“Martin” star Thomas Mikal Ford, better known as Tommy Ford, died Wednesday in an Atlanta hospital at the age of 52, a representative for the actor confirmed.
The actor was placed on life support and hospitalized on Sunday for an aneurysm that ruptured in his abdomen, his wife told TMZ.
A statement from Ford’s social media account said that he was surrounded by family when he died.
“To all family and friends of Tommy Ford. We would like to inform everyone that our brother passed away today October 12, 2016 surrounded by his loving family. Please keep his family in your prayers as they go through this challenging time. He was so dearly loved by so many and for that lets all be grateful for a life well served.”
Ford was best known for playing Thomas “Tommy” Strawn through all five seasons of the ’90s Fox sitcom “Martin,” starring Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell-Martin.
Strawn was one of Martin’s best friends on the show and usually portrayed himself as a ladies’ man. His character was popular for having a mysterious employment status — to this day, we still don’t know what Tommy did for a living.
In addition to his work on “Martin,” he starred on one season of the cop drama “New York Undercover” in the late ’90s and had a recurring role on the Mo’Nique comedy “The Parkers.”
His film credits included roles in the 1989 Eddie Murphy comedy “Harlem Nights,” the 1990 Brad Pitt track drama “Across the Tracks” and 2014’s “For Love or Money.”