The world of stand-up comedy has lost one of its most enduring voices with the death of Tom Dreesen, who died Wednesday, June 17, at his home in Los Angeles at age 86. No cause of death was given.
Dreesen’s children announced in a message posted to his official Facebook page that their father passed away early in the morning, noting that he wanted audiences to know how much joy they had brought him over the years. A statement from his family obtained by PEOPLE said, “For more than five decades, Tom Dreesen brought laughter, heart, and humanity to audiences across America. A proud native of Harvey, Illinois, Tom built a remarkable career through perseverance, talent.”
Opening for Ol’ Blue Eyes
Perhaps most famous for his 14-year run as Frank Sinatra’s opening act, Dreesen began warming up crowds for the legendary crooner in 1983. The partnership would come to define much of his legacy in show business. Dreesen and Sinatra developed a deep friendship, and when the singer died in 1998, Dreesen served as a pallbearer and spoke at his funeral.
Before Sinatra, Dreesen warmed up audiences for other entertainment giants including Liza Minnelli, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight and Sammy Davis Jr.
From Harvey to Hollywood
Born on Sept. 11, 1939, Dreesen was the third child in a poor family of eight growing up in Harvey, a south suburb of Chicago. To help make ends meet, he sold newspapers, shined shoes and set pins in bowling alleys from a young age. After dropping out of Thornton Township High School as a sophomore, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy at 17, leaving the service in 1960.
Following his Navy service, Dreesen returned to the Chicago area and worked a series of jobs, including selling insurance. During this period he met Tim Reid, who would later star in “WKRP in Cincinnati,” and in 1969 the two formed “Tim and Tom.”
The duo became one of the first interracial comedy teams in the United States. “Together, they became one of America’s first interracial comedy duos, using humor to break barriers and open doors during a time of great social change,” the family statement read. The partnership left a lasting impression on the comedy world, and Dreesen and Reid co-wrote the 2008 book “Tim and Tom: An American Comedy Act in Black and White,” chronicling their experience performing together during a turbulent era. After the duo split, Dreesen launched a solo career that would span more than five decades.
A Late-Night Fixture
Over the course of his career, Dreesen racked up more than 500 national television appearances. He made roughly 60 visits to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, establishing himself as one of the most reliable stand-ups of his generation.
Dreesen was also a frequent guest, and occasional guest host, on The Late Show with David Letterman. His friendship with Letterman dated back to the early 1970s, when both performed at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood. “He had wisdom and endless stories. Everyone admired him, looked up to him,” Letterman wrote in a tribute. Dreesen’s final television appearance came just last week on “Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen.”
Beyond stand-up, Dreesen built a steady career as a character actor with film credits including “Spaceballs,” “Man on the Moon” and “Trouble With the Curve,” along with the HBO movies “The Rat Pack” and “Lansky.” On television, he appeared in series such as “Columbo,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “Touched by an Angel.”
Drawing on his roots as a Chicago teamster, Dreesen helped organize a 1979 strike at The Comedy Store to ensure that comedians were paid for their work. In his later years, he devoted himself to charitable causes, motivational speaking, and veterans’ work, serving as an ambassador for the Gary Sinise Foundation. “America lost one of our great comedians and patriots, and I lost a dear friend,” Gary Sinise wrote following news of his death.
