I miss the Smothers Brothers

A very underrated comedic brother act. Esp. Tommy. He was a hoot.

 

Always thought that clip was utterly hilarious. First time I saw it, I was laughing hysterically! Bob Einstein is great, too.

 

I believe they announced their retirement from performing fairly recently. The last time they came around here, they played a local casino.

 

Really enjoyed that!

 

Believe it or not, my first exposure to them was the KFC ads they did in the '80s.

 

Thanks, Jerry, for reminding me of those guys. The Smothers Brothers were not a household name up here in Montreal at the time.

If it wasn't for them, though, I never would have seen Arthur Garfunkel sport a 'stache (and I've never seen him with one since). Warning: The clip is cheesy and kitsch, and the sound is pretty bad.



The Garfunkel moustache appears around 3:15.

 

I remember the Pat Paulsen 1968 "candidacy" very well, a lot of people took him seriously. There were several news stories about it that I recall.
I have many fond memories of watching the show with my older sisters and brother, we all gathered around the TV every week.

 

GREAT show, probably my favorite comedy/variety series of all-time. I went into shock as a kid when CBS cancelled the show in April 1969, because it was still in the Top 10 ratings at the time. It was the hippest, smartest, most entertaining show of its kind I had ever seen as a kid, and couldn't comprehend that political pressures could convince the network to kill it. I loved the musical guests, the comedy, the sharp commentary, and the very slick production they did at CBS week after week (helmed by ace directors like Tim Kiley and Marty Pasetta).

In hindsight, I think the show got too political towards the end, and I wish they had backed off a little bit. Even Tommy Smothers acknowledges that in the Smothered documentary. I still miss the show very much, almost 50 years later.

 

National policy!

 

The phrase "bomb smothers brothers" often comes to my mind.

 

Total agreement. Time for a re-read.

 

Yeesh, I just looked it up — They announced their retirement from touring in 2010! Time slips away, dunnit?

 

Tommy & Dick are classic and I have many of their old classic albums on LP and CD.

Regarding the actual TV show, which was pretty groundbreaking, the thing that came out of it that I remember the most was Mason Williams and "Classical Gas"...

 

When Pat gave a "campaign" speech, they would announce that you could send a self addressed stamped envelope and get a copy of it. They really did this, and I still have my copy of one of them. Best show in the history of television. Needed today, even more than then.

 

They could effortlessly straddle broad comedy and satire, a very rare combo.
Satire is best done in a low key understated way, and broad comedy sometimes needs a more out front approach.

Did anyone ever see them live in the 60's/70's?

 

Dam, 8 years ago!

 

I saw them at Mohegan Sun in 2006. They were great. Also saw CSNY, Davy Jones & Little Anthony And The Imperials (the last 2 for free in The Wolf Den) there that same weekend!

 

John Lennon and Harry Nilsson did

 

OK, any one alive who saw them?

 

In 1966 they released the album "Golden Hits Of The Smothers Brothers - Volume 2)" (there was
never a Vol. 1… it was an entirely new in concert recording) on Mercury Records.
(I bought it in 1966 when I was 16!!) and not only was it in true stereo, but it was recorded
live on stage in "the round", so each of them constantly switched channels as they moved around
the stage. It was the first comedy album I owned that had a terrific stereo soundstage.
At any rate, I consider it the best album they ever recorded. In front of a huge audience, they
were at the top of their game, and then some. It's never been released on CD (I did a needle drop
of my copy years ago) but many of the tracks are on youtube. Here's just one...absolutely hilarious...

 

NONE of their LPs have ever appeared on CD, to this day, only crappy compilations. A damned shame.

 

And here's one more from the same album...a simply classic recording/performance.