Tom Davis, Sen. Al Franken's Comedy Partner, Has Died

[joeybee12]

In 2004, contestants on “Jeopardy!” were stumped by the clue “He was the comedy partner of Al Franken.”

Tom Davis, that comedy partner, sighed as he watched. He was so inured to being second fiddle to Mr. Franken, now a Democratic senator from Minnesota, that he called himself Sonny to Mr. Franken’s Cher.

But the fact is that Mr. Davis helped shape Mr. Franken’s comedy, and vice versa, from the time they entertained students with rebellious, razor-edged humor at high school assemblies in Minnesota.

In 1975, Mr. Davis, brilliant at improvisational comedy, and Mr. Franken, a whiz at plotting funny sequences, became two of the first writers on a new show called “Saturday Night Live,” which has lasted 37 years. (The two should actually be called one of the show’s first writers: they accepted a single salary of $350 a week. Each, singly, was called “the guys.”)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/arts/television/tom-davis-saturday-night-live-comedy-writer-dies-at-59.html

Very sad. RIP

[Yavin4]

1. RIP Mr. Davis

He was truly an original.

[Bertha Venation]

2. Sad news.

RIP Tom.

[SidDithers]

3. DU rec...

very sad. Thanks for posting.

Sid

[Spazito]

4. Very sad news...

RIP Mr. Davis.

[no_hypocrisy]

5. No! That's awful!

I read his autobiography about three years ago. I feel like I know him.

[Ruby the Liberal]

6. That was a nice tribute.

RIP Tom.

[Speck Tater]

7. I saw them at a club in Los Angeles many, many years ago.

They were hysterically funny. And of course there is their joint appearance as baggage handlers in the movie "Trading Places".

[Rhiannon12866]

8. OMG! How sad!

Godspeed to a man who made us laugh...

[Bluenorthwest]

9. That is really sad news. Tom Davis was so very funny.

Really sad.

[Cooley Hurd]

10. Shit!!!

Tom Davis was one of the original SNL writers!!!

Man... this is heartbreaking.

Cross gently, Tom.

[Vidar]

11. RIP Tom.

[tridim]

12. Damn, he was too young. Sorry Al.

[Vidar]

13. RIP Tom

[hifiguy]

14. RIP, Tom

You and Al gave me many great laughs over the years.

[Iggy]

15. Bummer

Franken & Davis.. I consider this the golden years of SNL... they're not that funny now

[Firebrand Gary]

16. So sad, my thoughts go to his family and friends. nt

[Brigid]

17. RIP, Mr. Davis.

Thank you for all the memories and all the laughs.

[pam4water]

18. RIP Mr. Davis

So sorry to hear.

[calimary]

19. Oh no! Franken and Davis were hilarious on SNL!

And he was indeed outshone by Franken. But they were a great team.

Rest in peace, Tom. We loved your humor.

[eppur_se_muova]

20. So sad. I remember a Franken & Davis SNL parody of political ads from years ago ...

... had one of them waving a big folder with the word "evidence" stenciled on it -- looked just like a bad ad for local political races. Couldn't find it on YouTube, too many other hits for Franken ...

[Auggie]

21. Dan Aykroyd:

Aykroyd spoke of Mr. Davis’s “massive contribution” to the (SNL) show, characterizing him as “very disciplined” and able to herd less focused writers toward something concrete. “There was no frivolous waste of time,” he said.

[ArchTeryx]

22. If you ever want to see them working together...

...go watch the movie Trading Places. They both have extended cameos as stoner Amtrak baggage handlers, and they're both hilarious. Lots of folks recognized Al Franken as one of the baggage handlers, but very, very few people realized that the other one was none other then Tom Davis.

He'll be sorely, sorely missed. Taken from us far too soon.

[edhopper]

23. Too young

they were very funny.

[myrna minx]

24. Rest in peace.

[The_Casual_Observer]

25. Brent Mydland intro for their warm up act for the Grateful Dead at Radio City NY:

Here's some guys named Frank and Dave ... I don't think they're very funny..

[madrchsod]

26. always like davis more than franklin...

they were a great comedy team

[The Wizard]

27. Always a sad day when a comic dies

Those who make us laugh make pain dissipate.

[nolabear]

28. Oh how sad. His work was wonderful. I remember him well.

RIP Mr. Davis.

[scarletwoman]

29. Very sad news. Way too young.

R.I.P. Tom, you were brilliant.

[Honeycombe8]

30. Only 59. Cancer. How sad. nt

[joeybee12]

31. Anyone recall the Franken and Davis Show skits on SNL?

They were recurring on the early SNL's...the funniest one I recall was the Mr. America contest and Tom...for the talent portion...came out in a one-piece black leotard and basically molded his body against these huge cubes...by sitting in different places...set to music. It was so bizarre and so hysterical...I couldn't stop laughing.