September 17, 1965 - September 9, 1966
CBS Situation Comedy - 32 Filmed Episodes
Cast:
| Dick Smothers: | Himself |
| Tommy Smothers: | Himself |
| Leonard J. Costello, Dick's boss: | Roland Winters |
| Mrs. Costello: | Harriet E. MacGibbon |
| Janet, Dick's girlfriend: | Ann Elder |
Drowned at sea many years ago, Tom Smothers returns
to Earth as an apprentice angel and takes up residence
in the bachelor apartment of his brother, Dick. Inept,
and ordered to assist people in distress, Tom,
reluctantly assisted by Dick, struggles to complete
his assignments and acquire the status needed to
become a full-fledged angel. Dick was a rising young
executive at Pandora Publications, working for the
publisher Leonard J. Costello.
Click HERE to download theme song.
(Theme song provided by Todd Fuller's Sitcoms Online.)
February 5, 1967 - June 8, 1969
CBS Comedy/Variety Series
Hosts:
Tom Smothers
Dick Smothers
Regulars:
Pat Paulsen
Leigh French
Bob Einstein
The Louis Da Pron Dancers
The Ron Poindexter Dancers
The Anita Kerr Singers
Nelson Riddle and His Orchestra
Mason Williams
Jennifer Warnes
John Hartford
Carl Gottlieb
Cathy Cahill
Jessica Myerson
Spencer Quinn
Sally Struthers
Announcers:
Roger Carroll
Peter Cullen
Tom and Dick Smothers had been a very popular
comedy/singing team in the early and mid 1960s
with a number of successful, offbeat comedy albums.
Tom, who played the guitar, acted the role of the
dullard, unable to think logically, making all
sorts of inane remarks, and being generally
impossible to deal with. Dick, who played bass,
was, by contrast, calm, reasonable, and hard
pressed to retain his composure when confronted
by his brother's stupidity and silliness. Their
irreverent variety series was an immediate hit.
Abetted by Pat Paulsen's low-keyed "editorials"
and other material, they managed to poke fun at
virtually all the hallowed institutions of
American society. It was topical, it was funny,
and occasionally it was in bad taste.
There was always problems getting program material
cleared with the CBS censors. Pat Paulsen had
started campaigning for President with the slogan
"If nominated I will not run, and if elected I
will not serve." It was a joke but CBS, fearing
demands for equal time from the real candidates,
kept him off the show until after the election.
Blacklisted folk singer, Pete Seeger, made several
appearances and got them into trouble with his
Vietnam protest song. A 1969 comedy sketch making
fun of religion outraged the clergy and forced
an on-air apology. CBS had had enough. The show's
high ratings were not worth the trouble and the
Smothers Brothers were replaced by Hee Haw.
Thirteen months later in the summer of 1970 the
show turned up on ABC, but it did not make it
to the ABC fall schedule. In 1975 NBC gave Tom
and Dick another chance, but it quickly sank
into obscurity. CBS trotted them out again
March 30, 1988 through August 23, 1989.
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The Smothers Brothers
An Official Website
One-Year Wonders Message Board
From Todd Fuller's Sitcoms Online
The Smothers Brothers
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The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
From The Museum of Broadcast Communications
Smothers Brothers Message Board
By Kim
The Smothers Brothers Show
By TV Party
Yo Yo Smo Bro
By T. Neilson
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