Tommy Davidson Celebrates ‘In Living Color’ Mini-Reunion
There was no Jamie Foxx, Jim Carrey or David Alan Grier on hand, but Tommy Davidson still considers reuniting with his In Living Color pal Damon Wayans on the sitcom Poppa’s House “the best thing I've done in 15 years when it comes to TV.”
In a new episode, Davidson plays an old prank partner of Poppa (Wayans). “It was just being with family and being with people that know me,” Davidson told TV Insider. “It can be a challenge walking onto a set, and nobody knows you, and they don’t know what you’re capable of, and you’re reading the script and got better things to bring to it. But they don’t care. It wasn’t that way with them. They know what I can do. They give you the right sidewalk to walk on, no cracks.”
Davidson also reunited with Poppa’s House costar Damon Wayans Jr., who used to run around the In Living Color set as a kid. “Damon Jr. has grown into a consummate professional,” explained Davidson. “He is a lot further than I was at that age about knowing about writing and production and stuff like that. He’s there and ready. It reminds me of Deion Sanders and his son. To see that our children have the opportunity to do what we did is so uniquely special because that does not happen in the majority of this world.”
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Wayans and Davidson are teaming up again in the same year that In Living Color celebrates its 35th anniversary, a show that Wayans calls “the greatest institution that never was.”
The two comics recently visited Entertainment Tonight to discuss the show’s legacy. “If I wasn’t absolutely nuclear funny, I wouldn’t know (Wayans),” Davidson said about getting cast on the sketch show. Both performers began as stand-up comics, and Davidson knew it meant something when he could make a fellow comedian laugh. “That’s a lot. That’s not an audience member.”
“Tommy was beyond funny,” Wayans agreed. “He didn’t just tell jokes. He performed.”
Wayans holds the distinction of being the only comic who was a cast member on both In Living Color and Saturday Night Live, although Lorne Michaels famously fired him from SNL for going off-script during a live sketch. “He should have fired me,” Wayans explained. “You know, having now produced shows, you have to follow protocol.”
But that doesn’t mean Wayans regrets his antics. “I did the right thing to get fired because we wouldn't be talking about In Living Color,” he said. “Lorne Michaels knows I’m the one that got away. I proved him wrong.”
