Tommy Davidson: Actor, Comedian, Musician and Author shares the secrets to his creative success.

Buzz Knight:

I am Buzz Knight, the host of the Takin’ A Walk Podcast. If you have suggestions of guests, go to our website at takingwalk.com. You could sign up for the newsletter, leave us a comment, and also you can follow us there as well so you never miss an episode.

Today we have a multi-talented treat, actor, comedian, musician, author. Tommy Davidson is our guest, original cast member from In Living Color. His resume also includes Booty Call, Malcolm and Eddie, The Proud Family, and he co-head lined with Kat Williams on a recent tour. Let’s welcome Tommy Davidson to Takin’ A Walk.

Is this Tommy Davidson, one of the busiest men in show business?

Tommy Davidson:

I’d say I’m one of them. I would call Mark Wahlberg if you want the other one.

Buzz Knight:

Hi Tommy. Thank you for being on.

Tommy Davidson:

Thank you man for having me.

Buzz Knight:

Congratulations on Proud Family season two on Disney+. Tell me how you got involved with that project and how much fun it is.

Tommy Davidson:

Fun is an understatement. It’s a barrel of monkeys. If you remember that term?

Buzz Knight:

Yep.

Tommy Davidson:

And if you played with boring toys like I did when I was a kid, somehow we had to hook these monkeys by the wrist and that was supposed to be fun. But anyway, doing all the things that I’ve done with this series, stretching my voice to the moon. Playing a million characters on In Living Color, being able to take lines and make them my own on The Proud Family and even The Proud Family now. I’m exhilarated to this moment. When I’m tired, I am tired, but I’m tired of doing good stuff. How can you beat that?

Buzz Knight:

Yeah, it’s a great energy. When you’re just exhausted because you know you’ve poured out there. We’ll go back to that experience of In Living Color. Did you ever imagine that that would become such a pivotal show in our life?

Tommy Davidson:

I did. I mean, me and Jim and David and Damon, we knew what the show was going to do. We just didn’t think it’d ever get on the air. We come from the mid to late ’80s and there was no show in sight that was going to be like that. The thing that was surprising to me is I didn’t know that we contained the seed of a coming culture, but we did. Once we got on the air nothing’s been the same, when it comes to TV and movies and radio. We changed radio because all of a sudden there was comedy talked about every single morning from the time you guys signed on to the time you guys signed off talking about characters and laughing about this and about that and he brought everybody together. Now everybody’s apart in their phones.

Buzz Knight:

Yeah. Do you think Steve Jobs intended things to be this way with iPhones and such?

Tommy Davidson:

Yeah, I think he was ahead of the curve. He imagined that it would aid in some division. Now I only say that this is subjective, but I only say that because 70% of the activity is isolated, not interactive with other people that you can see and talk to. They’re represented by a picture. You don’t even know who they really are.

Buzz Knight:

Go back Tommy to working on Martin. There’s a gentleman that was on this podcast some time ago named Topper Carew that I was fortunate to get to run into. What was that Martin Project and working with Topper and the whole crew there, Martin, what was that like?

Tommy Davidson:

That was great. Martin had really hit a crescendo in his career and he got out there with me in ’87 in Hollywood, from Washington DC. And finally had run into a good producer, was doing a lot of stuff. He had done DC Cab, proper career, done a lot of stuff, and they hooked up and did a TV show and it worked. Martin called me, asked me to do a guest spot, it ended up being one of the best guest spots on the whole show and we haven’t looked back.

Buzz Knight:

That’s great. So I want to talk about the musical influences that led you to your music path today. Who were some of those musical influences?

Tommy Davidson:

Let me see. Kansas, Grand Funk, Rush, Parliament-Funkadelic, Ohio Players, Earth, Wind & Fire, Cameo, Fleetwood Mac, Santana, The Jackson 5, Dionne Warwick, Paul Simon, I mean, pour it on me.

Buzz Knight:

Wow, that’s diverse my friend.

Tommy Davidson:

Yeah. Yeah. And I got lucky because I was a kid in the ’70s and diverse. We were already diverse because we had to listen to AM and with AM you had to listen to everything. We all went from different backgrounds, different economic backgrounds, religious backgrounds, and all of a sudden we were all in school together and it worked. That experiment actually worked.

Buzz Knight:

Yeah.

Tommy Davidson:

You agree?

Buzz Knight:

I completely agree completely. So what was it like headlining, co-headlining on the tour recently, Kat Williams and your association with that Dave Koz guy? What was that experience like?

Tommy Davidson:

Dave Koz guy. It’s the best. I’m luckier than Lucky Charms, the little leprechaun. Being able to work with people I’ve been wanting to work with, and I hadn’t met Kat Williams before and he turned out to be a great guy and I got a great position on the show, we’re traveling the country. I get to do my comedy. Each time I get to do what I love to do. Great, great day, man.

Buzz Knight:

Who are the people that you haven’t had a chance to work with that you’d like to have a chance?

Tommy Davidson:

, Eddie Murphy, Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson the cowboy guy. We all know him. I’m going to blank this morning.

Buzz Knight:

Willie Nelson?

Tommy Davidson:

No, he’s got the cigar and he was in Unforgiven.

Buzz Knight:

Oh, Clint.

Tommy Davidson:

Yeah. Clint Eastwood, Halle Berry. I mean, the list could go on and on. Adam Sandler.

Buzz Knight:

It’s a pretty darn good list, Tommy.

Tommy Davidson:

Holly Hunter, been trying to work with Holly Hunter my whole freaking career. I love her. I definitely have a variety of menu of aspirations to perform.

Buzz Knight:

And that inspires you every day you wake up. Yeah?

Tommy Davidson:

Every day. Every day I wake up, I’m inspired that I woke up.

Buzz Knight:

Oh, you’re the best. This is so cool to be talking to you. I want to congratulate you on Proud Family season two Disney+, but I want to congratulate you on everything going on, and I only wish you an outstanding rest of 2023.

Tommy Davidson:

Thank you so much man, and thanks for going, like absolutely good.

Buzz Knight:

Thanks man. Appreciate it.

Tommy Davidson:

Absolutely good.

Speaker 3:

Takin’ A Walk with Buzz Knight is available on Spotify, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts.

Buzz Knight is an established media executive with a long history of content creation and multi-platform distribution.

After a successful career as a Radio Executive, he formed Buzz Knight Media which focuses on strategic guidance and the development of new original content.