Comedy trailblazer Tom Dreesen, Sinatra’s longtime opening act, dies at 86

Comedian Tom Dreesen talks to the media during a news conference in La Quinta, Calif., on Jan. 18, 2011.

LOS ANGELES — Tom Dreesen, who along with partner Tim Reid formed one of America’s first interracial stand-up comedy duos and later spent years as Frank Sinatra’s opening act, died Wednesday. He was 86.

Dreesen died at his home in Los Angeles, according to publicist Lori De Waal. A cause of death was not provided.

After meeting in Chicago, Dreesen and Reid, who was Black, formed “Tim and Tom” in 1969. Against a backdrop of simmering racial tension, they used humor to address social issues and promote understanding between audiences of different backgrounds. They worked together until the mid-1970s. Reid went on to solo success playing DJ Venus Flytrap on the popular TV sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati,” where Dreesen was a guest star.

After splitting with Reid, Dreesen honed a solo comedy act, making over 500 national TV appearances, including 60 visits to “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” He also was a frequent guest and sometime guest host on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” Their friendship dated to the early 1970s when both worked at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood, California.

Dreesen’s final TV appearance came last week on “Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen,” which replaced Stephen Colbert’s canceled CBS late-night show.

Dreesen was Sinatra’s opening act for 14 years and became close with the entertainer.

“If he loved you, he worshipped the ground you walked on,” Dreesen told The Desert Sun newspaper in 2014. ”In a lot of ways, he was like a father to me. I didn’t have a father that really cared that much where I was and what I did. But Frank would give me advice and counsel, and then he was a buddy in a lot of ways. I thought the world of him."

Dressen also toured with Sinatra’s fellow Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr., as well as Liza Minnelli, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight and Tony Orlando.

In 2008, he co-wrote the book “Tim and Tom: An American Comedy Act in Black and White” and in 2020 he authored his memoir.

Dreesen acted in such TV shows as “Columbo,” “Murder, She Wrote,” and “Touched by an Angel.” His film roles included “Spaceballs,” “Man on the Moon” and “Trouble With the Curve,” as well as the HBO movies “The Rat Pack” and “Lansky.”

Dreesen was active in charitable work, motivational speaking and veterans’ causes, including serving as ambassador for the Gary Sinise Foundation.

He was born on Sept. 11, 1939, in Chicago and raised as one of eight children in suburban Harvey. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy at age 17 and after getting out in 1960 he returned home to work a series of jobs, including selling insurance.

Dreesen is survived by daughters Amy and Jennifer from his marriage to Maryellen Subock, which ended in divorce in 1984, as well as seven grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son Tommy.

Beth Harris, The Associated Press