Comedian Tom Dreesen
Tom Dreesen left his hometown of Harvey, Illinois over 45 years ago to seek fame and fortune in Hollywood. Since that time, he has made over 500 appearances on national television as a standup comedian including 61 appearances on the Tonight Show. He was a favorite guest of David Letterman and has hosted the show during David’s absence. For years, he has been a regular in all of the main showrooms in Las Vegas performing with Sammy Davis, Jr., Lisa Minnelli, Natalie Cole, Smokey Robinson, Mac Davis, Tony Orlando and for 14 years in seven different casinos and toured the nation as the opening act for Frank Sinatra.
As an actor, he’s appeared in many motion pictures like Trouble With the Curve, Spaceballs, Man On the Moon, HBO movies Rat Pack and Lansky, and mastered roles on television shows like Columbo, Touched By An Angel, Murder She Wrote, Facts of Life and WKRP in Cincinnati.
The first 6 years of his career he shared the stage with Tim Reid as America’s first black and white comedy team and as history shows, they were the last. The duo recently wrote a book called Tim and Tom An American Comedy in Black and White about their escapades touring the nation from 1969 to 1975, which is now in the process of becoming a movie.
Tom’s current book Still Standing. My Journey from Streets and Saloons to the Stage and Sinatra is receiving rave reviews.
He is currently appearing in theaters around the country in his one man show, An Evening of Laughter and Stories of Sinatra, displaying his critically acclaimed comedy skills with his extraordinary storytelling ability. The combination of the two led Chicago Tribune critic Rick Kogan to write, “Brilliant, funny, poignant”.
His manager of over 30 years says, “Tom has lent his talent to over 100 charities including one he founded called Day for Darlene running 26 miles three years in a row to raise money and honor his sister Darlene who was challenged with Multiple Sclerosis. An ex-GI and strong supporter of our troops, he’s performed in military bases all over the world including Iraq. On May 14, 2005, he received the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor Award for humanitarian service to his country.
Daily Variety wrote, “Dreesen is one of the most respected comedians of our time”. Larry Wilde, author of the book, The Great Comedians, said, “Excellent material, superb delivery, impeccable timing. Tom Dreesen is the QuintessentiaComedian.” Frank Sinatra said, “Tommy is a brilliant comedian and a master, Master of Ceremonies”.