Career
In Martin, Ford played Tommy Strawn who was, at times, the straight man for Martin Lawrence"s jokes, but he very often inserted scene-stealing "bald-headed logic" and witty comments in odd situations. Also, his character was often the subject of many jokes regarding his mysterious employment status though Tisha Campbell-Martin revealed he was a counselor and presumably unemployed after Ford complained that his character lacked development. After Martin ended, Ford found success in the revamped-for-1998 FOX detective drama New York Undercover.
He played the role of Lieutenant Malcolm Barker.
Ford played a recurring role in the Universitas Pembangunan Nasional sitcom The Parkers as Nikki"s ex-husband (and Kim"s father), Mel Parker, in 7 episodes. He played Ben Cummings in The Power of Passion as one of the characters whose wife cheats on him with the pastor.
His lampoons of stereotypical African-American preachers appear throughout his work, beginning with Martin. He is also known as The Pope of Comedy, due to exposure as a judge on television One"s comedy competition show Who"s Got Jokes? starring Bill Bellamy.
In film, Ford appeared in the Kid "n Play movie Class Acting as Mink, a hustler.
In Harlem Nights he played Tommy Smalls, the brother of Arsenio Hall"s character. He can also be seen in the 1997 Nancy Allen crime drama Against the Law. Martin (1992–1997) as Tommy Strawn
New York Undercover (1998–1999) as Lieutenant
Malcolm Barker
The Jamie Foxx Show (1999) as Marcus
The Parkers (1999–2001) as Mel Parker
Who"s Got Jokes? (2006–2008) as Pope of Comedy
Let"s Stay Together (2011) as the Reverend.