Tommy Davidson has spent his life dedicated to his craft. But his craft is not limited to one thing. From stand-up comedy to acting, from fashion designing to singing, Davidson has created a platform that allows him to indulge and succeed in everything he loves most.
Starting out in local comedy clubs, Davidson began establishing his reputation as an up-and-coming comedians, landing him a roles in classics like In Living Color and The Proud Family. Working alongside some of the biggest names in the comedy industry, he was able to continue his career, all while continuing to do what he did first — stand-up comedy.
Now, Davidson is on tour and bringing laughs to audiences across the U.S. On December 9,10 and 11 he will bring his comedy to North Texas, performing at The Addison Improv.
Tickets to the shows can be found at improvtx.com.
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Texas?
Well cowboys, naturally. Beautiful chicks, malls and there's one more, Brazilian steakhouses. I love the steakhouses.
Tell me a little bit about your tour.
Well, there are two of them. I've been on tour with Katt Williams. And then I do my own tour around the country to all the clubs I've been playing my whole career.
Have you been to the Dallas area on tour before?
Yeah, I mean for years. I've been going there for 30-some-odd years. I love it.
Do you experience any type of culture shock touring around the world?
No, I really blend in. I can go to Montana, I’m cool. I can go to China, I’m cool. But it’s because I’ve been around a lot. It's my humanness to fit in wherever I’m at. I don’t need language to do that.
Do you have any plans while you’re in Texas?
I like the malls so I might do some of that. I’ll go to Texas de Brazil and, for sure, some napping. I’m busy so I need some sweet sleep to make some sweet laughs.
Will you be filming a special over this tour?
No, I'm gonna wait on the special for now. I’m having so much fun doing my tour and building out my material and stuff. I don't have to do it now, I'm just having so much fun laughing with everybody, I don’t need anything else.
I just got into music, so I'm doing some music now and with The Proud Family, now we’re on Disney Plus. That's a lot of work right there and I’ve got a lot of fun stuff I'm doing with my career.
Speaking of music, I know that you've opened for artists like Freddie Jackson and Patti LaBelle, is that when you first realized that you wanted to dip into music?
Really the music was before comedy, years before I started doing comedy. I didn’t start comedy until I was 20, but it’s taken me this many years to actually get to music.
Twenty two years ago The Proud Family ended. Now, 22 years later, I’m doing The Proud Family again and the music I wanted to do when I was six. So now it's touring, it’s songwriting, its music videos, it’s writing for TV series, movies and traveling the world.
You design clothing as well right?
Yeah, it's called Tongue in Cheek. I’m starting out with accessories, ties, cotton squares and lapel pins. I’m doing men first, then from men to women and women to kids. I want to start with what I know how to do — men. I love fall, so I want to start with fall and winter. It’s when I dress the best.
Is the music writing process similar to how you write your comedy shows?
It's entirely different. Comedy to me is like swimming but writing a song is like roller skating — going to the store in roller skates. Have you ever been to the store in roller skates? Imagine that.
Your impressions are iconic and were featured quite a bit on In Living Color. Who is the most difficult person to impersonate?
Every one that I don’t do. My impressions don't come around that often but when they do they are really good. I will do an impression once I’m able to do one, but I can’t just learn it. I have to listen to enough and something happens. It's like it’s already there.
For example, President Obama.
I read that you wanted to be a chef at one point. What is your favorite meal to cook?
I like Cuban food, but I can do anything you want — Italian and Southern cuisine. I’m not too good at Greek, but I can make avgolemono, which is a Greek soup. I can do a great pot roast, turkey, chicken soup, pie, cupcakes.
Despite your success, you're still doing stand-up, but many people who reach the level of success you have stop doing stand-up. Why have you continued?
No one can tell me what to do and people want to see me. You go to a movie and work with a lot of actors, you do something and everyone is involved, sometimes they limit what you want to do. But when I do comedy I can do whatever I want to do. I can just say “hi” and “bye” and leave, and they will laugh, but I won’t do that. I’m really just excited to get out there and see everyone. Make people laugh.