{"id":5950,"date":"2026-06-18T02:11:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T02:11:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/tom-dreesen-pioneering-comedian-and-frank-sinatras-longtime-opening-act-dead-at-86\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T02:11:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T02:11:40","slug":"tom-dreesen-pioneering-comedian-and-frank-sinatras-longtime-opening-act-dead-at-86","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/tom-dreesen-pioneering-comedian-and-frank-sinatras-longtime-opening-act-dead-at-86\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom Dreesen, pioneering comedian and Frank Sinatra&#8217;s longtime opening act, dead at 86"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F3%2F2026%2F06%2Fcomedy-trailblazer-tom-dreesen-sinatra-131361774.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Tom Dreesen, who along with partner Tim Reid formed one of America\u2019s first interracial stand-up comedy duos and later spent years as Frank Sinatra\u2019s opening act, died Wednesday. He was 86.<\/p>\n<p>Dreesen died at his home in Los Angeles, according to publicist Lori De Waal. A cause of death was not provided.<\/p>\n<p>After meeting in Chicago, Dreesen and Reid, who was Black, formed \u201cTim and Tom\u201d 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 \u201cWKRP in Cincinnati,\u201d where Dreesen was a guest star.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Tom Dreesen attends the premiere of \u201cI\u2019m Dying Up Here\u201d at DGA Theater on May 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWhen I was a kid I found an album he and his comedy partner did called Tim and Tom and took it home and played it and it was one of the albums that changed the course of my life. So great,\u201d comedian and filmmaker Mike Binder wrote on X.<\/p>\n<p>After splitting with Reid, Dreesen honed a solo comedy act, making over 500 national TV appearances, including 60 visits to \u201cThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.\u201d He also was a frequent guest and sometime guest host on \u201cThe Late Show with David Letterman.\u201d Their friendship dated to the early 1970s when both worked at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood, California.<\/p>\n<p>Dreesen\u2019s final TV appearance came last week on \u201cComics Unleashed with Byron Allen,\u201d which replaced Stephen Colbert\u2019s canceled CBS late-night show.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Dreesen was Sinatra\u2019s opening act for 14 years and became close with the entertainer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf he loved you, he worshipped the ground you walked on,\u201d Dreesen told The Desert Sun newspaper in 2014. \u201dIn a lot of ways, he was like a father to me. I didn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dressen also toured with Sinatra\u2019s fellow Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr., as well as Liza Minnelli, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight and Tony Orlando.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Tom Dreesen and Tim Reid attend Mike Ditka\u2019s Gridiron Greats Autograph Extravaganza event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Friday, Jan. 30, 2009 in Tampa, Florida. <span class=\"credit\">AP Images for Seminole Hard Rock Hotel &amp; Casino Tampa<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cHe was one of the most brilliant comedians of all time. Tonight, he\u2019ll once again be opening for Dean, Frank and Sammy,\u201d Deana Martin, a daughter of Dean Martin, posted on X.<\/p>\n<p>In 2008, he co-wrote the book \u201cTim and Tom: An American Comedy Act in Black and White\u201d and in 2020 he authored his memoir.<\/p>\n<p>Dreesen acted in such TV shows as \u201cColumbo,\u201d \u201cMurder, She Wrote,\u201d and \u201cTouched by an Angel.\u201d His film roles included \u201cSpaceballs,\u201d \u201cMan on the Moon\u201d and \u201cTrouble With the Curve,\u201d as well as the HBO movies \u201cThe Rat Pack\u201d and \u201cLansky.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Comedian Tom Dreesen talks to the media during a news conference in La Quinta, Calif., on Jan. 18, 2011. <span class=\"credit\">AP Photo\/Chris Carlson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Dreesen was active in charitable work, motivational speaking and veterans\u2019 causes, including serving as ambassador for the Gary Sinise Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmerica lost one of our great comedians and patriots, and I lost a dear friend,\u201d Sinise posted on X.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/06\/17\/celebrity-news\/tom-dreesen-pioneering-comedian-and-frank-sinatras-longtime-opening-act-dead-at-86\/\" target=\"_blank\">Source link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tom Dreesen, who along with partner Tim Reid formed one of America\u2019s first interracial stand-up<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/comedy-trailblazer-tom-dreesen-sinatra-131361774.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}