Tommy Smothers: Las Vegas to lose another landmark in 2023
Tommy Smothers, the elder half of the legendary comedy duo the Smothers Brothers, died Tuesday of lung cancer at his home in Santa Rosa, California. He is 86 years old.
"Tom was not only the loving brother everyone wanted in their life, but he was also a unique creative partner," Dick Smothers, 84, said in a statement. "I am forever grateful to have him. I spent more than 60 years with him on and off the stage. Our relationship was like a beautiful marriage - the longer we were together, the more we loved and respected each other."
The duo are best known for "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," a boundary-pushing variety show that upended the status quo on CBS-TV from 1967 to 1969.
The Smothers Brothers were also a mainstay in Las Vegas, from opening for dancer Juliet Prowse at the Flamingo in 1962 to May 16, 2010 at the Orleans By the end of the show, they had performed at more than 20 resorts in Las Vegas.
Band of Brothers
Thomas Boling Smothers III was born on February 2, 1937 in New York. He was followed on November 20, 1939 by his brother, Richard Remick Smothers. After their father died in World War II, their mother moved to Southern California with her siblings.
Tom and Dick began performing together in 1954 and later each graduated from Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, California. The pair sang together, Tommy playing acoustic guitar and Dick playing double bass with a folk band called the Lounge Quintet.
In 1958, while both students were at San Jose State College, they formed a folk trio with singer Bobby Blackmore, who left the group at the end of 1958.
In 1959, comedy was big at San Francisco's Purple Onion Theatre. Since they only knew a few songs, Tom delayed the introduction to extend their performance. Most of these presentations were lengthy lectures on the place folk music should have in American history.
One night, when Tommy misunderstood a fact, Dick politely interrupted. Tommy's reaction is defensive and the audience loses interest in the real sibling rivalry.
Wisely, the duo built this back-and-forth into their performance until it became their performance and the music became secondary. They rarely, if ever, finish a song again.
Dick was a stand-up guy and Tommy was a childish prankster who came up with a catchphrase: "Mom always liked you best." He usually said this while staring at the floor and kicking his shoes.
Other directions
Unlike another '60s duo, Sonny and Cher, the Smothers Brothers turned their musical ambitions into comedy, and found gold in the process - and a network variety show.
“The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” features anti-establishment comedians who love poking TV bears.
Emmy-winning writers included future superstars Steve Martin and Rob Reiner, and bookings included The Doors, Cream and Buffalo Springfield. At the time, television variety shows were the exclusive domain of Bob Hope and Andy Williams.
Of the two brothers, Tom's political leanings are more obvious. He became friends with John Lennon during the Beatles' outspoken protest period, and played acoustic guitar and sang background on his 1969 single "Give Peace a Chance."
"The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" was canceled after two years. This was too political for senior executives at CBS to tolerate. (The 2018 film "Choke" chronicled their battles over censorship.)
The brothers returned to Las Vegas to tour and perform.
Although they announced that their 2010 show in Orleans would be their last, they later announced on a 2022 episode of CBS Sunday Morning that they would tour earlier that year.
However, the party was canceled when Tom Smothers announced in July 2023 that he had been diagnosed with stage 2 lung cancer.
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Source: www.casino.org
