Tom Dreesen, 1939 – 2026

Comic Tom Dreesen, 86, died on June 17. Dreesen started his career with Tim Reid (later of WKRP in Cincinnati) in a rare biracial comedy duo—they wrote the book Tim & Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White about their act. On his own, Dreesen appeared in such movies and TV shows as Columbo, The Facts of Life, Touched by an Angel, Murder, She Wrote, Spaceballs, The Rat Pack, and Trouble with the Curve. He opened for Frank Sinatra for more than a decade, and was a frequent Late Show with David Letterman guest (and occasional guest host). Dreesen said of opening for Sinatra, “It’s hard to describe what it was like being in that rarefied air. It’s hard to describe what it was like walking out in front of 20,000 people and not one of them came to see you. They came to see him! Your job is to get their attention and then turn that around and get them laughing and setting them up for him. The challenge was, can I get them laughing and get them up for the Chairman of the Board? And I did! And not patting myself on the back, but I did. And that’s why he kept me with him all those years.”