What do you say about a revolution that didn't
happen? The comedy team of Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen should have been a
watershed moment in American comedy. Here were two talented guys, natural
performers who both came to comedy through the side door, who joined forces to
create America's first black-and-white comedy team. The novelty alone ought to
have pushed them to fame in the charged environment of the late '60s and early
'70s. Instead, they merely did okay, barely earning a living in nightclubs,
landing a couple of TV appearances, and recording an album. Then they broke up
and found more success apart than they ever did together.
Why? Dreesen and Reid have yet to answer that
question for themselves. Their book Tim & Tom: An American Comedy In
Black And White (written
with sportswriter Ron Rapoport) suggests that more experience, a better
understanding of the business, and writers to help shape their material might
have helped. But maybe it wouldn't: The best parts of Tim & Tom detail audiences' difficulty
with understanding what they were seeing and who they should be laughing at, since
the sight of a black man and a white man working together on a stand-up stage
was so novel.
Tim & Tom examines the non-phenomenon from all
angles, starting with both men's hardscrabble upbringings and continuing
through their separate periods of success, Reid most famously as one of the
stars of WKRP In Cincinnati and the critically adored Frank's Place, Dreesen as a stand-up
who spent many years opening for Frank Sinatra. It was an unlikely pairing,
begun as a Jaycees-sponsored anti-drug presentation, and apparently taken as
far as the times would allow. Rapoport relies heavily on his subjects'
anecdotes, some of which feel a bit too polished by overtelling, but none of
which betray any dishonesty. They had novelty, camaraderie, and talent, but
still can't figure out why their time together never became more than a
footnote in comedy history.