WWTBAM Bored

Thomas Bolyn Smothers III (February 2, 1937 – December 26, 2023) was an American comedian, composer and musician, best known as half of the musical comedy duo the Smothers Brothers, alongside his younger brother Dick.

He was great. The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was "don't miss" at our house.

Mom always liked him best.

Mrs. SSS loved the Smothers Brothers. When we first got married, we lived near Chastain Park in Atlanta, a large recreational area with golf course, ball fields, and an amphitheater that still hosts spring and summer outdoor concerts. We got tickets to see the Smothers Brothers when they played there and walked over. The show was great and Mrs. SSS loved it. He also did his Mr. Yo-Yo Man shtick, where he showed off some pretty remarkable yo-yo talents. I also remember that even then, in the mid-80s, they had faded from the public eye enough that the place was less than half full.

He made a few movies. One from the early 1970s (when the TV show was still fresh in people's minds) that's practically forgotten today but is worth a watch if you can find it is Get to Know Your Rabbit. He played a business executive who decides to chuck it all and become a magician, where he's trained by Orson Welles. Brian de Palma directed.

We had an album of theirs. He was great. Sorta reminded me of my brother.

My wife and I saw them in concert with the Wichita Symphony in the mid-nineties. We always enjoyed their stuff.

The symphony performed for the first part, then an intermission, then the Somothers Brothers came out for their part accompanied by the symphony. It was an ecletic audience as some were there just for the symphony, some just for the Smothers Brothers, and then some like us, wanted to see both.

There were two couples sitting in front of us talking through the entire first part where the symphony played. They kept complaing that the brothers weren't out yet. I interupted them and using my angry face, suggested they "go out to the lobby and smoke their cigarettes and drink their beer and that I would come get them whe the brothers came out." They were taken aback and then were quiet the rest of the symphony performance. Everyone around us quietly thanked be later.

Once the brothers were out the folks in front stood up and started clapping, then accidently spilled their beer on me. They turned around and profusely appologized thinking the angry man may now resort to more than words. But I didn't. I knew it was just an honest accident. It was a great show.

He also played acoustic guitar on John Lennon's iconic song Give Peace a Chance in 1969:

Personnel
John Lennon – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Tom Smothers – acoustic guitar
Yoko Ono and others – handclaps, tambourine, backing vocals
Timothy Leary, Petula Clark – backing vocals
André Perry – percussion, production

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Give_Peace_a_Chance

PS Timothy Leary?

Beebs52 wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 27, 2023 1:07 pm

We had an album of theirs. He was great. Sorta reminded me of my brother.

"My old man's a sailor; what do you think about that?"

Bob Juch wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 27, 2023 8:20 pm

Beebs52 wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 27, 2023 1:07 pm

We had an album of theirs. He was great. Sorta reminded me of my brother.

"My old man's a sailor; what do you think about that?"

Did he fall into a vat of chocolate? RIP Tommy

Not a mention yet of The Smother Brothers Show sitcom, which is the only reason I really know who these two are since it was rerun on Nick at Nite sometime in the late 80's/early 90's when I watched frequently.

I guess now Tom really does have his angel wings...

lb13