Smothers Brothers Test The Rules

Retro Reunion: The Smothers Brothers

(CBS)  The Early Show's Retro Reunion looks back to the turbulent late '60s, when two brothers changed the face of television with their ground-breaking variety show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Tom and Dick Smothers help us remember from the Hilton Hotel and Casino, Starlight Theater, where they have been in concert.


The Story:

One of the most successful comedy teams in history, The Smothers Brothers made their first professional appearance at San Francisco's The Purple Onion in 1959 and their first national television appearance on The Jack Paar Show in January 1961. Their own show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, was different than anything else on TV in the '60s, featuring deft satire and brilliant stand-up humor.


Show In Brief:

First Telecast On CBS:1967
Last Telecast On CBS: 1969

In the eyes of CBS, however, Tom and Dick Smothers went too far with their topical humor and political leanings and their show was canceled. Had they not gone as far as they did, viewers would never have seen the shows that followed: Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Saturday Night Live or SCTV. The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour is now studied in universities across the country as an important factor in the revolutionary changes in American society during the 1960s.