Tom Dreesen (born September 11, 1942) is an American stand-up comedian.

Dreesen grew up in Harvey, Illinois, south of Chicago. His family was one of the few white families in a largely African American community.^[1] While working as an insurance salesman in 1968, he met Tim Reid through a local Jaycee chapter,^[2] and the two teamed up to form the first biracial stand-up comedy duo in the United States.

Though their material is now considered cutting-edge for its time, the pair struggled to make a living together and split up in the mid-1970s. However, each found individual success: while Reid landed a role on WKRP in Cincinnati, Dreesen became a regular on The Tonight Show^[3] and toured with Frank Sinatra as the crooner's opening act. In 1989, Dreesen released a comedy album through Flying Fish Records called That White Boy's Crazy. The album was recorded in front of an all-black audience in Harvey, Illinois.^[1]

Dreesen continues to perform today. He is also involved in philanthropic endeavors and hosts an annual golf tournament called the Tom Dreesen Celebrity Classic.^[4] In 2008, Dreesen, Reid, and former Chicago Sun-Times sportswriter Ron Rapoport collaborated on the book Tim and Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White.^[5]

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Tom Dreesen's official site
• 'WKRP' vet Reid, standup Dreesen's previous life
• An excerpt from Tim & Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White by Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen with Ron Rapoport

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