David Toma (born 1934) is a former police officer whose undercover work and battles with his superiors became the basis of the television series '' Toma'', which ran on the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
network from 1973 to 1974.
Born and raised in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.West Side High School.Caruba, Alan "Toma is Returning" ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', June 12, 1977. Accessed January 20, 2020. "Clark is not far from where Mr. Toma was born and reared in the Central Ward of Newark, the youngest of 12 brothers and sisters. However, distance can be measured in many ways, and the Dave Toma of today lives in an entirely different world than the one in which he graduated from West Side High School in Newark, played a little professional baseball and then spent three years in the United States Marines as a drill instructor."
In 1956—after serving 3 years in the
USMC
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...
as a
drill instructor
A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces, fire department, or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. Foot drill, military step, and marching are typically taught by drill instructors.
Australia
Austr ...
and following a brief career as a professional baseball player—Toma joined the
Newark Police Department
Established in April 1857, the Newark Police Department (NPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving Newark, New Jersey, and the largest municipal law enforcement agency in New Jersey. As of December 2017 the force had 1,146 officers.
In ...
, staying on for 21 years. Initially a patrol officer, Toma moved up to narcotics detective; he was frustrated with minor criminals being frequently arrested, while the big-time criminals who ran the illegal operations were unaffected. Toma started going undercover, often using disguises, in order to better observe major-league crooks. While higher-ups in the department objected to his techniques, he succeeded in amassing a significant record of arrests. He wrote a book based on his 20 years of experiences as a police officer but was unsuccessful in finding a publisher for the book. His demonstration of quick-change disguises on the ''
Mike Douglas Show
''The Mike Douglas Show'' was an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went into natio ...
'' led to his book being picked up and the development of a television series based on his exploits. '' Toma'' ran on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
from 1973 to 1974, with
Tony Musante
Anthony Peter Musante Jr. (June 30, 1936 – November 26, 2013) was an American actor, best known for the TV series '' Toma'' as Detective David Toma, Nino Schibetta in '' Oz'' (1997), and Joe D'Angelo in ''As the World Turns'' (2000-2003). In mo ...
playing Toma. In his review of the show in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', John J. O'Connor described Toma's groundbreaking role as "a loner, openly distrustful of the competence and honesty of his fellow police officers," Eventually, Musante and others involved with ''Toma'' thought that the series had become too formula-based; the show was cancelled and eventually resurrected in part as ''
Baretta
''Baretta'' is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978.
The show was a revised and milder version of a 1973–1974 ABC series, '' Toma'', starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police ...
'', which ran from 1975 to 1978, with
Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to:
Sportspeople
* Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player
* Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer
* Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player
* Rob Blake (born 19 ...
People (magazine)
''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People'' had the la ...
'', July 7, 1980. Accessed January 20, 2020. "Disillusioned but not discouraged, Toma took a two-month leave of absence from police work, borrowed as much as he could from his family, and continued pushing his idea for a series. The result was ''Toma'' in 1973, starring Tony Musante, followed when he quit a year later by ''Baretta'', with Robert Blake."
In 1977, producer Bob Roberts and Trans World Attractions developed a film based on his career, with a screenplay written by Frank Scioscia.
For decades after retiring from the police department, Toma lectured high school and college students about the dangers of alcohol and other drugs. He focused on his own personal experiences as a drug addict, which began after his 5-year-old son David Junior died in a choking accident; doctors had prescribed tranquilizers to help Toma cope with his son's death.Remo, Jessica "Clark Resident, Former Detective Warns ALJ Students About Drugs, Alcohol David Toma was a police officer for 21 years, 17 of those years as a narcotics detective in Newark." Clark-Garwood, NJ Patch, October 2, 2013. Accessed January 20, 2020. "After decorating for the fall pep rally, other students and parents arrived for the keynote speaker of the evening. Special guest speaker and Clark resident, Dave Toma, presented to inspire the ALJ student athletes and community to make good choices when it comes to the use of illegal substances and alcohol.... He was a police officer for 21 years, 17 of those years as a detective in the Vice, Gambling, and Narcotics Squad in one of the busiest cities in the world, Newark, New Jersey." To date he has lectured thousands of students and continues his efforts to this day.
Toma's books include ''Toma: The Compassionate Cop'', ''Airport Affair'' and ''Turning Your Life Around: David Toma's Guide for Teenagers''. Police Writers. Accessed January 20, 2020. "This TV series started off with good intentions and was a hard-hitting, realistic urban police drama. But star Tony Musante was worried it was going to go the route of every other cop show and just become formulaic. When he pushed for creative changes, producers pushed back, and the show ended after just one season. The concept re-emerged the following year as ''Beretta'' starring Robert Blake. Toma authored two books, ''Toma: The Compassionate Cop'' and ''Airport Affair.'' According to the book description of ''Turning Your Life Around: David Toma's Guide for Teenagers''...."
He and his wife Pat are residents of
Clark, New Jersey
Clark is a township in southern Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 15,544 an increase of 788 (+5.3%) from the 2010 census count of 14,756, which had in turn increased by ...
. They have four children: son Jimmy; daughters Patricia Anne, Donna, and Janice.