6 ms·

Comedian Tom Smothers has died

113 points by h2odragon 3y ago

ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago
Only us old farts will get this: "Mom always liked you best!"
bookofjoe 3y ago
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/27/arts/television/tom-smothers-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.JE0.hNGc.rheN5Dn7b_K1&smid=url-share https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/27/arts/television/tom-smoth...
rmason 3y ago
I watched their TV show while I was in high school. Never found the brothers act all that funny but their show was different. They poked fun at the government and then as now the government did not like it at all. The network was under immense pressure, eventually they caved and despite the shows popularity they were cancelled.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
robocat 3y ago
About the referenced blacklisting of singer Pete Seeger (because he was a "communist"): https://prospect.org/culture/recalling-pete-seeger-s-controversial-performance-smothers-brothers-show-50-years-ago/ https://prospect.org/culture/recalling-pete-seeger-s-controv...
- pstuart 3y ago
  It's also a good history of what "free speech" in America historically looked like.
BelleOfTheBall 3y ago
It's always amusing when I see an old show described as a hit only to run for 3 years. Today's hits (Grey's Anatomy, The Simpsons, any sufficiently popular show on Showtime) are milked until the bitter end. I know it doesn't apply in this case, as this was a political decision, just made me remember it.
- anonymousiam 3y ago
  The show was wildly popular. It ran for only three years because it was cancelled under political pressure. Interestingly enough, Star Trek TOS ran for the same period ('67-'69). You can watch this episode for more info. It contains an introduction and epilogue describing the controversy. Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ~ Never Aired Episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbdAVIKtiHY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbdAVIKtiHY
  - fsckboy 3y ago
    '64 to '74, UK & America, has to be one of the most intense 10 years of change in any culture ever, so for a TV show with any sort of a fashionable pop culture hook to survive very long would be really unlikely Yes, continental europe too, and the 50's also, but I wanted to choose a decade, and kick it off with Beatlemania and wrap it up with the end of Viet Nam, start of the energy (economic) crisis
    - jterrys 3y ago
      It's really hard to do these days but I suggest you try to find a U.S radio station that plays 60s songs. And I mean full 60s. With genre varieties. It's downright schizophrenic. Post 66 might as well just be a different universe as far as music was concerned. You had the 50s clean cut shit lingering around doused with 'controlled risqué' Surfer Rock and neutered Elvis doing films. Sinatra and the Rat Pack are in full swing gaining Second Wind, and ...suddenly it all gets blown the fuck out with psychedelic, progressive, and raga rock. Then two years later blues and heavy metal really start bubbling in. 60's counter culture was NOT a joke. The groundwork was laid in '64 like you pointed out, but by 66 it really went off the rails. Genuine night and day difference.
AlbertCory 3y ago
RIP Tommy. Secretly, Mom did like you best, but she'd never admit it.
- sigzero 3y ago
  Best comment here
liamN 3y ago
That is sad news. I used to listen to a CD of one of their acts on most road trips with my parents. They were so funny, even though the political references were all well before my time. I had no idea they were so well known; since I never heard of them outside my family, I had always just assumed they were some random little show my parents had found the CD for at a goodwill. A truly legendary comedy duo.
- ranger207 3y ago
  I had the same experience, with a CD on long road trips. I still try to make references to talking to trees, vats full of chocolate, crevasses filled with pumas, boiling that cabbage down, boy, and baby John Henry wetting his dad's leg. Alas, only my own brother ever gets them
geocrasher 3y ago
When I was 11 or 12 years old I was simply obsessed with yoyos. And Tommy Smothers had his yoyo act, and I was just enthralled. Here was this fully grown adult (this was in the late 80's) doing things with a yoyo that I wanted so badly to do. I always thought him to be the funniest, nicest guy, just based on his act. When I read that he passed, I wept. So long, Tommy.
- brandall10 3y ago
  Yo-young was so popular at my elementary school in ‘88 that we had a competition in the cafeteria (during finals mine snapped and hit the ceiling during an around the world!) My Dad went thru a similar phase as a kid and introduced me to Tommy. I recall he actually had an instructional video and I would watch his tricks in slow motion to figure them out. At the same time became a bit obsessed with the Smothers Brothers, remember saying to a friend they gave off ultimate cool uncle vibes, so wholesome that they could be deceptively biting and irreverent.
- mkolassa 3y ago
  I watched their Just Say Yo video so much as a kid. It was so much fun. Wonderful human being, Tommy was. https://youtu.be/Ari7Gh45Ek4 https://youtu.be/Ari7Gh45Ek4
cssinate 3y ago
Oh gosh. So much good material from the Smothers Brothers. "Kiss My Bass", "Pumas in the Crevices"... Such a good duo.
skyechurch 3y ago
Here's a good synopsis of the Smothers Brothers and their importance for that generation of comedians: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/smothers-brothers-comedy-hour-oral-history-1060153/ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/smothers-brothe... Comedy, in general, ages very badly, but the Smothers Brothers are still very funny. They were politically "controversial", but they were the furthest thing from shock comics, and I think that's what makes their comedy translate 50+ years later. Nothing is as dated as last season's transgressiveness, but their routines were sharp but welcoming, you could watch them with your grandparents and your children and everyone would have a laugh. They were well before my time, but I remember seeing them brought out on Letterman, etc, expecting a dire nostalgia act, and they just kill. A great act for any decade.
- drewcoo 3y ago
  [flagged]
  - AlbertCory 3y ago
    You are both right, in that they were counterculture. However: > comedians are supposed to be subversive No, that's just your preference. Jay Leno and Norm MacDonald are not subversive at all; just funny. Most of the Smothers' comedy was family-friendly, but they did push a few buttons sometimes. > I hope you talk in a more informed way about time you know Totally unwarranted.
    - nyczomg 3y ago
      Norm MacDonald not subversive at all? Really? https://ultimateclassicrock.com/norm-macdonald-last-weekend-update/ https://ultimateclassicrock.com/norm-macdonald-last-weekend-... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_lXBLqAOW8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_lXBLqAOW8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOsfrppKd1k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOsfrppKd1k
      - detritus 3y ago
        Yeah, Norm was a dark lord of comedy, but perhaps he simply didn't much wear the cloak.
someonehere 3y ago
My parents were fans of their original show. When they came back on the air a few decades ago I learned of them and admired their humor. I was a preteen at the time and some of it went over my head but the rest was laughter. I wonder if they still have their winery? I regret not seeing them perform at the local casinos near Napa.
voakbasda 3y ago
Sad news. I watched them often growing up. In an incalculable stroke of coincidence, I just tonight watched the episode of Saturday Night Live that he hosted along with his brother. Their performances reflected incredible talent. I mentioned to my wife today that similar levels of acts seem harder to come by these days. Maybe the signal is still there, but the noise has grown to become unbearable.
Cerpicio 3y ago
I was really sad when I heard about this. I've enjoyed the Smothers Brothers since I was a kid and found my parents' records of them. "Mom Always Liked You Best," falling into a vat of Chocolate, Streets of Laredo, My Old Man, John Henry, Crabs Walk Sidways, Pretoria, etc, etc. If you have never watched them before, look up a few of these. I was fortunate enough to see them in person when they performed in our city about a decade ago. Did they ever do just a straight music album? That would have been great. Streets of Laredo starts off so beautifully. EDIT: Here, I'll help you out: Streets of Laredo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDmdSPKR73o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDmdSPKR73o My Old Man: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgD1o9I8hw0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgD1o9I8hw0 Pretoria: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P5IIsCFTCo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P5IIsCFTCo Crabs Walk Sideways: (be patient through the first minute or so) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en54Im4qBOA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en54Im4qBOA Chocolate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH0IZZRd0bI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH0IZZRd0bI Six String Orchestra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1MUytzDQog https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1MUytzDQog Boil that Cabbage Down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmfILH3JKQg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmfILH3JKQg
- MBCook 3y ago
  I have to mention Mediocre Fred: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLyY-si0IP0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLyY-si0IP0
- i3oi3 3y ago
  They did make a straight album, cleverly titled "The Smothers Brothers Play It Straight." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smothers_Brothers_Play_It_Straight?wprov=sfla1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smothers_Brothers_Play_It_...
zw123456 3y ago
Sniff Sniff, when I was a kid, I loved these guys. I didn't have a brother, I had two sisters, love them of course, but always fantasized that if I did have a brother, I would be Tommy. I guess he had that socially awkward nerd like vibe. That's all I have to say. God love ya bro.
toomuchtodo 3y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Smothers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Smothers
rmason 3y ago
One of my favorite Smothers Brothers bits was their last time with Johnny Carson on the tonight show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyFb45x_zgA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyFb45x_zgA Rewatching that it really grabs me when his brother says wherever I am Tommy is near.
mock-possum 3y ago
Aw, RIP. Their take on the Sloop John B song is still my favorite.
libraryatnight 3y ago
I don't know what to say really. By the time I was born the Smothers Brothers were already legendary and their influence was huge. Steve Martin, Super Dave, there's really no point in making list, it'd go on too long and then branch out too far. What a cultural force.

113 points by h2odragon 3y ago

Only us old farts will get this: "Mom always liked you best!"

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/27/arts/television/tom-smothers-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.JE0.hNGc.rheN5Dn7b_K1&smid=url-share https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/27/arts/television/tom-smoth...

rmason 3y ago

I watched their TV show while I was in high school. Never found the brothers act all that funny but their show was different. They poked fun at the government and then as now the government did not like it at all. The network was under immense pressure, eventually they caved and despite the shows popularity they were cancelled.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

robocat 3y ago

About the referenced blacklisting of singer Pete Seeger (because he was a "communist"): https://prospect.org/culture/recalling-pete-seeger-s-controversial-performance-smothers-brothers-show-50-years-ago/ https://prospect.org/culture/recalling-pete-seeger-s-controv...

pstuart 3y ago
It's also a good history of what "free speech" in America historically looked like.

BelleOfTheBall 3y ago

It's always amusing when I see an old show described as a hit only to run for 3 years. Today's hits (Grey's Anatomy, The Simpsons, any sufficiently popular show on Showtime) are milked until the bitter end. I know it doesn't apply in this case, as this was a political decision, just made me remember it.

anonymousiam 3y ago
The show was wildly popular. It ran for only three years because it was cancelled under political pressure. Interestingly enough, Star Trek TOS ran for the same period ('67-'69). You can watch this episode for more info. It contains an introduction and epilogue describing the controversy. Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ~ Never Aired Episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbdAVIKtiHY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbdAVIKtiHY
- fsckboy 3y ago
  '64 to '74, UK & America, has to be one of the most intense 10 years of change in any culture ever, so for a TV show with any sort of a fashionable pop culture hook to survive very long would be really unlikely Yes, continental europe too, and the 50's also, but I wanted to choose a decade, and kick it off with Beatlemania and wrap it up with the end of Viet Nam, start of the energy (economic) crisis
  - jterrys 3y ago
    It's really hard to do these days but I suggest you try to find a U.S radio station that plays 60s songs. And I mean full 60s. With genre varieties. It's downright schizophrenic. Post 66 might as well just be a different universe as far as music was concerned. You had the 50s clean cut shit lingering around doused with 'controlled risqué' Surfer Rock and neutered Elvis doing films. Sinatra and the Rat Pack are in full swing gaining Second Wind, and ...suddenly it all gets blown the fuck out with psychedelic, progressive, and raga rock. Then two years later blues and heavy metal really start bubbling in. 60's counter culture was NOT a joke. The groundwork was laid in '64 like you pointed out, but by 66 it really went off the rails. Genuine night and day difference.

AlbertCory 3y ago

RIP Tommy. Secretly, Mom did like you best, but she'd never admit it.

sigzero 3y ago
Best comment here

liamN 3y ago

That is sad news. I used to listen to a CD of one of their acts on most road trips with my parents. They were so funny, even though the political references were all well before my time. I had no idea they were so well known; since I never heard of them outside my family, I had always just assumed they were some random little show my parents had found the CD for at a goodwill. A truly legendary comedy duo.

ranger207 3y ago
I had the same experience, with a CD on long road trips. I still try to make references to talking to trees, vats full of chocolate, crevasses filled with pumas, boiling that cabbage down, boy, and baby John Henry wetting his dad's leg. Alas, only my own brother ever gets them

geocrasher 3y ago

When I was 11 or 12 years old I was simply obsessed with yoyos. And Tommy Smothers had his yoyo act, and I was just enthralled. Here was this fully grown adult (this was in the late 80's) doing things with a yoyo that I wanted so badly to do. I always thought him to be the funniest, nicest guy, just based on his act. When I read that he passed, I wept. So long, Tommy.

brandall10 3y ago
Yo-young was so popular at my elementary school in ‘88 that we had a competition in the cafeteria (during finals mine snapped and hit the ceiling during an around the world!) My Dad went thru a similar phase as a kid and introduced me to Tommy. I recall he actually had an instructional video and I would watch his tricks in slow motion to figure them out. At the same time became a bit obsessed with the Smothers Brothers, remember saying to a friend they gave off ultimate cool uncle vibes, so wholesome that they could be deceptively biting and irreverent.
mkolassa 3y ago
I watched their Just Say Yo video so much as a kid. It was so much fun. Wonderful human being, Tommy was. https://youtu.be/Ari7Gh45Ek4 https://youtu.be/Ari7Gh45Ek4

cssinate 3y ago

Oh gosh. So much good material from the Smothers Brothers. "Kiss My Bass", "Pumas in the Crevices"... Such a good duo.

skyechurch 3y ago

Here's a good synopsis of the Smothers Brothers and their importance for that generation of comedians: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/smothers-brothers-comedy-hour-oral-history-1060153/ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/smothers-brothe... Comedy, in general, ages very badly, but the Smothers Brothers are still very funny. They were politically "controversial", but they were the furthest thing from shock comics, and I think that's what makes their comedy translate 50+ years later. Nothing is as dated as last season's transgressiveness, but their routines were sharp but welcoming, you could watch them with your grandparents and your children and everyone would have a laugh. They were well before my time, but I remember seeing them brought out on Letterman, etc, expecting a dire nostalgia act, and they just kill. A great act for any decade.

drewcoo 3y ago
[flagged]
- AlbertCory 3y ago
  You are both right, in that they were counterculture. However: > comedians are supposed to be subversive No, that's just your preference. Jay Leno and Norm MacDonald are not subversive at all; just funny. Most of the Smothers' comedy was family-friendly, but they did push a few buttons sometimes. > I hope you talk in a more informed way about time you know Totally unwarranted.
  - nyczomg 3y ago
    Norm MacDonald not subversive at all? Really? https://ultimateclassicrock.com/norm-macdonald-last-weekend-update/ https://ultimateclassicrock.com/norm-macdonald-last-weekend-... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_lXBLqAOW8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_lXBLqAOW8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOsfrppKd1k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOsfrppKd1k
    - detritus 3y ago
      Yeah, Norm was a dark lord of comedy, but perhaps he simply didn't much wear the cloak.

someonehere 3y ago

My parents were fans of their original show. When they came back on the air a few decades ago I learned of them and admired their humor. I was a preteen at the time and some of it went over my head but the rest was laughter. I wonder if they still have their winery? I regret not seeing them perform at the local casinos near Napa.

voakbasda 3y ago

Sad news. I watched them often growing up. In an incalculable stroke of coincidence, I just tonight watched the episode of Saturday Night Live that he hosted along with his brother. Their performances reflected incredible talent. I mentioned to my wife today that similar levels of acts seem harder to come by these days. Maybe the signal is still there, but the noise has grown to become unbearable.

Cerpicio 3y ago

I was really sad when I heard about this. I've enjoyed the Smothers Brothers since I was a kid and found my parents' records of them. "Mom Always Liked You Best," falling into a vat of Chocolate, Streets of Laredo, My Old Man, John Henry, Crabs Walk Sidways, Pretoria, etc, etc. If you have never watched them before, look up a few of these. I was fortunate enough to see them in person when they performed in our city about a decade ago. Did they ever do just a straight music album? That would have been great. Streets of Laredo starts off so beautifully. EDIT: Here, I'll help you out: Streets of Laredo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDmdSPKR73o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDmdSPKR73o My Old Man: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgD1o9I8hw0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgD1o9I8hw0 Pretoria: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P5IIsCFTCo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P5IIsCFTCo Crabs Walk Sideways: (be patient through the first minute or so) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en54Im4qBOA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en54Im4qBOA Chocolate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH0IZZRd0bI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH0IZZRd0bI Six String Orchestra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1MUytzDQog https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1MUytzDQog Boil that Cabbage Down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmfILH3JKQg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmfILH3JKQg

MBCook 3y ago
I have to mention Mediocre Fred: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLyY-si0IP0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLyY-si0IP0
i3oi3 3y ago
They did make a straight album, cleverly titled "The Smothers Brothers Play It Straight." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smothers_Brothers_Play_It_Straight?wprov=sfla1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smothers_Brothers_Play_It_...

zw123456 3y ago

Sniff Sniff, when I was a kid, I loved these guys. I didn't have a brother, I had two sisters, love them of course, but always fantasized that if I did have a brother, I would be Tommy. I guess he had that socially awkward nerd like vibe. That's all I have to say. God love ya bro.

toomuchtodo 3y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Smothers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Smothers

rmason 3y ago

One of my favorite Smothers Brothers bits was their last time with Johnny Carson on the tonight show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyFb45x_zgA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyFb45x_zgA Rewatching that it really grabs me when his brother says wherever I am Tommy is near.

mock-possum 3y ago

Aw, RIP. Their take on the Sloop John B song is still my favorite.

libraryatnight 3y ago

I don't know what to say really. By the time I was born the Smothers Brothers were already legendary and their influence was huge. Steve Martin, Super Dave, there's really no point in making list, it'd go on too long and then branch out too far. What a cultural force.