Tommy Ford From ‘Martin’ Dead at 52

Actor Tommy Ford passed away yesterday in an Atlanta area hospital. He was 52.

He was best known for playing Martin Lawrence's best friend Tommy Strawn on the popular sitcom "Martin" and Mel Parker on the UPN show "The Parkers".

He suffered a ruptured aneurysm in his abdomen over the weekend, and that put him on life support. Unfortunately, things didn't improve and he didn't make it.

On September 28th Tommy had knee replacement surgery. He even posted about it on Instagram. However, there's no indication that the knee surgery had anything to do with the aneurysm.

Martin Lawrence Tweeted: "We were friends way before the show, and showed true friendship on-screen. You brought a lot of love to the world, and you'll be greatly missed. My heart is heavy with the loss of my brother."

In a sweet gesture, some of Tommy's castmates flew out yesterday to be with him before he died.