Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/253120
F or the past quarter century, Tom Dreesen has been a fix- ture at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. After 45 years in show business, Dreesen has acquired a lot of famous friends. Sammy Davis, Jr. was one. David Letterman and Clint Eastwood still are. But the man who meant the most to Dreesen, per- sonally and professionally, was Francis Albert Sinatra. For 14 years, Dreesen's standup comedy was Frank Sinatra's opening act as they toured the world together. Sinatra was a friend, a confidante, and a tireless boost- er. Dreesen served as a pallbearer and spoke at Sinatra's funeral in 1998. "He meant so much to me," Dreesen says. "He was like a father to me. He had a profound impact on my life." And what a life it's been: a Horatio Alger story sprinkled with plenty of Tinseltown stardust. Dreesen grew up hand-to-mouth in the Chicago sub- urb of Harvey, Ill., with eight siblings crowded into a shack with no hot water. He shared a bed with his four brothers, and to help the family scrape by, the young Dreesen set pins in a bowling alley, worked a paper In the Game with Ol' Blue Eyes Tom Dreesen On Comedy and Golf with Frank Sinatra B Y A L A N S H I P N U C K 112 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 All photos courtesy of Tom Dreesen Comedian Tom Dreesen has been the Master of Ceremonies at the Bob Hope Classic for 18 years and has thoroughly enjoyed his time both with golfers and "Bob Hope Girls." 112-120 Tom Dreesen/Sinatra_152-161 Garcia story 1/26/14 1:20 PM Page 1