COMEDY Tommy Davidson: a jack-of-all-trades

The performer is an actor, producer, musician and stand-up comedian.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Tommy Davidson's talents include actor, stand-up comedian, musician and singer.
Despite his many accomplishments, the recently turned 40-year-old performer is best remembered for his work on hit Fox Television show "In Living Color," on which Davidson offered hilarious impressions of Sammy Davis Jr., Michael Jackson and others.
"Oh yeah, what can I say outside of 'In Living Color,' it's the defining moment," said Davidson, during a phone call from his home in Los Angeles. "It's what got me here, where I am today and it's still running on TV. I couldn't be a luckier man. We all knew once 'In Living Color' was on the air, it was going to be a success."
That success opened the door for Davidson to enter into three Showtime specials ("On Strength of New York," "Illin' in Philly" and "Takin' it to DC"), as well as various feature film roles (Spike Lee's "Bamboozled," "Juwanna Mann" and urban comedy "Booty Call") and a starring voice-over role on Disney Channel's animated series "The Proud Family."
Ever-changing roles
Among the many hats -- actor, producer, comedian -- he's been wearing, they're bound to change at any given time.
"Right now I'm doing stand-up but I also have my producing hat on, which has been quite a heck of an adventure," Davidson said. "But it's been good."
Davidson is getting ready to shoot his self-produced kung-fu funk comedy "Dragonfly Jones," which is due out this summer.
Naturally the comedian is in the feature role with guest appearances by Carmen Electra and Shaquille O'Neal. Remember, off-the-wall comedies are, well ...
"That's my forte," said Davidson. "And then I'm going to segue into more dramatic stuff as time goes on."
Staying committed
No matter what he's doing, Davidson remains committed to his first love, stand-up comedy. You can see him in action Thursday through Sunday at the Cleveland Improv.
"Stand-up is where I write on my feet," Davidson said. "I write as I go. It's pretty easy because it rolls off my tongue. And it's observational comedy -- what we're watching on TV these days, Spanish TV and talking about sports and a little bit of politics. I'm in a good space where I'm talking about a lot of different things right now. So just come and see what I have to offer these days and have some fun. It's a good night out."