All those reasons that are important to a person personally.
“The first show was Eddie, me than Pryor. Then the second show was Pryor, then me, then Eddie, so I was right in the middle, and I basically kicked both of their (butts), you know what I mean? It was just a night at The Comedy Store for them, but this was my life! It ain’t no fun when the rabbit’s got the gun! That was a huge night, very star-studded. Everybody was there. Stevie Wonder, everybody. And at the end of the night, Richard Pryor found his way to my little dressing room and he looked me up and down and said, ‘Man, you are one funny mother-hmm.’
“And after that night, I got a call from (show creator) Keenen Ivory Wayans about ‘In Living Color.’ That was six months after ‘Coming to America.’ And it kick-started my career and it showed my range — none of those other opportunities would have showed my range.”
The takeaway …
“You can be really, really, really down — but it doesn’t mean you have to be out.
“I appreciate talking about this. I needed that. It makes me remember everything from that experience.”
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