Gazette

Sibling Revelry: Smothers Brothers hit fair

August 21, 2008 5:02 PM

By STEVE RABEY

SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE

There's a simple explanation for why the Smothers Brothers have been among the longest-lived comedy teams in his story.

"It's because neither one of us has died!" says Dick Smothers, the 68-year-old straight man who has spent nearly half a century playing string bass alongside his guitar-playing, Yo-Yo-tossing brother, Tom, who's 71.

The brothers perform Wednesday at the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo. And it was during a Colorado performance in 1960 that Dick first realized the two brothers had a future as a comedy duo.

"Glenn Yaborough, a folk-singer friend of ours, asked the two of us to perform at the Limelighters, his club in Aspen," Dick says. "At that time, we were performing in a folk trio. We told Glenn we didn't have a duet act. We had tried that, but it didn't work. But we agreed to perform anyway."

Taking the stage after an 18-year-old Judy Collins opened the show, Dick was prepared for the worst.

"I was ready to fail," he says. "I didn't think Tommy had any clue he was going to be funny. But he was like a savant, and the laughs just started coming."

More than 5,000 performances later, the laughs haven't stopped. Dick thanks DNA for that.

"Being brothers really helped," Dick says in a phone interview from a casino near Niagara Falls, where the brother were performing. "We are used to each other's defects and defenses. We bickered and played growing up together, and this gives us a deeper understanding when we perform, even though we still sometimes want to smack the other person."

Dick also credits their focus on timeless and universal themes.

"We've always dealt with the human condition," he says. "In the early part of the show, Tommy would do something dumb. Then I would deal with Tommy's lying or his efforts to try and twist the facts. His character's defects were the typical defects of a child who lies and is self-centered. He omits and he exaggerates. And it's all bout me holding him accountable and challenging him to play by society's rules."

After achieving success as live performers and recording artists, Tom and Dick became national celebrities during the late 1960s on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," which featured musical performances by The Beatles and the Doors, the comedic writing of Steve Martin and Rob Reiner, and plenty of countercultural jokes.

The groundbreaking, Emmy Award-winning variety series debuted in 197 during the Democratic administration of Lyndon Johnson. It replaced "Bonanza" as the nation's most popular show before being abruptly canceled in 1969 during the Nixon administration. It was replaced by "Hee Haw."

Some historians claim the show's demise spelled the end of political humor on prime-time network entertainment programs. The debate continues in "Smothered," a 2002 documentary film, and a book, "Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored History of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," which will be published next year.

"If you watch the film, you will see a train wreck coming," says Dick, who doesn't regret the brothers' efforts to stand up against network brass but acknowledges that they could have handled things differently.

"Tommy could have talked to the network more diplomatically," he says. "He was a young man. He did not know how to play that corporate game."

The brothers returned to network TV in the 1970s and '80s, but never regained the popularity or impact of their shows from the 1960s, which are available now for the first time through the brothers' Web site. ("The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour: The Best of Season 3," a five-DVD set, sells for $70.)

Meanwhile, the brothers work to keep their live performances timely and topical.

"When I deal with Tommy lying, it's easy to bring things around to the social or political level," Dick says. "The values, like truth and honesty, that I hold Tommy accountable to are the same things we want to hold our leaders to. That never goes out of date."

Dick knows that different audiences prefer different kinds of humor, but he strongly believes comedy should enlighten as well as entertain.

"There's a place for the one-liners you hear on late night TV. There's a place for political humorists like Bill Maher. There's even a place for the dirty stuff on HBO, or the sophomoric humor of Howard Stern, though I personally can't stand that.

"But we have always preferred a gentle form of subversion. We think comedy should have serious content and a social context. But if something needs to be said, don't hit people over the head with it."

Off stage, Tommy plays golf, while Dick is committed to yoga, exercise, healthful living, 12-step groups, the books and lectures of Marianne Williamson and the teachings of "A Course In Miracles," which mixes Christian principles, Eastern philosophy and psychology.

The brothers also own Remick Ridge Vineyards, which is named after their mother.

And while they still bicker onstage about which one of them mom likes most, both feel blessed.

"I always say that today would be a great day to die, because I'm still alive," Dick says.