Legendary Comedian Tom Smothers – composer and one-half of the famous musical comedy duo the “Smothers Brothers” has died at the age of 86.
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Born in 1937 at the Fort Jay army post in Governors Island, New York City, Tom and his younger brother Dick and younger sister Sherry had a father who ended up dying a POW in a Japanese internment camp. The family was moved to California where Tom and Dick both graduated from Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, California. Tom would go on to become a competitive unicyclist, and state champion gymnast (parallel bars) and went on to attend San José State College (aka San José State University), where he competed in both gymnastics and on the track team in the pole vault event.
After college, Tom and Dick Smothers pursued a career in folk music. It was Tom who felt that he lacked the necessary musical skill for a folk music career – so he leaned on another talent he had: comedy. Tom and Dick started to transform their act into a balance of music and comedy – which led to a break in 1961 when The Smothers Brothers appeared on an episode of The Steve Allen Show. That was followed by an appearance on the popular show Burke’s Law.
Once they were proven talent in the television medium, CBS gave The Smothers Brothers their own program, The Smothers Brothers Show, which ran for one year from 1965-1966. The show didn’t make Tom all that happy: he reportedly wanted more creative control, which turned out to be an important lesson learned before the Smothers Brothers moved on to their next venture.
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour premiered on CBS in 1967 and was a much bigger success for Tom and Dick Smothers. The Comedy Hour series helped CBS compete against the runaway success of NBC’s Bonanza while breaking new ground with late-1960s youth culture, pushing boundaries with political and social satire, as well as featuring new age (at the time) musical acts like The Who, Cream, The Doors, Simon and Garfunkel, Ray Charles and many other now-legendary names in music.
The same youth culture appeal that made The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour a success also made the show a lightning rod with older, more conservative crowds. The Smothers Brothers vs Bonanza became some of a cultural showdown; CBS and the Smothers Brothers had continuous conflict over the show’s content, leading to forced reruns and ultimately a sudden cancellation in 1969. The Smothers Brothers would file a breach of contract suit against CBS that would be settled in 1973, in favor of The Smothers Brothers, awarding them $776,300 (or over $4.6 million when adjusted for 2020).
After the show was canceled, the Smothers Brothers (especially Tom) became more politically active. Tom was famous for chiding Bill Cosby over being politically neutral (leading to a physical altercation between the two), as well as befriending the likes of John Lennon, with whom he co-wrote the song “Give Peace a Chance”. He would continue to be a cultural icon throughout his life, revisiting The Smothers Brothers act for numerous specials and anniversary occasions, continuing with his comedy act, and even taking on more film and TV roles.
As one member of a fading generation of counter-culture champions, Tom Smothers will be missed.
R.I.P. Thomas Bolyn Smothers III February 2, 1937 – December 26, 2023.
