Jump to content

Tom Davis (comedian)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Cydebot (talk | contribs) at 18:36, 4 August 2017 (Robot - Speedily moving category Deaths from cancer in New York to Category:Deaths from cancer in New York (state) per CFDS.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Tom Davis
Birth nameThomas James Davis
Born(1952-08-13)August 13, 1952
St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedJuly 19, 2012(2012-07-19) (aged 59)
Hudson, New York, U.S.
MediumTelevision
NationalityAmerican
Years active1975–2012
SpouseMimi Raleigh
(m. 1991, permanently separated since 1999; his death)

Thomas James "Tom" Davis (August 13, 1952 – July 19, 2012) was an American writer, comedian, and author. He is best known for his comedy partnership with Al Franken, as half of the comedy duo "Franken & Davis" on the Saturday Night Live television show on NBC.

Life and career

Davis was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He attended The Blake School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he began his friendship and professional partnership with Al Franken. In 1975, Davis got his big break as one of the original writers for Saturday Night Live, where he and Franken also performed together. The duo wrote the screenplay for, and appeared in, the film One More Saturday Night, and had brief appearances in Trading Places and The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash. Davis was a frequent guest on The Al Franken Show, appearing in sketches as various characters. In a well-known sketch on Saturday Night Live, he provided the voice calling into an interview with Dan Aykroyd's Jimmy Carter as the youngster that Jimmy Carter talked down from a bum trip. Davis created the SNL sketches "Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber" (with Steve Martin), "Nick The Lounge Singer" (with Bill Murray), "The Continental" (with Christopher Walken), and "Coneheads" (with Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin).[2]

Illness and death

In 2009, Davis was diagnosed with cancer. He was treated at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, where, on March 31, 2009, Dr. Eric Genden removed a tumor on Davis' right tonsil that had metastasized to an adjoining lymph node with minimally invasive robotic surgery.[3]

Davis died on July 19, 2012, of throat and neck cancer, aged 59.[4] He is survived by his wife, Mimi Raleigh, a veterinarian in Mount Kisco, New York, whom he married in 1991; they separated in 1999, but reconciled before his death. He is also survived by his mother, Jean Davis, and a large extended family.[5]

Bibliography

  • Thirty-Nine Years of Short-Term Memory Loss (2009; ISBN 978-0-8021-1880-6)
  • Owsley and Me: My LSD Family by Rhoney Gissen Stanley and Tom Davis (2012; ISBN 978-0-9833589-3-0)

Filmography

References

  1. ^ "Tom Davis Dies at 59; 'SNL' Writer and Comedy Partner to a Future Senator". The New York Times. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |newspaper= (help)
  2. ^ Tom Davis at IMDb
  3. ^ Tuesday (2010-04-27). "The Apiary - A Comedy Website". The Apiary. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  4. ^ "Tom Davis Dies at 59; 'SNL' Writer and Comedy Partner to a Future Senator". The New York Times. July 19, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |newspaper= (help)
  5. ^ Shapiro, T. Ross. "Tom Davis, 'SNL' writer, Franken's comedy partner, dies at 59". Washington Post. Retrieved July 20, 2012.