(ProsperNews.net) – Comedian Tom Smothers, half of the Smothers Brothers, died in California on December 27 at the age of 86. Smothers succumbed to cancer, and his death was announced by the National Comedy Center. His brother, Dick Smothers, said, “I am forever grateful to have spent a lifetime together with him, on and off stage, for over 60 years.”
“The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” debuted on CBS in 1967 and was considered a ground-breaker. It clashed with censors and was canceled in 1970, prompting a lawsuit that ended with the brothers’ victory and a $775,000 settlement.
The pair discussed the legal episode during a 2019 reunion in New York. They reflected on their controversial comedy and criticism of the Vietnam War, which was considered contentious at the time. “The funny thing is, I look back at those things. They’re so benign, but at the time, they were volatile,” Dick Smothers said.
Tom was born in New York in 1937, and his brother followed a year later. Their father, Thomas B. Smothers Jr., was a US Army officer who died during the Second World War while imprisoned in Japan. Their mother subsequently took the brothers to live in Los Angeles, where she raised them alone.
The talented entertainers attended San Jose State University, where they formed a folk band with friends called the Casual Quintet and made their stage debut in San Francisco in 1959. Their musical career took off, and they debuted on TV in 1961, later appearing alongside Barbra Streisand on the Judy Garland Show in 1963.
After over 50 years in show business, the brothers announced their retirement in 2010 and gave their final performance at the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Tom married three times and lived with his third wife, Marcy – an author – at their vineyard in Sonoma County, California, until his death. They had two children, and Mr. Smothers had a son from his first marriage to Stephanie Shorr.
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