[HN Gopher] Comedian Tom Smothers has died
___________________________________________________________________
Comedian Tom Smothers has died
Author : h2odragon
Score : 36 points
Date : 2023-12-27 18:36 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (apnews.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (apnews.com)
| bookofjoe wrote:
| https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/27/arts/television/tom-smoth...
| rmason wrote:
| I watched their TV show while I was in high school. Never found
| the brothers act all that funny but their show was different.
| They poked fun at the government and then as now the government
| did not like it at all. The network was under immense pressure,
| eventually they caved and despite the shows popularity they were
| cancelled.
| robocat wrote:
| About the referenced blacklisting of singer Pete Seeger (because
| he was a "communist"):
|
| https://prospect.org/culture/recalling-pete-seeger-s-controv...
| pstuart wrote:
| It's also a good history of what "free speech" in America
| historically looked like.
| BelleOfTheBall wrote:
| It's always amusing when I see an old show described as a hit
| only to run for 3 years. Today's hits (Grey's Anatomy, The
| Simpsons, any sufficiently popular show on Showtime) are milked
| until the bitter end. I know it doesn't apply in this case, as
| this was a political decision, just made me remember it.
| anonymousiam wrote:
| The show was wildly popular. It ran for only three years
| because it was cancelled under political pressure.
| Interestingly enough, Star Trek TOS ran for the same period
| ('67-'69).
|
| You can watch this episode for more info. It contains an
| introduction and epilogue describing the controversy.
|
| Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ~ Never Aired Episode
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbdAVIKtiHY
| fsckboy wrote:
| '64 to '74, UK & America, has to be one of the most intense
| 10 years of change in any culture ever, so for a TV show with
| any sort of a fashionable pop culture hook to survive very
| long would be really unlikely
|
| Yes, continental europe too, and the 50's also, but I wanted
| to choose a decade, and kick it off with Beatlemania and wrap
| it up with the end of Viet Nam, start of the energy
| (economic) crisis
| eesmith wrote:
| FWIW, Deadwood and Chappelle's Show were two other hits which
| ran for 3 years.
|
| "Deadwood: HBO's hit drama series that follows the evolution of
| an American frontier town, and the ruthless power struggle
| between its inhabitants." -
| https://www.hulu.com/series/deadwood-6baae385-fa66-4af3-953b...
|
| "early 2000s comedy hit Chappelle's Show" -
| https://www.newsweek.com/chappelle-show-netflix-controversia...
|
| There's probably many more.
| jimbobthrowawy wrote:
| Outside of the US it's pretty common for shows to end after,
| comparatively, very few episodes. Especially places like the
| UK.
|
| Though, lightly-scripted comedy and current affairs shows
| tend to go on much longer and it's quite surprising when
| they're cancelled.
| eesmith wrote:
| Another example; "telenovelas tell one self-contained
| story, typically within the span of a year or less", and
| there have been many hits.
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telenovela .
| BelleOfTheBall wrote:
| Well, Chappelle's Show was a matter of him not wanting to do
| it due to compensation issues. Had no idea Deadwood was an
| actual hit, though, I assumed it was one of those "cult
| following" shows.
| eesmith wrote:
| Well, what makes "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" an
| actual hit and not one of those cult following shows?
|
| It was ranked #16 in 1966-1967, #18 in 1967-1968, and #27
| in 1968-1969.
|
| 1966-1967 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top-
| rated_United_States_televi...
|
| 1967-1968 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top-
| rated_United_States_televi...
|
| 1968-1969 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top-
| rated_United_States_televi... says The Smothers Brothers
| Comedy Hour was ranked 27.
| AlbertCory wrote:
| It was on Sunday nights against Bonanza. Merely surviving
| makes it a hit.
|
| There were NO "cult following" shows in prime time in the
| top 30. Maybe on late nights.
| AlbertCory wrote:
| RIP Tommy. Secretly, Mom did like you best, but she'd never admit
| it.
| liamN wrote:
| That is sad news. I used to listen to a CD of one of their acts
| on most road trips with my parents. They were so funny, even
| though the political references were all well before my time. I
| had no idea they were so well known; since I never heard of them
| outside my family, I had always just assumed they were some
| random little show my parents had found the CD for at a goodwill.
| A truly legendary comedy duo.
| ranger207 wrote:
| I had the same experience, with a CD on long road trips. I
| still try to make references to talking to trees, vats full of
| chocolate, crevasses filled with pumas, boiling that cabbage
| down, boy, and baby John Henry wetting his dad's leg. Alas,
| only my own brother ever gets them
| geocrasher wrote:
| When I was 11 or 12 years old I was simply obsessed with yoyos.
| And Tommy Smothers had his yoyo act, and I was just enthralled.
| Here was this fully grown adult (this was in the late 80's) doing
| things with a yoyo that I wanted so badly to do. I always thought
| him to be the funniest, nicest guy, just based on his act. When I
| read that he passed, I wept. So long, Tommy.
| brandall10 wrote:
| Yo-young was so popular at my elementary school in '88 that we
| had a competition in the cafeteria (during finals mine snapped
| and hit the ceiling during an around the world!)
|
| My Dad went thru a similar phase as a kid and introduced me to
| Tommy. I recall he actually had an instructional video and I
| would watch his tricks in slow motion to figure them out. At
| the same time became a bit obsessed with the Smothers Brothers,
| remember saying to a friend they gave off ultimate cool uncle
| vibes, so wholesome that they could be deceptively biting and
| irreverent.
| cssinate wrote:
| Oh gosh. So much good material from the Smothers Brothers. "Kiss
| My Bass", "Pumas in the Crevices"... Such a good duo.
| skyechurch wrote:
| Here's a good synopsis of the Smothers Brothers and their
| importance for that generation of comedians:
| https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/smothers-brothe...
|
| Comedy, in general, ages very badly, but the Smothers Brothers
| are still very funny. They were politically "controversial", but
| they were the furthest thing from shock comics, and I think
| that's what makes their comedy translate 50+ years later. Nothing
| is as dated as last season's transgressiveness, but their
| routines were sharp but welcoming, you could watch them with your
| grandparents and your children and everyone would have a laugh.
| They were well before my time, but I remember seeing them brought
| out on Letterman, etc, expecting a dire nostalgia act, and they
| just kill. A great act for any decade.
| drewcoo wrote:
| I think comedians are supposed to be subversive and they were .
| . . especially Tommy!
|
| > they were the furthest thing from shock comics
|
| What they did on national TV was more shocking than national TV
| could stand. They were cancelled because they (mostly Tommy)
| kept pushing limits.
|
| > Nothing is as dated as last season's transgressiveness[sic]
|
| I claim most of that (and most of _this_ season's) isn't really
| transgressive. Or funny. Most of it is well within bounds of
| what's accepted by mainstream media (liberal appropriateness).
| For contemporaries of Tommy and Dickie, consider Laugh-In,
| which was seen as really pushing Nixon's buttons but seems very
| stale today. It was partisan but not truly transgressive. The
| Smothers Brothers were seen as partisan, but they stumped for
| Pat Paulsen [1], not a Democrat!
|
| > their routines were sharp but welcoming
|
| Are you kidding me? Half my family hated them. Hated what they
| stood for. Wanted those commies to get what they had coming!
|
| The other half loved them, of course. Donald Trump is not the
| first time Americans were politically divided against one
| another.
|
| > They were well before my time
|
| I hope you talk in a more informed way about time you know.
|
| 1. And against Nixon, no less!
| https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/03/23/comedian-pat-
| paulsen-1968-campaign-president-nashville/450499002/
| AlbertCory wrote:
| You are both right, in that they _were_ counterculture.
| However:
|
| > comedians are supposed to be subversive
|
| No, that's just your preference. Jay Leno and Norm MacDonald
| are not subversive at all; just funny. _Most_ of the Smothers
| ' comedy was family-friendly, but they did push a few buttons
| sometimes.
|
| > I hope you talk in a more informed way about time you know
|
| Totally unwarranted.
| nyczomg wrote:
| Norm MacDonald not subversive at all? Really?
|
| https://ultimateclassicrock.com/norm-macdonald-last-
| weekend-...
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_lXBLqAOW8
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOsfrppKd1k
| someonehere wrote:
| My parents were fans of their original show. When they came back
| on the air a few decades ago I learned of them and admired their
| humor. I was a preteen at the time and some of it went over my
| head but the rest was laughter.
|
| I wonder if they still have their winery? I regret not seeing
| them perform at the local casinos near Napa.
| voakbasda wrote:
| Sad news. I watched them often growing up. In an incalculable
| stroke of coincidence, I just tonight watched the episode of
| Saturday Night Live that he hosted along with his brother. Their
| performances reflected incredible talent.
|
| I mentioned to my wife today that similar levels of acts seem
| harder to come by these days. Maybe the signal is still there,
| but the noise has grown to become unbearable.
| Cerpicio wrote:
| I was really sad when I heard about this. I've enjoyed the
| Smothers Brothers since I was a kid and found my parents' records
| of them. "Mom Always Liked You Best," falling into a vat of
| Chocolate, Streets of Laredo, My Old Man, John Henry, Crabs Walk
| Sidways, Pretoria, etc, etc. If you have never watched them
| before, look up a few of these. I was fortunate enough to see
| them in person when they performed in our city about a decade
| ago.
|
| Did they ever do just a straight music album? That would have
| been great. Streets of Laredo starts off so beautifully.
|
| EDIT: Here, I'll help you out:
|
| Streets of Laredo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDmdSPKR73o
|
| My Old Man: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgD1o9I8hw0
|
| Pretoria: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P5IIsCFTCo
|
| Crabs Walk Sideways: (be patient through the first minute or so)
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en54Im4qBOA
|
| Chocolate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH0IZZRd0bI
|
| Six String Orchestra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1MUytzDQog
|
| Boil that Cabbage Down:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmfILH3JKQg
| ChrisMarshallNY wrote:
| Only us old farts will get this: "Mom always liked you best!"
___________________________________________________________________
(page generated 2023-12-28 23:00 UTC)