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Tim and Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White
As the heady promise of the 1960s sagged under the weight of widespread violence, rioting, and racial unrest, two young men--one black and one white--took to stages across the nation to help Americans confront their racial divide: by laughing at it.
Tim and Tom tells the story of that pioneering duo, the first interracial comedy team in the history of show business--and the...more
Tim and Tom tells the story of that pioneering duo, the first interracial comedy team in the history of show business--and the...more
Hardcover, 264 pages
Published
September 15th 2008
by University Of Chicago Press
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Oct 30, 2009
Mahlon
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Recommended to Mahlon by:
Amazon
Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen have each carved out long and successful careers in the entertainment industry on their own. Tim as an actor and producer on such shows as WKRP, Frank's Place, Simon and Simon, and Sister Sister, and Tom as the opening act for such show business legends as Sammy Davis Jr., and Frank Sinatra. Before that however they were partners in the comedy team of Tim and Tom, America's first(and last) interracial comedy duo. As you can imagine, their unusual brand of comedy was a to...more
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Though it's been around 35 years since Pryor and Wilder made movies together, it's amazing that Tim and Tom have been the only notable interracial comedy team on the stand-up circuit. The good news is that they both eventually achieved recognition on their own (Dreesen as a long-serving opening act for Sinatra, Reid on WKRP in Cincinnati, Simon & Simon, etc), but the roadblocks and prejudice they encountered - from both of their respective races - is sobering and underscores how slowly the n...more
There's really no logical reason why I was so fond of this book. I'm not old enough to have ever been exposed to either Tim Reid or Tom Dreesen outside of re-runs of WKRP or Simon & Simon (in Reid's case). I'm not a big consumer of stand-up comedy. I only knew about the book because I heard an interview on NPR with both men some time ago and dropped the book into my to-read list. As luck would have it, when it came time to start a new book I let a random number generator do the work and ende...more
The story of two B- (or C-)list comedy performers, who happened to have a bi-racial act together at the beginning of their careers, at a time when that was uncommon. Interesting enough, but not terribly important.
For anyone who has an interest in comedy, the sixties, civil rights, discrimination, racism, poverty, the triumph of the human spirit....this book is for you.
Had to read this to proofread it for Bookshare.org. Found it eye-opening regarding race relations, if a little self-aggrandizing.
this was a lovely book about a time in american history. a story of determination and drive. Definately recommend.
My dad bought this for my grandmother, and for one reason or another, I ended up picking it up. I found the story of these two comedians interesting, although I wasn't familiar with the comedy act (sorry, I'm just too young), and read the whole thing.
Jun 05, 2013
Neoma
added it
Apr 20, 2013
Iroulito91
marked it as to-read
Mar 29, 2013
Gwen Bartlett
marked it as to-read
Oct 23, 2012
Annette
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
nonfiction,
biography,
comedy,
team,
tim,
reid,
tom,
dreesen,
photographs,
overcoming,
adversity,
entertainment
Mar 25, 2012
Kristi
marked it as to-read
Jan 05, 2012
University of Chicago Press
added it
Apr 02, 2011
Ryan
marked it as to-read
Mar 28, 2011
Laura
marked it as to-read
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