Tom Teicholz

Tommy Davidson

In 1990, Tommy Davidson burst onto the scene in the Emmy Award-winning show In Living Color, a pioneering sketch comedy show, featuring a multi-racial cast of actors and dancers who spoke to an underrepresented new generation created by Hip Hop Nation. A story of black excellence, in this revealing memoir, Tommy shares his unique perspective on making it in Hollywood, being an integral part of television history, on fame and family, and on living a life that has never been black and white--just funny and true . . . Abandoned as an infant on the streets of Greenville, Mississippi, and rescued by a loving white family, Tommy Davidson spent most of his childhood unaware that he was different from his brother and sister. All that changed as he came of age in a society of racial barriers--ones that he was soon to help break. On a fledgling network, Tommy joined the cast of In Living Color, alongside other relative newcomers including Jim Carrey, Rosie Perez, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Lopez--all united by an ingenious throng of Wayans siblings (Keenen, Damon, Kim, Shawn, and Marlon), poised to break new ground. Now Tommy gives readers the never-before-told behind-the-scenes story of the first show born of the Hip Hop Nation: from its incredible rise, to his own creation of such unforgettable characters as Sweet Tooth Jones and dead-on impressions of Sammy Davis, Jr., Michael Jackson, M.C. Hammer and Sugar Ray Leonard, and appearing in such classic sketches as "Homie The Clown," the "Hey Mon, family," and the unforgettable "Ugly Woman," through guest-star skirmishes (and black eyes) to backstage tensions and the eventual fall of this pop-culture touchstone. He reveals his own nascent career on the stand-up circuit with Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld, Louie Anderson and performing with Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor, as well as reflections on working with Spike Lee, Halle Berry, Sam Jackson, Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett Smith. And he also shares his very personal story of living with--and being inspired and empowered by--two distinct family histories. Told with humor and hard-won honesty by a singular voice whose family and friendships help him navigate a life of personal and professional highs and lows, Living in Color is a bracing, illuminating, and remarkable success story. An homage to the groundbreaking series In Living Color was featured in Bruno Mars's music video for his hit song Finesse, a remixed collaboration with Cardi B. It was a loving tribute that exemplified the sustained cultural impact of the show, and now 90s kids can dig into their nostalgia through this humorous memoir of one of its stars!

Stories from in Living Color, Pop Culture, and the Stand-Up Comedy Scene of the 80s And 90s

Living in Color: What's Funny about Me

Marvin Traub

Traub directed Bloomingdale's from a second-tier New York department store to the most celebrated store in the world.

The Bloomingdale's Legend and the Revolution in American Marketing

Like No Other Store--

Offers an account of the trial of John Demjanjuk, who was convicted of committing war crimes as "Ivan the Terrible," a sadistic guard at the Treblinka concentration camp

State of Israel Vs. John Demjanjuk

The Trial of Ivan the Terrible

William H. Groner

The Epic Battle of the Ground Zero Responders

9/12

Los Angeles is as much concept as city, set in a desert that flows to the sea; that ends in the sand where an ocean begins whose horizon recedes in the sunset; a city where emigres and the children of immigrants have come to make their dreams come true. It is a mix of the sublime and the obvious, of the new and the nouveau, of the selfless and the selfish. It is as delicate as the quality of the light, the air and the surf; and as ephemeral. It is about the outdoors and about what happens behind closed doors. Life is lived in LA in a garden of unlimited potential, a crap game where people believe that, at any moment, one well placed bet can change your life. Tommywood covers this waterfront, filtering the landscape through a very personal lens. Writing Tommywood has allowed me to explore the city I live in and become more engaged and involved in the intellectual and dream life here. I've been able to interview icons as disparate as architect Frank Gehry, French philosopher Bernard Henri-Levy and legendary producer Robert Evans. I've had a backstage tour of Disney Hall, visited a charter school in South Central, and was a given a tour of his home by painter R.B. Kitaj before his untimely death."

The Fourth Installment of the Tommywood Series, a Collection of Columns and Writing on Arts and Culture: the Gospel According to Tommywood

Tommywood Jr. , Jr

Los Angeles is as much concept as city, set in a desert that flows to the sea; that ends in the sand where an ocean begins whose horizon recedes in the sunset; a city where emigres and the children of immigrants have come to make their dreams come true. It is a mix of the sublime and the obvious, of the new and the nouveau, of the selfless and the selfish. It is as delicate as the quality of the light, the air and the surf; and as ephemeral. It is about the outdoors and about what happens behind closed doors. Life is lived in LA in a garden of unlimited potential, a crap game where people believe that, at any moment, one well placed bet can change your life. Tommywood covers this waterfront, filtering the landscape through a very personal lens. Writing Tommywood has allowed me to explore the city I live in and become more engaged and involved in the intellectual and dream life here. I've been able to interview icons as disparate as architect Frank Gehry, French philosopher Bernard Henri-Levy and legendary producer Robert Evans. I've had a backstage tour of Disney Hall, visited a charter school in South Central, and was a given a tour of his home by painter R. B. Kitaj before his untimely death."

Close Encounters of the Tommywood Kind

The Third Installment of the Tommywood Series, a Collection of Columns and Writing on Arts and Culture: the Column Strikes Back

Tommywood III

Los Angeles is as much concept as city, set in a desert that flows to the sea; that ends in the sand where an ocean begins whose horizon recedes in the sunset; a city where emigres and the children of immigrants have come to make their dreams come true. It is a mix of the sublime and the obvious, of the new and the nouveau, of the selfless and the selfish. It is as delicate as the quality of the light, the air and the surf; and as ephemeral. It is about the outdoors and about what happens behind closed doors. Life is lived in LA in a garden of unlimited potential, a crap game where people believe that, at any moment, one well-placed bet can change your life. Tommywood covers this waterfront, filtering the landscape through a very personal lens. Writing Tommywood has allowed me to explore the city I live in and become more engaged and involved in the intellectual and dream life here. I've been able to interview icons as disparate as architect Frank Gehry, French philosopher Bernard Henri-Levy and legendary producer Robert Evans. I've had a backstage tour of Disney Hall, visited a charter school in South Central, and was a given a tour of his home by painter R. B. Kitaj before his untimely death."

The Second Installment of the Tommywood Series, a Collection of Columns and Writing on Arts and Culture

Son of Tommywood

The author, a former chairman, describes how Bloomingdale's developed from an average department store, into the most celebrated store in the world

Like No Other Store . . .

9/12 is the saga of the epic nine-year legal battle waged by William H. Groner against the City of New York and its contractors on behalf of the more than ten thousand first responders who became ill as a result of working on the Ground Zero cleanup. These first responders—like AT&T Disaster Relief head Gary Acker and New York Police Department detectives Candiace Baker, Thomas Ryan, and Mindy Hersh—rushed to Ground Zero and remained to work on the rescue and recovery mission, which lasted for the next nine months. Their selfless bravery and humanity were rewarded with horrible health issues resulting from the toxic stew of chemicals present in the dust and debris that government officials such as Mayor Rudy Giuliani and EPA chief Christine Todd Whitman had assured them was safe. Groner, a lead attorney in the mass tort litigation, fought for their illnesses to be acknowledged and for them to receive validation and closure, as well as for compensation—an eventual aggregate award of more than $800 million. As detailed in 9/12, the battle for the Ground Zero responders was waged not only in the courtroom but also in the press, in medical and scientific research centers, and among politicians at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as in the halls of Congress to pass the Zadroga Health and Compensation Act. 9/12 weaves together Groner’s firsthand account with glimpses into the first responders’ lives as they try to understand and overcome their illnesses. The result is an intimate look into their battles—physical, mental, and legal—that will leave you cheering for these heroes who, in spite of everything, would do it all again. Told by Groner and journalist Tom Teicholz, 9/12 is the story of the brave public servants who showed up when their country needed them most, of their fight for redress, and of their victory in the face of the seemingly insurmountable.

Tom Teicholz

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