- Tom Smothers
Infobox actor
name = Tom Smothers
imagesize = 180px
caption = "Look" magazine, 1969
birthname = Thomas Bolyn Smothers III
birthdate = birth date and age|1937|02|02
birthplace =New York City, New York , USA
occupation = Actor, comedian
spouse = Marcy Carriker (1990-present)
Rochelle Robley (m. 1974)
yearsactive = 1950s-present
website = http://www.smothersbrothers.com/
awards =Hollywood Walk of Fame
6555 Hollywood BoulevardThomas Bolin “Tom” Smothers III (born
February 2 ,1937 ) is an Americancomedian ,composer andmusician , best known as half of the musical comedy team TheSmothers Brothers with brother,Dick Smothers .Smothers was born in New York City and after moving to California graduated from
Redondo Union High School inRedondo Beach, California . He was a state champion gymnast in the parallel bars. Smothers later attendedSan José State University .The Smothers Brothers appeared on numerous television shows over the past three decades, including two
variety show s of their own, "The Smothers Brothers Show " from 1965 to 1966, and "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour " in 1967.Tom Smothers negotiated creative control over the CBS show. The documentary "Smothered" describes how the brothers (particularly Tom) fought CBS censors to sneak in references to religion, recreational drugs, sex, and the
Vietnam War . Smothers is widely quoted as saying: "The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen." He and others have implied that the brothers' oppositional politics led to their show's demise. Tom also admits that politics sometimes took precedence over humor.Smothers is also the owner of
Remick Ridge Vineyards inSonoma County, California with his wife Marcy and two children, Riley Rose (b. 1996) and Bo (b. 1993).In motion pictures, Tom Smothers portrayed corporate-executive-turned-tap-dancing-magician Donald Beeman in one of
Brian De Palma 's earlier films, "Get to Know Your Rabbit " (1972). He later portrayed Spike in "Serial" (1980).Tom Smothers played guitar on John Lennon's recording of his single "
Give Peace a Chance ".To augment their act in recent years, Tom Smothers created the mostly non-speaking character "Yo-Yo Man", a surprisingly expert performer of difficult tricks using a
Yo-yo . In their 2008 tour, Yo-Yo Man is listed as the group's opening act. The name is possibly a reference to the folk song "Yo-Yo Man," which the brothers sang together on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.Currently, he can be found in commercials promoting River Rock Casino in Geyserville, CA.
In 2008, during the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards, Smothers was awarded a special Emmy. In 1968, when he was head writer of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour", the writing staff was awarded the Emmy for Outstanding Writing In A Comedic Series. Smothers had refused to let his name be on the list of writers nominated for the Emmy, because he felt his name was too volatile. The award at the 2008 ceremony was presented by
Steve Martin , who was once a writer on the program. [cite news | url = http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/21/emmy.awards/index.html | title = 'Mad Men' wins best drama, '30 Rock' best comedy | publisher = CNN | first = Todd | last = Leopold | date =2008-09-21 | accessdate = 2008-09-21]References
ources
*imdb name|810691
*imdb title|0348056|Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
* [http://www.tvparty.com/smothers.html The Smothers Brothers at TV Party]
* [http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/tommy_smothers/ Tommy Smothers quotes at ThinkExist]
* [http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/about.aspx?id=12267 Tom Smothers 'Speaking Freely' transcript]
* [http://beingtheremag.com/feature.php?issue=10&id=238 Tom Smothers interview in 'Being There']
* [http://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/mainHTML.cfm?page=smothers.html Tom Smothers interviewed by 'Jerry Jazz Musician']
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