Thomas Mikal Ford

Tommy Ford was an American actor who was best known for his long-running role as Tommy Strawn on the Fox sitcom "Martin" (1992-97). Born Thomas Mikal Ford in Los Angeles and raised in Long Beach, Ford spent most of his childhood years dreaming of becoming a preacher.

That all changed, however, once Ford entered high school. He took a drama class in his freshman year and immediately fell in love with acting. From that moment on he knew he wanted to become an actor.

After high school Ford enrolled at the University of Southern California's prestigious acting program, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1985. By the late 1980s he started landing bit parts on TV shows and in movies like "Harlem Nights" (1989) and "Across the Tracks," as well as a small recurring role on the short-lived NBC sitcom "Singer and Sons" (1990).

Then in 1992 Ford landed his breakout role playing the straight man to Martin Lawrence's character on the raunchy comedian's Fox sitcom "Martin." Ford played the role of Martin Strawn for five seasons and 132 episodes of the show, thus becoming a constant presence in the lives of the millions of fans who watched the series each week.

"Martin" ended its network run in 1997, and despite the show continuing to live on in syndication, Ford's career never quite equaled its mid-90s heyday. After moving to Florida in 2001 he continued acting in a number of small film and TV roles well into the 2010s. However, Ford soon found his true passion by traveling the country and giving inspirational speeches to young children.

Ford's life was cut short on October 12, 2016 after he succumbed to an aneurysm in his abdomen. He was 52.