1. Thomas Bolyn Smothers III was an American comedian, actor, composer, and musician, widely known as half of the musical comedy duo the Smothers Brothers, alongside his younger brother Dick.
24 Facts About Tom Smothers
1. 2.
Thomas Bolyn Smothers III was born on February 2,1937, at the Fort Jay army post hospital on Governors Island in New York City, the son of Ruth, a homemaker, and Major Thomas B Smothers, a United States Army officer who died a POW of the Japanese in April 1945.
3.
The younger Tom Smothers later grew up in Altadena, Tujunga, and Redondo Beach, California.
4.
Tom Smothers first attended Verdugo Hills High School before transferring to Redondo Union High School as a senior.
5.
In January 1959, the Tom Smothers brothers were discovered by a detective who became their first manager and invited them to an audition at the Purple Onion, a nightclub in San Francisco.
6.
In February 1960, the Tom Smothers Brothers made their professional debut at Aspen, Colorado.
7.
Tom Smothers followed that role with a single episode of Burke's Law.
8.
Tom Smothers felt that the show did not play to the brothers' strengths and wanted creative control over their next venture.
9.
Tom Smothers negotiated creative control over their next CBS show, a variety show titled The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1967.
10.
Tom Smothers introduced some musical acts at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.
11.
Tom Smothers can be seen in the hotel room in the 1988 documentary film Imagine: John Lennon.
12.
In October 1976, Cosby and Tom Smothers attended a Playboy Mansion party.
13.
Smothers's politics were in marked contrast to those of his brother Dick, whom Tom described as "more conservative".
14.
Tom Smothers stated in 2006 that the duo's real-life political and philosophical differences were a key part of their ability to maintain their act for as long as they did.
15.
In motion pictures, Tom Smothers portrayed corporate-executive-turned-tap-dancing-magician Donald Beeman in Brian De Palma's 1972 film, Get to Know Your Rabbit.
16.
In 1980, Tom Smothers starred in the film There Goes the Bride.
17.
Tom Smothers voiced one of the characters in the cartoon Christmas movie Precious Moments: Timmy's Special Delivery in 1993.
18.
The Smothers Brothers hosted the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live in 1982, with a parody of The Tonight Show as its opening sketch, with Tom playing Johnny Carson, interviewing Dick.
19.
Tom Smothers had created the mostly non-speaking character in the late 1960s, a comedic performer of tricks using a yo-yo.
20.
In 2008, during the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards, Tom Smothers was awarded a special Emmy.
21.
Tom Smothers had refused to let his name be on the list of writers nominated for the Emmy because he felt his name was too contentious.
22.
The Tom Smothers Brothers announced in May 2010 that their shows at The Orleans near Las Vegas would be "farewell performances" marking their retirement from touring.
23.
Tom Smothers was the owner of Remick Ridge Vineyards in Sonoma County, California, which he established in 1977 and sold in 2023.
24.
Also in 2023, Tom Smothers announced he had been diagnosed with stage two lung cancer.