Standup comedian Tom Dreesen, who opened for Frank Sinatra, forced comedy clubs to pay their laugh-masters, and broke ground as half of the first interracial comedy team, has died.
He was 86.
He died of cancer in a California hospital, the Chicago Tribune reported.
His daughters announced his death on social media Wednesday, though they did not give a cause of death.
“My sister and I regret to inform you that our father passed away at 5:50 this morning,” his two daughters wrote. “He wanted you all to know how much joy you brought him through the years. He said to tell you that he loved you all. May he rest in peace.”
In a separate statement through a spokesperson, his family recalled someone who “brought laughter, heart, and humanity to audiences across America.”
Dreesen was born on Sept. 11, 1939, and found comedy after four years in the U.S. Navy. To support his wife and children, the then 21-year-old worked in construction, loaded trucks as a Teamster, bartended part time, and sold life insurance, he told California public radio station KCLU last year.
He met marketing executive Tim Reid after joining the Jaycees and working on drug-education programs for teens. Urged by both colleagues and students, they formed Tim & Tom, one of the earliest biracial comedy duos in the U.S., a pioneering move back in 1969. This put both men on the proverbial map. Their partnership was chronicled in the 2008 book “Tim & Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White,” by Ron Rapoport.
After the duo split, Reid went on to star as Venus Flytrap in “WKRP in Cincinnati” from 1978-82. Dreesen moved to Los Angeles, living on $1 a day and hitchhiking to The Comedy Store, begging for a set and bonding with other impoverished comedians.
“The bill every night was me, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Robin Williams, Gallagher and Michael Keaton,” Dreesen once told the Chicago Tribune. “The girl waiting tables was Debra Winger.”
Dreesen became known for leading a strike that forced comedy clubs, starting with The Comedy Store, to pay its performers, setting a nationwide standard, The Hollywood Reporter recounted.
During the 50-plus years that ensued, Dreesen logged more than 500 TV appearances, according to IMDB. That included at least 60 on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” plus numerous stints on “Late Night With David Letterman” and “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.” He was also known as the opening act for Frank Sinatra for nearly 14 years, starting in 1983. There were movies (“Spaceballs”), guest spots on numerous television series (“Murder, She Wrote,” “Columbo,” “Touched by an Angel”), and stand-up tours. As recently as last week, he appeared on a June 9 episode of “Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen,” Deadline noted.
He told all in his 2020 memoir, “Still Standing: My Journey From Streets and Saloons to the Stage, and Sinatra.”
Tributes poured in from those who had been influenced by Dreesen, from actor Gary Sinise, to Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts, to The Comedy Store.
“I never had the chance to meet him, but his name comes up any time you start learning the history of comedy in Chicago,” comedian and “The Daily Show” co-host Josh Johnson wrote on social media alongside a photo of Dreesen and Reid. “He and Tim Reid built one of the first interracial comedy duos in America and did it during a time when that took a level of courage that is hard to fully appreciate today.”
Letterman also publicly mourned his longtime pal.
“Tom was the first comedian I met at Comedy Store in 1975,” he wrote on Instagram. “We became friends immediately. He had wisdom and endless stories. Everyone admired him, looked up to him and wondered if he ever stopped talking. He never did, he never will. We love him for that. We’ll miss the stories. God bless you Tom. -DL.”