From Harvey to Hollywood, Comedian Tom Dreesen Has Lived a Life

WDCB’s Gary Zidek catches up with celebrated comedian, and Harvey native, Tom Dreesen.

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“Everything I own, everything that I have in my life is because I met Tim Reid. It totally changed the course of my life, and his as well.” - Tom Dreesen talking about his one-time collaborator and longtime friend, Tim Reid.

Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen

Comedian Tom Dreesen has lived an extraordinary life. Born and raised in south suburban Harvey, Dreesen changed the trajectory of his life almost by happenstance. After serving in the Navym he returned to the south suburbs got married, had kids and played 16-inch softball on the weekends. His day job was selling insurance when he met a man named Tim Reid at a Jaycees meeting. Reid would later star on the hit sitcom WKRP In Cincinnati as Venus Flytrap. But in 1968, Dreesen and Reid were unknowns who realized they had some comedic chemistry and decided to put together an act.

That decision launched a storybook career, in which Dreesen appeared on the Tonight Show over 60 times, became friends with some of the biggest names in show business and toured as Frank Sinatra’s opening act for 14 years.

Frank Sinatra, Tom Dreesen and Milton Berle

As you might imagine, Dreesen has collected a lot of stories over his 50-plus year career. He’s put some of them into a one-man show he calls THE MAN WHO MADE SINATRA LAUGH. The Harvey-native is brining the show to the Chicago-area this week, he’ll be performing at the McAninch Arts Center in Glen Ellyn on Saturday September 10. You can get more information at atthemac.org