Tribute to Tom Smothers
Original Airdates: Jan. 12-15, 2024
TVC 633.4: David Bianculli, longtime television critic and longtime contributor to NPR’s Fresh Air, and the author of Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, joins Ed as TV Confidential pays tribute to comedian Tom Smothers, the comic half of the Smothers Brothers stage act who was also the driving force behind The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (CBS, 1967-1969). Tom Smothers passed away Tuesday, Dec. 26 at age eighty-six. Topics this segment include the many way in which The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was a pivot point in the landscape of network television comedy, paving the way for such other topical shows as Laugh-in, All in the Family, M*A*S*H, and Saturday Night Live; how the Smothers Brothers did not necessarily set out to become a comic act when they began their nightclub career; and the many ways in which Tom was an impresario, much like Ed Sullivan was in the 1950s and Lorne Michaels was in the 1970s.
How The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour Changed Television
Original Airdates: Jan. 12-15, 2024
TVC 633.5: David Bianculli talks to Ed about how the battles between CBS network executives and Tom Smothers over censorship of behind The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (CBS, 1967-1969) “were like parents who were too strict trying to discipline children who were too rebellious”; the return of The Smothers Brothers to CBS television in 1988, and the emergence of Tom’s “Yo-Yo man” character; and the final public appearance of the Smothers Brothers during the launch of a Smothers Brothers exhibit at the National Comedy Center. David’s books on television include Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, a behind-the-scenes look at the lives and careers of Tom and Dick Smothers and the legacy of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Tom Smothers passed away Tuesday, Dec. 26 at age eighty-six.
