Tom’s brother and comedy collaborator, Dick Smothers, made the announcement that his brother had passed away at the age of 86 due to the effects of cancer.
Dick Smothers made the tragic word on Tuesday that his brother and comedy sidekick, Tom Smothers, had passed away at the age of 86 due to cancer. Tom Smothers was named after Dick Smothers.
The fact that Tom was a one-of-a-kind creative collaborator was in addition to the fact that he was the sort of caring elder brother that everyone would desire in their lives. Having spent over sixty years with Dad, both on and off stage, I will be eternally thankful for the opportunity to have shared a lifetime with. Our connection was similar to that of a healthy marriage; the longer we were together, the more we developed feelings of love and respect for one another. According to a statement released by Dick Smothers, “We were tremendously blessed.”
Beginning in February of 1967, CBS broadcast the first episode of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, a revolutionary variety program that lasted for one hour. The two brothers brought entertaining and forward-thinking humor to network television with their program, which comprised skits and songs performed by them. During the time when Tom and Dick were entertaining the American people with their humorous singing and famous squabbling, Tom played the guitar and Dick played stand-up bass.
In addition to his daughters Bo and Riley Rose Smothers, his grandchildren Phoenix and Marcy Carriker Smothers, his sister-in-law Marie Smothers, and a number of nephews and a niece, Tom is survived by his family.
According to a statement sent by producer George Schlatter to ET, “I liked Tommy. We had a wonderful friendship, Tommy and I. Quite a few of the things that I performed were attributed to Tommy. As you can see, we need to provide space for the rebels. For those individuals for whom there is no place, we need to find a way to accommodate them. Additionally, Tommy is the one and only, and he will be sorely missed by everyone.
Journey Gunderson, the executive director of the National Comedy Center, issued a statement regarding Tom’s passing. In the statement, he said that Tom “was not only an extraordinary comedic talent, who, together with his brother Dick, became the most enduring comedy duo in history, entertaining the world for over six decades – but he was a true champion for freedom of speech, harnessing the power of comedy to push boundaries and our political consciousness.”
