3 years ago
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For seasoned comic Tom Dreesen, opening for Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra were life-changing events. But his beingness changed adjacent earlier then, erstwhile helium appeared connected “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.”
“After 1 appearance, I went from the unemployment line, close into Las Vegas,” Dreesen says of his debut with Carson successful 1975. “That was the question you were asked, if you were a comedian, ‘Have you been connected Johnny Carson?’ If you hadn’t been, it conscionable wasn’t worthy being a comedian.”
Dreesen is making different debut Friday nighttime with his comedy/storytelling amusement astatine the Italian American Club Showroom (doors astatine 6 p.m., meal astatine 6:30, amusement astatine 8, interaction the nine for info).
The nine is steeped successful Vegas history, arsenic Sinatra himself was a charter subordinate successful 1961. The celebrated communicative is that Sinatra hosted a fundraising gala a the Riviera successful which a Cadillac was raffled off. The $6,000 raised paid for the 1.8 acres connected which the Italian American Club sits.
Dreesen is champion known for opening for Sinatra for 14 years. He besides worked with Davis. He ne'er worked the drama clubs aft is archetypal quality connected “The Tonight Show.” He logged much than 60 appearances, and besides was a favourite connected “The Dinah Shore Show,” “The Mike Douglas Show” and “Late Night with David Letterman.”
Dreesen besides forged a symbiotic signifier enactment and relationship with actor/comedian Tim Reid, who played Venus Flytrap connected “WKRP successful Cincinnati.” The “Tim and Tom” tandem was recognized arsenic the archetypal biracial stand-up drama tandem successful the country.
Either with Reid, opening for Davis oregon Sinatra, oregon arsenic a headliner, Dreesen played the showrooms of each the celebrated Vegas resorts: the Sands, Caesars Palace, Desert Inn, Riviera and Golden Nugget. He didn’t similar Circus Maximus astatine Caesars, wherever helium competed with meal servers rushing nutrient to the tables.
“I was playing to waiters and waitresses, doing jokes betwixt the changeless interruptions,” Dreesen says. “The much intimate the room, the amended the comedy.”
Dreesen witnessed Sinatra’s undeniable interaction connected casino business. “Back successful the day, the question aft a nighttime was, ‘What was the drop?’ from the pits,” Dreesen says. “When Frank headlined, the driblet was quadruple what it usually was. The precocious rollers came successful and sold retired the Sands, oregon wherever helium was, and besides sold retired the hotels astir his hotels.”
Dreesen is often asked to measurement successful connected Sinatra’s ongoing iconography. Those who knew him inactive revere his talent, property and interaction connected amusement culture. Dreesen says Sinatra, successful his heyday, appealed to each demographics. “Women wanted to marque emotion to him, if they were older they wanted to marque emotion to him, if you were a kid, you wanted him arsenic your parent,” Dreesen says. “Guys wanted to bent retired with him.”
Dreesen, astatine 82 a uncommon Sinatra modern who is inactive onstage, says, “He was not conscionable the top popular vocalist who ever lived, helium was larger than life.”
John Katsilometes’ file runs regular successful the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast tin beryllium recovered astatine reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him astatine jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats connected Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 connected Instagram.
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