Exclusive: Why You Should Be Following Tommy Davidson And ‘Vacation Creation’
Tommy Davidson discusses how he was led to “Vacation Creation.”
A few years ago I ran into actor/comedian Tommy Davidson in line at a coffee shop. I’ve met quite a few celebrities but he was one that always stood out for me. Trying not to be too intrusive, I quickly shared a few words of praise. Remembering an “In Living Color” sketch that my family and I hysterically laughed at, I praised his talent and left it at that. Rather than a simple thank you, he turned around and engaged in conversation. He spent the time to ask about me and my family and seemed genuinely interested. Since then, that moment stood out as one of my favorite celebrity encounters.
Recently I spoke with Tommy again and unsurprisingly, many have had a similar encounter. It turns out that Tommy Davidson is just that genuine and he’s living proof that nice guys don’t always finish last. In his latest reality series “Vacation Creation,” Tommy gets to make dreams come true. For those that may not have the means to take the trip they’ve fantasized about, Tommy Davidson helps to make that fantasy a reality. When first asked how this project came about, it turns out that Tommy’s kindheartedness paved the way.
“Actually, it came across my desk as a project for me, but come to find out, David Doyle, who’s one of the executive producers of the project, knew me back when I used to host an open mic at a comedy club back in ’88. He said to me, ‘Hey man, I wasn’t that funny and you just kept putting me on every week. Every week you put me on and you were so nice to me. And every time I walked away, you were like, ‘Come back again’. And he said he never forgot that. So when they finally told me, ‘The producer wants to call you and tell you what the show is about and he really wants you for the show,’ he told me that story and he said, ‘that’s the reason why I want you for the show is because you’re the kind of person that can do this’. Isn’t that something?”
There’s a lot of reality television out there. Many credit reality TV with polluting our television standards. When asking Tommy about this genre of television, he clarified how he distinguishes the good from the bad.
The resolve of the shows that I grew up with, there was always some kind of problem solving….
“The resolve of the shows that I grew up with, there was always some kind of problem solving. The problem started in the beginning, then the solving happened and there was a lesson learned. From ‘I Love Lucy’ to ‘The Honeymooners’ to ‘Gilligan’s Island’ to ‘Bewitched’ to ‘I Dream of Jeanie’ to ‘The Brady Bunch’ to ‘The Cosby Show’, on and on. And those are the type of shows that were popular. Now the reality show, the resolve seems to be a problem that continues. And it’s never solved, it’s only aggravated as time goes on. And then it seems like the other category is, you’re going to have to be the best out of everyone in the group. So you’re gonna have to climb your way to the top so that you can be the winner. And that goes for the cooking shows or ‘I’m gonna fix up a restaurant’ show…or you have to figure out how to be the best entrepreneur and make the most money you can and that’s the resolve. Or the resolve is, ‘b*tch I’m gonna punch you in your face’. I don’t have anything against the shows or the people that are working on the shows, it’s that the resolve is not something that I would prefer. That’s all.”
When asked about other reality TV shows, I couldn’t recall if “Vacation Creation” was Tommy’s first run at reality television. It turns out he had some fun with reality television in the past.
“No, I did a thing with my wife, I did ‘Wife Swap’. Which is the only thing I’ve done in that category. And that was kind of fun for sh*ts and giggles you know? But it ended up looking good on TV and I ended up being able to do something with my daughter and her son. It was positive you know? “
With “Vacation Creation,” Tommy is able to make a lot of dreams come true. Those that aren’t fortunate enough to travel to their dream destination get a once in a lifetime opportunity. Asking Tommy about some of the lavish destinations, he revealed some of his favorite places they traveled on the show.
“Mykonos, Monaco, Juneau, Alaska, parts of Alaska you’ve never even heard of. I mean up in the polar caps and craziness. The most beautiful waterfalls you’ve ever seen in Vancouver. I just was in Cartagena, Colombia. And I swear to you dude, we took a speed boat for about an hour and 45 minutes and I was like, ‘Where are we going?’ And when we got there it was nothing but houses on islands and it was a dolphin reserve. And the water was up to your neck as far as you could see. You could see right to the bottom like it was glass.”
Mykonos, Monaco, Juneau, Alaska, parts of Alaska you’ve never even heard of.
As a host of a fun-filled show, Tommy Davidson is a great fit. With his comedic background and uplifting personality, it’s easy to see why he was a choice for hosting a show like this.
“Well what I’m doing is bringing my personality to it. It’s not comedy per se. I can’t help but see things in a certain way. So you’re getting me, being me. “
Finally, discussing Tommy’s plans for this show, I was curious as to what was next. He is a very “go with the flow” type person and lives life to the fullest. With a long-time career in the industry, Tommy goes where the wind takes him and does so with a smile on his face.
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
“This is something valuable to me. It’s a really good series. We’re going to be working really hard on this until January. It’s just one of those projects, like all of the projects that I work on, which is just another facet of what I do. Like ‘Proud Family’ the cartoon, it was five years and everybody did a great job. ‘Black Dynamite’ the movie, it was good. ‘Woo’, the movie, it was good. ‘Ace Ventura’, the movie, it was good. ‘Booty Call’, the movie, it was good. Then the animated series to ‘Black Dynamite’, it was good. Just chunking them in, doing a good job, and putting good stuff out there. So this is just another one [and] whatever it leads to is the next thing. Whether we go into another season of it or it ends up leading to a movie of another kind, you know what I mean? I just want to do a good job the whole way out and make this exactly what it should be and then let the chips fall. It’s worked for me for 30 years.”
Reality television isn’t a realm we usually cover but this show does have a genuine message. It also has a very genuine person as the host. When examining the talent out there, Tommy Davidson is someone who is both talented and humble. He’s an accomplished stand-up comedian, a TV and movie star, and has a diversified list of credits. He’s made a career out of making people laugh and remaining genuine and that’s why you should keep an eye on the path he follows.
“Vacation Creation” is on The CW and viewers can tune in every Saturday morning at 8am.
