Stand-up comedian Tom Dreesen, a longtime opener for Frank Sinatra and frequently performed in the Coachella Valley, died at 86 years old on Wednesday, June 17.
His family shared the news of his death on Dreesen’s Facebook page, adding, “He wanted you all to know how much joy you brought him through the years. He said to tell you that he loved you all. May he rest in peace.” He died in Los Angeles.
The comedian opened for Sinatra over the course of 14 years, which meant he visited the valley often. In a 2014 interview with The Desert Sun, Dreesen said his biggest regret was that he always wanted to live in the desert.
“I love it down there,” he said. “I should have bought a house, but I was staying at Frank’s compound every time I went down.”
Dreesen, who has a star on the Palm Springs Walk of the Stars, also spoke at Sinatra’s funeral. He told The Desert Sun that the iconic singer was like a father to him.
“I didn’t have a father that really cared that much where I was and what I did,” Dreesen said. “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.”
Dreesen’s over 50-year career started as part of the first biracial comedy duo in the United States alongside Tim Reid, under the moniker Tim and Tom. He said neither he or Reid had been on stage before they first performed together.
“There were no comedy clubs, so Tim and I worked what they affectionately called the Chitlin Circuit — black-owned, black-operated nightclubs where I’d be the only white guy within two or three miles,” he said. “Then we’d work all-white nightclubs in the north and the south.”
His solo career afterward involved working with icons like Sammy Davis Jr., Liza Minnelli, Smokey Robinson and Sinatra. Dreesen made many TV appearances on shows like “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” His last appearance was on “Comics Unleashed With Bryon Allen” on June 9, a week before he died.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Tom Dreesen, comic tied to Frank Sinatra and Palm Springs, dies at 86
Reporting by Ani Gasparyan, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ani Gasparyan, Palm Springs Desert Sun | USA TODAY Network
