David Toma (born 1933) 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 network from 1973 to 1974.
Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey as the youngest of 12 children, Toma graduated from West Side High School.[1]
In 1956, after serving 3 years in the USMC as a drill instructor and following a brief career as a professional baseball player, Toma joined the Newark Police Department, 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 led to his book being picked up and the development of a television series based on his exploits.[1] Toma ran on ABC from 1973 to 1974, with Tony Musante playing Toma.[2] In his review of the show in The New York Times, John J. O'Connor described Toma's groundbreaking role as "a loner, openly distrustful of the competence and honesty of his fellow police officers,"[3] Eventually, Musante and others involved with Toma thought that the series had become too formula-based; the show was canceled and eventually resurrected in part as Baretta, which ran from 1975 to 1978, with Robert Blake playing the title character.[4][5]
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.[1][6] 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.[5]
He and his wife Pat are residents of Clark, New Jersey. They have four children: son Jimmy; daughters Patricia Anne, Donna, and Janice.[1][6]
Caruba, Alan. "Toma is Returning", The New York Times, 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." O'Connor, John J. "TV: N.B.C. Crime Film Neuman's Police Story Casts Connors and Morrow as Thug and His Pursuer", The New York Times, March 22, 1973. Accessed January 20, 2020. "Last night, at 8:30 on the American Broadcasting Company, several, of the same themes were played with variations on Toma, based on 'real events' in the life of Dave Toma, a detective and a 'master of disguise' from the nonce force in Newark. Following the trail of a numbers operation, Toma (Tony Musante) transformed himself into a hood, a priest, a roofer, a wino and a hippie, just to mention a few disguises." O'Connor, John J. "Television: A Cop Is A Policeman Is A Centurion", The New York Times, April 1, 1973. Accessed January 20, 2020. "In Toma, Tony Musante played Detective Dave Toma, a real policeman from Newark, N. J., who also was employed as adviser and actor in the production. In tracking down a rackets boss, Toma's gimmick was in assuming a series of disguises, from priest to hippie. But Toma also had a more subtle and infinitely rarer gimmick: He was a loner, openly distrustful of the competence and honesty of his fellow police officers." McMurran, Kristin. "With Stunning Intensity, David Toma, Ex-Cop, Ex-Addict and Model for TV's Baretta, Harangues Kids Against Drugs", People (magazine), 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." Police Books: Dave Toma, 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...." 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."
