The Chris Moeller Archives

Moeller TV Listings 9/23/08

Tonight on Letterman, Dave welcomes former comedy team Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen. The two guests are the subject of a new book entitled "Tim and Tom, An American Comedy in Black and White," written by Chicago journalist Ron Rapoport. (They're also the subject of this piece in the September 4th issue of the Chicago Reader.)

The duo broke up as a stage act in 1974, but both went on to highly successful, albeit divergent careers in the entertainment business. A late '70s stand-up comic contemporary and friend of Letterman's, Dreesen was one of the last of the professional "opening act" comedians, serving perhaps most notably as Frank Sinatra's final regular opener during the period of 1984 to 1995. Reid became an actor and television producer, working most recognizably on screen as Venus Flytrap on TV's wildly-popular series "WKRP in Cincinnati," and later as the star of the critically-acclaimed "Frank's Place."

During the last season of "WKRP" in 1982, Dreesen guested in an episode entitled "Changes" as a magazine writer assigned to interview Venus. Dreesen's character was the only white employee at a black-owned magazine, mirroring Venus' situation at the Cincinnati radio station of his employ. One day-- long after I'm dead and cremated-- this episode will be released on DVD.

posted by CM @ 9:00 AM