Tommy Davidson Stays in the Swim Of Things

Whether they make music or not, some people in entertainment are one-hit wonders. They do one TV show, one movie and blow up, but then they’re never heard from again. Not so with comedian Tommy Davidson. After his days on the groundbreaking Fox TV sketch show “In Living Color” in the 90′s – the show that also started the careers of The Wayans family, David Alan Grier, Jim Carrey and Jennifer Lopez, Davidson has continued to strike comic gold.

Now he’s starring in the animated Adult Swim series “Black Dynamite” based on the hit movie and he’s planning a starring role as Sammy Davis, Jr. in the long-awaited biopic. Oh, and in his spare time, he still hits the road to do standup comedy. This weekend, he’s at Caroline’s comedy club in New York City through Sunday.

“Black Dynamite,” the animated series that was an outgrowth of the Blaxploitation spoof movie starring Davidson as Cream Corn and Michael Jai White as Black Dynamite will return to Adult Swim for a second season with characters voiced by Snoop Dogg, Kim Whitley, Arsenio Hall and Clifton Powell.

“We got lucky. We got the director of “Boondocks” and the producer of “Boondocks so we got lucky,” Davidson says of “Black Dynamite.” “It’s that same style of animation.”

“We had a good movie and now it’s like the hottest show on Cartoon Network. Never thought I’d be doing that.”

Davidson owns the rights to the Sammy Davis biopic and a script has been done. He’s been working on the project for 18 years but is still working to get it made. “Gregory Hines called me 18 years ago and said ‘You’re the only one that can do it but you gotta start now because it’s going to take a while. I didn’t know what he was talking about. He wasn’t lying.”

“Chocolate Thunder” is over for now, but Davidson says he wishes that there was another good sketch show on the air, instead of the dominance of show in the reality TV genre.

“I’m a nationally known actor and if  want a TV show  [I can’t get it] if I was a junior high school janitor, then I’d get me a show. “Junior High Janitor, we can do that.”

Davidson, an avid supporter of  U.S. Armed Forces servicemen and women, just returned from another trip to Afghanistan to perform for the troops. He says the hardworking men and women of the military deserve our support, especially when they haven’t gotten what they deserve from the country they defend.

“I just want to give a big shoutout to all the servicemen and women out there working their butts off, not only in the international arena, but here in the United States, too, with the government cutbacks and all of that. They’re not getting the money they deserve so we need to give them some extra love.”

Keep up with Tommy Davidson on Twitter @tommycat and check out his upcoming tour dates:

Nov. 1-3

DENVER, CO

Denver Improv

Nov. 7 -9

LEXINGTON, KY

Comedy Off Broadway

Nov. 14-16

Helium Comedy Club

Nov. 21-23

PEORIA, IL

Jukebox Comedy Club

Nov 29-30

INDIANAPOLIS, IN

Crackers

Dec. 19-22

ONTARIO, CN

Ontario Improv

Jan. 9-12

BOISE, ID

Liquid Laughs

Jan. 23-26

ORLANDO, FL

Orlando Improv

Feb. 6-8

SAN DIEGO, CA

American Comedy CO, CA

Feb. 20-23

BLOOMINGTON, MN

House of Comedy, MN