He and brother Dick broke through the TV barrier to
progressive activism, for a time, and many of us will
forever treasure them both...
***
Tom Smothers, one half of TV comedy legends the Smothers
Brothers, dies at 86
Tom Smothers, half of the Smothers Brothers and the co-
host of one of the most socially conscious and
groundbreaking television shows in the history of the
medium, has died at 86.
The National Comedy Center, on behalf of his family, said
in a statement Wednesday that Smothers died Tuesday at
home in Santa Rosa, California, following a cancer
battle.
"Tom was not only the loving older brother that everyone
would want in their life, he was a one-of-a-kind creative
partner. I am forever grateful to have spent a lifetime
together with him, on and off stage, for over 60 years,"
his brother and the duo's other half, Dick Smothers, said
in the statement. "Our relationship was like a good
marriage — the longer we were together, the more we loved
and respected one another. We were truly blessed."
50 Years Later, The Biting Satire Of 'The Smothers
Brothers' Still Resonates
When "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" debuted on CBS
in the fall of 1967 it was an immediate hit, to the
surprise of many who had assumed the network's
expectations were so low it positioned their show
opposite the top-rated "Bonanza."
A surprise TV hit that ran into the censors
But the Smothers Brothers would prove a turning point in
television history, with its sharp eye for pop culture
trends and young rock stars such as the Who and Buffalo
Springfield, and its daring sketches — ridiculing the
Establishment, railing against the Vietnam War and
portraying members of the era's hippie counterculture as
gentle, fun-loving spirits — found an immediate audience
with young baby boomers. The show reached No. 16 in the
ratings in its first season.
It also drew the ire of network censors, and after years
of battling with the brothers over the show's creative
content, the network abruptly canceled the program in
1970, accusing the siblings of failing to submit an
episode in time for the censors to review.
Nearly 40 years later, when Smothers was awarded an
honorary Emmy for his work on the show, he jokingly
thanked the writers he said had gotten him fired. He also
showed that the years had not dulled his outspokenness.
'The Uncensored Story' Of The Smothers Brothers
"It's hard for me to stay silent when I keep hearing that
peace is only attainable through war," Smothers said at
the 2008 Emmy Awards as his brother sat in the audience,
beaming. He dedicated his award to those "who feel
compelled to speak out and are not afraid to speak to
power and won't shut up and refuse to be silenced."
During the three years the show was on television, the
brothers constantly battled with CBS's censors and
occasionally outraged viewers as well, particularly when
Smothers joked that Easter "is when Jesus comes out of
his tomb and if he sees his shadow, he goes back in and
we get six more weeks of winter." At Christmas, when
other show hosts were sending best wishes to soldiers
fighting overseas, Smothers offered his to draft dodgers
who had moved to Canada.
In still another episode, the brothers returned
blacklisted folk singer Pete Seeger to television for the
first time in years. He performed his song "Waist Deep in
the Big Muddy," widely viewed as ridiculing President
Lyndon Johnson for the Vietnam War. When CBS refused to
air the segment, the brothers brought Seeger back for
another episode and he sang it again. This time, it made
the air.
After the show was canceled, the brothers sued CBS for
$31 million and were awarded $775,000. Their battles with
the network were chronicled in the 2002 documentary
"Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers
Brothers Comedy Hour."
"Tom Smothers was not only an extraordinary comedic
talent, who, together with his brother Dick, became the
most enduring comedy duo in history, entertaining the
world for over six decades — but was a true champion for
freedom of speech, harnessing the power of comedy to push
boundaries and our political consciousness," National
Comedy Center Executive Director Journey Gunderson said
in a statement.
Thomas Bolyn Smothers III was born Feb. 2, 1937, on
Governors Island, New York, where his father, a Navy
major, was stationed. His brother was born two years
later. In 1940 their father was transferred to the
Philippines, and his wife, two sons and their sister,
Sherry, accompanied him.
When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the family was
sent home and Maj. Smothers remained. He was captured by
the Japanese during the war and died in captivity. The
family eventually moved to the Los Angeles suburb of
Redondo Beach, where Smothers helped his mother take care
of his brother and sister while she worked.
On the nightclub circuit, a mix of folk music and sibling
rivalry
The brothers had seemed unlikely to make television
history. They had spent the previous several years on the
nightclub and college circuits and doing TV guest
appearances, honing an offbeat comedy routine that mixed
folk music with a healthy dose of sibling rivalry.
They would come on stage, Tom with a guitar in hand and
Dick toting an upright bass. They would quickly break
into a traditional folk song — perhaps "John Henry" or
"Pretoria." After playing several bars, Tom, positioned
as the dumb one, would mess it up, and then quickly claim
he had meant to do that. As Dick, the serious, short-
tempered one, berated him for failing to acknowledge his
error, he would scream in exasperation, "Mom always liked
you best!"
They continued that shtick on their show but also
surrounded themselves with a talented cast of newcomers,
both writers and performers.
Among the crack writing crew that Smothers headed were
future actor-producer Rob Reiner, musician Mason Williams
and comedian Steve Martin, who presented Smothers with
the lifetime Emmy in 2008. Regular musical guests
included John Hartford, Glen Campbell and Jennifer
Warnes.
Bob Einstein, now better known as stuntman Super Dave
Osborne, had a recurring role as Officer Judy, a dour Los
Angeles police officer who once cited guest Liberace for
playing the piano too fast. Leigh French, as the hippie
earth mother in the segment "Share a Little Tea With
Goldie," always appeared to have been drinking something
brewed through more than just tea leaves.
The brothers had begun their own act when Tom, then a
student at San Jose State University, formed a music
group called the Casual Quintet and encouraged his
younger brother to learn the bass and join. The brothers
continued on as a duo after the other musicians dropped
out, but because their folk music repertoire was limited,
they began to intersperse it with comedy.
Their big break came in 1959 when they appeared at San
Francisco's Purple Onion, then a hot spot for new talent.
Booked for two weeks, they stayed a record 36. Booked
into New York's Blue Angel, they won praise from The New
York Times, which described them as "a pair of tart-
tongued singing comedians." But to their disappointment,
they couldn't get on "The Tonight Show," then hosted by
Jack Paar.
"Paar kept telling our agent he didn't like folk singers
— except for Burl Ives," Smothers told The Associated
Press in 1964. "But one night he had a cancellation, and
we went on. Everything worked right that night."
The brothers went on to appear on the TV shows of Steve
Allen, Ed Sullivan, Garry Moore, Andy Williams, Jack
Benny and Judy Garland. Their comedy albums were big
sellers and they toured the country, especially colleges.
Television first came calling in 1965, casting them in
"The Smothers Brothers Show," a sitcom about a
businessman (Dick) who is haunted by his late brother
(Tom), a fledgling guardian angel. It lasted just one
season.
Shortly after CBS canceled the "Comedy Hour," ABC picked
it up as a summer replacement, but the network didn't
bring it back in the fall. NBC gave them a show in 1975
but it failed to find an audience and lasted only a
season.
The brothers went their separate ways for a time in the
1970s. Among other endeavors, Smothers got into the wine
business, launching Remick Ridge Vineyards in Northern
California's wine country.
"Originally the winery was called Smothers Brothers, but
I changed the name to Remick Ridge because when people
heard Smothers Brothers wine, they thought something like
Milton Berle Fine Wine or Larry, Curly and Mo Vineyards,"
Smothers once said.
"We just kept resurfacing"
He and his brother eventually reunited to star in the
musical comedy "I Love My Wife," a hit that ran on
Broadway for two years. After that they went back on the
road, playing casinos, performing arts centers and
corporate gatherings around the country, remaining
popular for decades.
"We just keep resurfacing," Smothers commented in 1997.
"We're just not in everyone's face long enough to really
get old."
After a successful 20th anniversary "Smothers Brothers
Comedy Hour" in 1988, CBS buried the hatchet and brought
them back.
The show was quickly canceled, though it stayed on the
air long enough for Smothers to introduce the "Yo-Yo
Man," a bit allowing him to demonstrate his considerable
skills with a yo-yo while he and his brother kept up a
steady patter of comedy. The bit remained in their act
for years.
Smothers married three times and had three children. He
is survived by his wife Marie, children Bo and Riley
Rose, and brother Dick, in addition to other relatives.
He was predeceased by his son Tom and sister Sherry.
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