# Tom Smothers has died **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [December 27, 2023, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239 "2023-12-27T16:11:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/1 "2023-12-27T16:11:54Z")
Damn. > **[Tom Smothers, Comic Half of the Smothers Brothers, Dies at 86](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/27/arts/television/tom-smothers-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.JE0.Q0Cx.Rbs4GAVWZXaT&smid=url-share)** > > Though he played a naïve buffoon onstage, he was the driving force behind the folk-singing duo’s groundbreaking TV show. I loved their show, and Tommy was my favorite of the two. Some of you (who are old enough) may remember that there was a musicians’ strike one year, which left the show without its musical backup. So The Beatles joined Tom and Dick as guests that night, October 13, 1968. > **["The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" Episode #3.3 (TV Episode 1968) ⭐ 7.5 |...](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1053065/)** > > 1h ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/2 "2023-12-27T16:18:18Z")
Terrible news. I loved the Brothers in almost all their incarnations. (Okay, not the sitcom.) Pfui! From the sitcom’s lyrics: “Brother Tom was lost at sea without his water wings, And now he’s an angel, and does the most fantastic things.” ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/3 "2023-12-27T16:25:37Z")
Damn. The brothers were my first introduction to edgy, subversive (for the time) humor and ideas back in the 60’s. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/4 "2023-12-27T16:53:58Z")
We saw Tom & Dick in Greensburg, PA 5-8 years ago. They put on an excellent show. I actually remembered some of the things they did from their original tv show. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/5 "2023-12-27T17:06:26Z")
This is sad. The Smothers Brothers were one of the formative comedic influences of my childhood, mostly due to the LPs my parents had. I remember laughing hysterically at their version of “The Fox.” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/15CGvVT9SdQ/maxresdefault.jpg "The Fox") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15CGvVT9SdQ) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/6 "2023-12-27T17:25:57Z")
I loved their show when I was a kid. I always remember a routine where Tommy was the Tooth Fairy in a kid’s bedroom. A cop shows up to arrest him as an intruder. ‘Do you know who I am?’ asks the cop. Tommy’s face fills with wonder, and his voice was filled with axe. ‘You’re the Easter Pig!’ ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/7 "2023-12-27T17:30:26Z")
He and his brother’s heyday was before my time, but I interviewed him in the early 2000s when I was an entertainment reporter for a local newspaper and they were doing a stand-up show in town. Was a very nice guy and a great interview. Very charming, funny and conversational. My mom was very impressed I got to meet him. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/8 "2023-12-27T17:34:45Z")
They had another round of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1988/89, and my parents enjoyed telling me about watching the Comedy Hour decades earlier. It was a show that all three of us enjoyed watching. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/9 "2023-12-27T17:43:18Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Tommy’s face fills with wonder, and his voice was filled with axe. - Axe is a body spray, not a mouthwash. :flees: ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/10 "2023-12-27T17:46:08Z")
**Awe.** ‘Filled with **awe**.’ I’ve had a lot more typos since I crushed my hand in the log splitter. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/11 "2023-12-27T17:48:10Z")
Sad news indeed. I had every LP the Smothers Brothers ever did. Some of their bits are timeless. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Pwk3AylVpX0/maxresdefault.jpg "I Talk To The Trees") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwk3AylVpX0) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/12 "2023-12-27T17:48:36Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > **Awe.** ‘Filled with **awe**.’ > > I’ve had a lot more typos since I crushed my hand in the log splitter. ☹ - When did you do that? _Damn_. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/13 "2023-12-27T17:51:35Z")
A year ago last July. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/14 "2023-12-27T17:52:26Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > A year ago last July. - You have my sympathy. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/15 "2023-12-27T18:01:51Z")
A vicious puma probably got him. RIP funny man. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/16 "2023-12-27T18:03:41Z")
Their Mother was the Avon lady in my neighborhood, I bet her business really picked up when they became famous. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/17 "2023-12-27T18:19:43Z")
Did he fall into a vat of chocolate? The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was on for only three seasons. It was cancelled because Tom and Dick wouldn’t knuckle under to the network censors. The network claimed it was because The Smothers Brothers had failed to deliver a show on time, but in fact they had delivered a show that the network refused to air in the U.S. (though it was shown in Canada). Tom and Dick won a lawsuit against the network for breach of contract. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/18 "2023-12-27T18:22:23Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > A vicious puma probably got him. Shoulda stayed out of those crevices. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/19 "2023-12-27T18:25:16Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was on for only three seasons. It was cancelled because Tom and Dick wouldn’t knuckle under to the network censors. Mainly Tom, who was the liberal voice of the two and was willing to put up a fight for what he thought was right. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239/20 "2023-12-27T18:34:11Z")
Aw, man. I’m sad for me. As a child I always wondered if they were mad at mom for not having another son to name Harry. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239.md?page=2)