Lunching With A Legend

Saturday December 12th, 2009 - Chicago, IL

If there’s a better way to celebrate what would have been Frank Sinatra’s 93rd birthday than spending time with a guy who opened for him for twenty years, I sure can’t think of it. Tom Dreesen sat in with Jerry’s Kidders on WGN radio today and what a treat it was.

Tom sat in with the Kidders once before, but I was on the road and only got to take part on the phone. It’s a whole different dynamic sitting in live, and today was one of the most enjoyable radio experiences I’ve ever had. That says a lot because I’ve had a LOT of fun.

Tom Dreesen was one of many comedians I used to see on The Tonight Show growing up in the ’70s. My grandparents raised me and they’d go to bed early so I’d sneak around and turn on their black and white TV right before midnight just as the comics came on.

For some reason that few minutes of escape made me feel better and I grew to know the schedule of who would be on as it was listed in the TV section of the newspaper. I would plan my day around watching the comedians until I got old enough to stay up by myself.

What I especially loved about Tom Dreesen was he always mentioned that he was from Harvey, IL and since I was in Milwaukee that sounded close. I didn’t know where comics came from, but for some reason it gave me hope that one of them came from a place close to where I lived. I guess it gave me hope that some day I might be able to be a comic too.

I met Tom very briefly at Zanies a while back but I didn’t get to hang out with him at all as he was giving a motivational speech and just about to go on. I got to shake his hand for a few seconds and that was a thrill, but not like today. Hanging out on the air with him for a whole hour was fantastic, but the fun really started when he held court with us at lunch.

The guy just radiates class onstage and off. Opening for Frank Sinatra is as impressive a credit as there is in comedy and Tom fit perfectly. He lives that part and conducts himself like a total winner. We had an advantage that Tom used to manage Ken Sevara and Ken’s partner when they were a team so there was some history there. It felt like real showbiz.

Tom rattled off story after story about Chicago and Frank Sinatra and his comedy career and if that wasn’t great enough, he popped for lunch too. We ate at the Billy Goat Tavern that was made famous by Saturday Night Live with the ‘cheezborger, cheezborger’ sketch and it was surreal to be sitting there eating one while one of my comic heroes told stories.

Other people may have no idea who Tom Dreesen is and think I’m nuts, but I know I’m nuts so I don’t care. He achieved a level of respect in the business that few others ever do, and for me to be able to get a chance to not only work but hang with him was orgasmic.

Tom will be on Letterman this coming Monday and I hope I can watch. He’s a guy who played the game correctly, and I can take many lessons from how he did it. Days like this make life worth living, even if nobody else cares. I’m only interested in impressing ME.