Even with an illustrious comedy career that has seen him tour the world with Frank Sinatra for over a decade and make more than 500 late-night talk show appearances, Tom Dreesen still remembers the hard jobs he worked throughout his childhood and well into his 20s. Needing to help take care of his seven siblings in south suburban Harvey, he set pins in bowling alleys, shined shoes in taverns and sold newspapers on street corners just to help them survive.
He then served four years in the military starting at 17 before working an array of construction and other tough manual labor jobs until he finally found his happiness onstage making people laugh. He saw comedy not only as a fun path to fame and fortune, but also a chance to serve humanity through the healing power of laughter.
