Tom Smothers
| Tom Smothers | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1937 |
| Died | 2023-12-27 |
| Occupation | musician |
Tom Smothers (1937-2023) was an American musician.[1][2]
In February 1967 Tom and his brother Dick premiered 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'.[1][2] The show, which, on the surface, seemed to be an uncontroversial mainstream variety show, was cancelled, in 1969, for stealth comments Tom made on controversial topics, like civil rights and the war in Vietnam.[3]
Smothers's stage persona was that of a simpleton, with his brother playing the straight man.[2]
Smothers'a choices of writers for the show included young comedians who would later become well known, in their own right, including Steve Martin, Rob Reiner, Pat Paulson, and Mason Williams.[1]
The Brothers sued CBS.[4] When the suit finally went to trial, they were awarded $750,000.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 William Grimes. Tom Smothers, Comic Half of the Smothers Brothers, Dies at 86, New York Times, 2023-12-27, p. A1. Retrieved on 2023-12-31. “Tom, more liberal than his brother and largely responsible for the production of the show, brought in writers attuned to the thinking of the Baby Boom generation — among them Rob Reiner, Steve Martin, Pat Paulsen, and Mason Williams — and stretched the boundaries of taste at every turn.”
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Nell Scovell. Simpleton? Genius? Who Was Tom Smothers?, New York Times, 2023-12-28, p. C3. Retrieved on 2023-12-31. “Six years later, the brothers debuted 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,' their seminal variety show that used comedy to satirize issues like the Vietnam War, racial politics and drugs.”
- ↑ Smothered: The Censorship Struggles Of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Retrieved on 2023-12-31.
- ↑ Andy Meisler. TELEVISION; The Smothers Brothers Redux: A Bittersweet Reunion at CBS, New York Times, 1988-01-31, p. B29. Retrieved on 2023-12-31. “The Smothers brothers sued CBS for $31 million, and several years later, after an eight-week trial, won about three-quarters of a million dollars.”