Smothers Brothers performing in August 2004
The Smothers Brothers are an American music-and-comedy team, consisting of the brothers Tom ("Tommy") and Dick Smothers. The brothers' trademark act was performing folk songs (Tommy on acoustic guitar, Dick on string bass), which usually led to arguments between the siblings. Tommy's signature line was, "Mom always liked you best!" Tommy (the elder of the two) acted "slow," and Dick, the straight man, acted "superior."
In the 1960s, the brothers frequently appeared on television variety shows and issued several popular record albums of their stage performances. Their own television variety show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour[1], became one of the most influential and controversial American TV programs of the Vietnam War era, due to being very politically left. Despite popular success, the brothers' penchant for material that was critical of the political mainstream (and sympathetic to the emerging counterculture) led to their program's cancellation by the CBS network in 1969.
The brothers continued to work, both independently and as a team, on stage, on television and in films during subsequent decades. They continue to tour the country as the longest-lived comedy team in history; 2008 marked their 50th year performing together.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
The brothers were both born on Governors Island in New York Harbor, where their father, Thomas B. Smothers, a West Point graduate and U.S. Army officer, was stationed. Major Smothers served in the 45th Infantry Regiment (United States) and died during the Second World War while being transported from a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Fukuoka, Japan, to a POW camp in Mukden, Manchuria. They were raised by their mother in the Los Angeles area.
They graduated from Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, California, and attended San Jose State University. After a brief time in a folk group called the Casual Quintet, the Smothers made their first professional appearance as a duo in February 1959 at the Purple Onion in San Francisco. They were a popular act in clubs and released several successful record albums, the most successful being Live at the Purple Onion, 1961. The first national television appearance for them was on The Jack Paar Show on January 28, 1961[2].
The brothers appeared in a segment of the television sitcom Burke's Law, in which they played two compulsive hoarders. Their first television series was a situation comedy, The Smothers Brothers Show (1965–1966). Tom played an angel come back to earth to oversee his brother Dick, who played a swinging bachelor. It did not do well in the ratings and had little of the music that was identified with the brothers. Tom would later say "Four Star (the production company) gave me ulcers."
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
It was The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour[1] for which the Smothers Brothers became best known. Premiering in February 1967, it started out as only a slightly "hip" version of the typical comedy-variety show of its era, but rapidly evolved into a show that extended the boundaries of what was considered permissible in television satire. While the Smothers themselves were at the forefront of these efforts, a large portion of the credit also goes to the roster of writers and regular performers they brought to the show, some of whom would go on to become some of the biggest names in comedy, including Steve Martin, Don Novello ("Father Guido Sarducci"), Rob Reiner ("Mike Stivic"), Presidential candidate Pat Paulsen, Bob Einstein ("Super Dave Osborne" and "Officer Judy"), Einstein's brother, Albert (who works professionally as Albert Brooks), and resident hippie Leigh French ("Share a Little Tea with Goldie"). The show also introduced audiences to pop singer Jennifer Warnes (originally billed as Jennifer Warren or simply Jennifer), who was a regular on the series. The television premiere of Mason Williams' hit record, Classical Gas, took place on the show; Williams was also the head writer for the series.
Musical guests
The series showcased new musical artists that other comedy-variety shows rarely gave airtime, due to the nature of their music or their political affiliations. George Harrison, Joan Baez, Cass Elliot, Harry Belafonte, Cream, Donovan, The Doors, Janis Ian, Jefferson Airplane, Peter, Paul and Mary, Spanky and Our Gang, Steppenwolf, The Who, and even Pete Seeger were showcased during the latter years of the show despite the advertiser-sensitive nature of their music.
Seeger's appearance was his first appearance on network television since being blacklisted in the 1950s; it became controversial because of his song choice: Waist Deep in the Big Muddy, an anti-war song that the network perceived was an insult to Lyndon Johnson and his Vietnam War policy. The song was censored on Seeger's first appearance but permitted on a later appearance.
The performance by The Who was another defining moment in the series. As they often did during that period, The Who destroyed their instruments at the conclusion of their performance of My Generation. However, a "sloppy" stage hand, at the request of the band, had overloaded Keith Moon's bass drum with explosives. When they were detonated, the explosion was so intense that Moon was injured by cymbal shrapnel and, allegedly, Pete Townshend's hearing was permanently damaged, in addition to singeing some of Pete's hair.
In 1968, the show broadcast in successive weeks "music videos" (not called that at the time) for The Beatles' popular songs Hey Jude and Revolution. Before a rowdy crowd at the Los Angeles Forum, Jimi Hendrix dedicated I Don't Live Today to the Smothers Brothers, as heard on The Jimi Hendrix Box Set.
Controversies and cancellation
With the focus of the show having evolved towards a more youth-oriented one, the show became both popular and controversial for those same references to youth culture and the issues that both interested and affected this particular target audience. Three specific targets of satire — racism, the President of the United States, and the Vietnam War — would wind up defining the show's content for the remainder of its run, and eventually lead to its demise.
Whereas most older audiences were tuning into shows like the western Bonanza, the younger generation — ages 15–25 — were watching the Smothers' more socially relevant humor.
The Brothers soon found themselves in regular conflicts with CBS' network censors. At the start of the 1968/69 season, the network ordered that the Smothers deliver their shows finished and ready to air ten days before airdate so that the censors could edit the shows as necessary. In the season premiere, CBS deleted the entire segment of Belafonte singing "Lord, Don't Stop the Carnival" against a backdrop of the havoc during the 1968 Democratic National Convention, along with two lines from a satire of their main competitor, Bonanza. As the year progressed, battles over content continued, including a David Steinberg sermon about Moses and the Burning Bush.
With some local stations making their own deletions of controversial skits or comments, the continuing problems over the show reached a boiling point after CBS showed a rerun on March 9, 1969. The network explained the decision by stating that because that week's episode did not arrive in time to be previewed, it would not be shown. In that program, Joan Baez paid tribute to her then-husband–David Harris–who was entering jail after refusing military service, while comedian Jackie Mason made a joke about children "playing doctor." When the show finally did air, two months later, the network allowed Baez to state that her husband was in prison, but edited out the reason.
Despite the conflict, the show was picked up for the 1969/70 season on March 14, seemingly ending the debate over the show's status. However, network CEO and President, William S. Paley, abruptly canceled the show on April 4, 1969. The reason given by CBS was based on the Smothers' refusal to meet the pre-air delivery dates as specified by the network in order to accommodate review by the censors before airing. This cancellation led the Brothers to file a successful breach of contract suit against the network, although the suit failed to see the Brothers or their show returned to the air.[3] Despite this cancellation, the show went on to win the Emmy Award that year for best writing. The saga of the cancellation of the show is the subject of a 2002 documentary film, Smothered.
Later career
The Smothers Brothers had further television shows: a 1970 ABC summer replacement series, The Smothers Brothers Summer Show; The Smothers Brothers Show (1975)[4], initially produced by Joe Hamilton (who concurrently produced The Carol Burnett Show, starring his wife), which was an unsuccessful attempt to recapture the look and feel of the original comedy-variety series without the controversy; and The Tom and Dick Smothers Brothers Specials I and II in 1980. In 1981 Tom and Dick Smothers played non brothers in a light drama, set in San Francisco, titled Fitz and Bones. Both characters worked at a Bay Area television station; Tom played cameraman Bones Howard and Dick played Ryan Fitzpatrick, an investigative reporter. The show was cancelled after five episodes.[5] Later there was The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1988–1989).[6] This show began production during a 1988 Writers Guild of America strike. As writer-performers, the brothers were allowed to perform their own material during the strike, as were their staff and guest stars. Prior to this they had reportedly saved an episode of Saturday Night Live by breaking through a picket line and hosting the show against the union's wishes; the episode was a ratings smash the likes of which the series had not seen since the 1970s. The Smothers Brothers also lent their (uncredited) singing voices to "Tom and Tom, the Brothers Brothers" in In Living Color (1990–1994), and guest starred on Bonnie Hunt's Life With Bonnie in 2004.
The brothers have worked independently as well; Dick has appeared as an actor in films, including a rare dramatic role as a Nevada state senator in Martin Scorsese's Casino. Tom Smothers appeared in the 2005 made-for-television movie Once Upon a Mattress.
The Smothers Brothers operate the Remick Ridge Vineyards (Remick was their mother's maiden name) in Sonoma County, California and continue to tour. Marci Smothers, wife of Tommy Smothers, hosts a talk show on KSRO, Santa Rosa, California.
They appeared in the documentary The Aristocrats in 2005 and had separate cameos in the 2009 film The Informant!.
In 2003, the brothers were awarded the George Carlin Freedom of Expression Award from the Video Software Dealers’ Association. The award recognizes the brothers' “extraordinary comic gifts and their unfailing support of the First Amendment.” In the same year, they both received Honorary Doctorate Degrees from San Jose State University. The Boston Comedy Festival presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to the brothers in 2008[2].
In September 2008, during the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards, Tommy Smothers, a lead writer of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" was belatedly awarded a 1968 Emmy for Outstanding Writing In A Comedic Series. In 1968, Tommy Smothers had refused to let his name be on the list of writers nominated for the Emmy because he felt his name was too volatile, and thus when the writing staff won he was the only member not to receive the award.[7][2].
Discography
References
External links
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