Tom Smothers: Difference between revisions

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'''Tom Smothers''' (1937-2023) was an [[American people|American]] musician.<ref name=nytimes2023-12-28/>
'''Tom Smothers''' (1937-2023) was an [[American people|American]] musician.<ref name=nytimes2023-12-27/><ref name=nytimes2023-12-28/>


In 1967 Tom and his brother Dick premiered {{'}}The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour{{'}}.<ref name=nytimes2023-12-28/>  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]].<ref name=SmotheredFilm/>
In February 1967 Tom and his brother Dick premiered {{'}}The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour{{'}}.<ref name=nytimes2023-12-27/><ref name=nytimes2023-12-28/>  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]].<ref name=SmotheredFilm/>


Smother's stage persona was that of a simpleton, with his brother playing the [[straight man]].<ref name=nytimes2023-12-28/>
Smothers's stage persona was that of a simpleton, with his brother playing the [[straight man]].<ref name=nytimes2023-12-28/>
 
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]].<ref name=nytimes2023-12-27/>


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 16:28, 31 December 2023

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Tom Smothers
Dick and Tom Smothers on the 1988 Emmy red carpet (2092448938).jpg
Born 1937
Died 2023-12-31
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]

References

  1. 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. 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.”
  3. Smothered: The Censorship Struggles Of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Retrieved on 2023-12-31.