Tom Smothers, the comic and musician who rose to fame within the Nineteen Sixties as one half of the long-lasting Smothers Brothers performing duo, has died, his brother stated in a press release. Smothers was 86.
“Tom was not solely the loving older brother that everybody would need of their life, he was a one-of-a-kind inventive accomplice,” stated Dick Smothers in a press release printed Wednesday by the Nationwide Comedy Heart. “I’m endlessly grateful to have spent a lifetime along with him, on and off stage, for over 60 years. Our relationship was like an excellent marriage — the longer we have been collectively, the extra we beloved and revered each other. We have been actually blessed.”
Dick Smothers stated his brother died peacefully on Tuesday at dwelling together with his household, in response to the Nationwide Comedy Heart assertion. His dying adopted a latest battle with lung most cancers, which was identified at stage II.Â
Tom and Dick Smothers broke new floor with their hit present, “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” which aired on CBS and gained an Emmy in 1969. Together with their music and comedy, they did not shrink back from confronting the political points roiling the nation on the time.
The duo “satirized politics, combated racism, protested the Vietnam Battle, and led the best way for Saturday Night time Dwell, The Every day Present, at the moment’s community late night time exhibits, and a lot extra,” the Nationwide Comedy Heart wrote in its tribute.
The brothers mirrored on their iconic profession in an interview with “CBS Sunday Morning” final 12 months.
“Folks laughing is holy,” Tom stated. “And for those who will be a part of that, and management it, and create it, it is the most effective factor ever.”
Dick added, “When somebody stated, ‘What is the happiest time in your life,’ it is standing on that stage with my brother a number of inches away on my proper and having that feeling with that viewers. That defines my entire life. There’s nothing higher.”
Journey Gunderson, the manager director of the Nationwide Comedy Heart, praised Smothers’ expertise as an entertainer in addition to the brothers’ trailblazing function in melding sketch comedy and performing with political satire.
“Tom Smothers was not solely a unprecedented comedic expertise, who, collectively together with his brother Dick, turned essentially the most enduring comedy duo in historical past, entertaining the world for over six a long time — however was a real champion for freedom of speech, harnessing the ability of comedy to push boundaries and our political consciousness,” Gunderson stated in a press release.
Tom Smothers is survived by his spouse, Marcy Carriker Smothers, two youngsters, Bo Smothers and Riley Rose Smothers, and a grandson, Phoenix, in addition to a sister-in-law and different nieces and nephews.Â
A non-public memorial service might be held in 2024. Dick Smothers and his spouse requested that donations be made in Tom Smothers’ reminiscence to the Nationwide Comedy Heart.
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