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For all you early Gen X'ers ... Comedian Tom Smothers dies at 86

Posted by DaisyJane1@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 81 comments

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81 Comments

Whipstich-Pepperpot@reddit

Not in my world. In my world the Smothers Brothers were totally Boomer and Silent Generation's comedy. I could not stand them, born 1968.
View on Reddit #16743158

R808T@reddit

Born in 65 and I agree. I never really found them funny.
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Whipstich-Pepperpot@reddit

Thank you, people on Reddit have such thin skins. Heaven forbid one should have a personal opinion that doesn't match with theirs.
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R808T@reddit

I agree. You would think in this sub it would be a little different.
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Whipstich-Pepperpot@reddit

I didn't think Laugh-In was funny either.
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R808T@reddit

I barely remember laugh-in.
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GalaxyRedRanger@reddit

That sucks. My parents were more into the Smothers Brothers than me. But they were still a class act. I’d gladly watch them, unlike the hours of Hee Haw that I was forced to endure.
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southernrail@reddit

I loved Hee Haw, but it was that or Wheel or Jeopardy at dinner sooooooo my choices were limited. the jokes were ridiculous and so were the skits, but those musical acts were always on point.
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GalaxyRedRanger@reddit

Yeesh. More power to you, brother. But I’d take Jeopardy over Hee Haw any night of the week.
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bene_gesserit_mitch@reddit

I’d even watch Wheel of Jeopardy.
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RootHogOrDieTrying@reddit

Growing up, we only got 2 TV stations. On Saturday night, both showed Hee Haw.
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DaisyJane1@reddit (OP)

Aww, I loved Hee Haw! I'm a Georgia native, tho.
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Dunkelregen@reddit

Yeah, my parents knew them more than I did, but I always loved seeing them do stand up or cameos in other things. Like both Dick and Tommy in [Speed Zone](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098369/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_lk), although I mostly remember Tommy's part in it.
View on Reddit #16743154

badpuffthaikitty@reddit

I always found something in the background that kept my attention to the TV when my parents watched Hee-Haw.
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lawstandaloan@reddit

[Gloom, despair, agony on me.](https://sites.miamioh.edu/meyersde/gloom-despair-and-agony-on-me/) We had to watch Hee Haw all the time
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Zestyclose-Ad-7576@reddit

I yelled fire when I fell into the chocolate.
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lai4basis@reddit

This must be for the older Genx
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NorthShoreAlexi@reddit

Late Gen X here, I enjoyed them on Nick at Nite
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DaisyJane1@reddit (OP)

I said as much in the title.
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lai4basis@reddit

Sorry. Mid-afternoon weed session when I posted.
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EvenSpoonier@reddit

Maybe? They had something of a revival in the late 80s. That's where I encountered them as a child.
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ZebraBorgata@reddit

I know who that is but he was a comedian for my parents not me.
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Dg0327@reddit

Same and I’m early GenX.
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NorthShoreAlexi@reddit

Late Gen X here, they were on Nick at Nite when I was just becoming a teen, thought they were funny.
View on Reddit #16789315

ghostofdreadmon@reddit

My mom took me on a trip to Las Vegas in the late 70s, and we saw The Smothers Brothers at The Riviera Hotel and Casino. I still think about that show every now and again, because it was such a simple concept (two brothers, two instruments), but it was performed flawlessly. No other show that I've seen in Vegas has compared since. R.I.P. Tommy.
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not_a_moogle@reddit

Time to do some yo yo tricks
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melatonia@reddit

As soon as Nickelodeon started running after 6pm (Nick at Nite), they were running shows like the Smothers Brothers.
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Glytterain@reddit

I remember watching them when I was a really little kid, not understanding most of what they said but laughing because they were so funny.
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HappyGoPink@reddit

He got 86'd. Too soon?
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Up2Eleven@reddit

First comedy album I ever heard was a Smothers Brothers album. Rest well, Tommy.
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Stinkydadman@reddit

I saw them in concert in the mid-80’s. It was a great show. RIP
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UnmutualOne@reddit

My friends call me Keith. You can call me John.
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Quasigriz_@reddit

My nephews got Duncan Butterflies for Christmas, and I did my best to do some of the tricks that To My Yoyo man Smothers used to do, back before every trick in the world was on YouTube or just the internet.
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Jubal7@reddit

🎵Agatha Fry, she made a pie...
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Jubal7@reddit

Im in a sad state of Yo.
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Serling45@reddit

I did not know of them till the revival of their show in the 80s. They see funny & they had Pete Seeger on. RIP Tom.
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Opus-the-Penguin@reddit

He did a great Johnny Carson: https://youtu.be/UyFb45x_zgA?si=k20IPAyrnXC0Ho_X
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Serling45@reddit

Yes. That was fantastic.
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hillside@reddit

That is smack on!
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DaisyJane1@reddit (OP)

Pure gold!
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Kwyjibo68@reddit

I was just thinking about them recently, wondering if one or both was still alive - I was generally wondering about who some of the oldest celebrities might be - but I never got around to looking it up.
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GaryNOVA@reddit

I’m the youngest of GenX and I use to watch reruns all the time when I was a Kid. RIP.
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MeanNene@reddit

Yoyo man..that blows.
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ghost_for_hire@reddit

I was born in 76 and these guys were nene on my radar as a Gen X. They were my parents thing
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elspotto@reddit

I saw them on stage as a kid. I love their comedy style.
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dbrodbeck@reddit

If you can get ahold of the Maron WTF podcast with the two of them, it is gold. It sucks that he's gone, but he had a hell of a run.
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TheLurkerSpeaks@reddit

If you haven't seen the documentary film The Aristocrats, you should. It's all about the famous joke, and how every comedian tells it differently. Tommy Smothers tells it to Richard Smothers in a uniquely Smothers Brothers way. It's a highlight of the film for me. I've been looking around for old Smothers Brothers reruns but can't seem to find them anywhere.
View on Reddit #16756160

KerissaKenro@reddit

I got to see them live once. My dad loved them. I am going to go cry now…
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RunningPirate@reddit

Ok, who here was surprised he was still alive?
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EvenSpoonier@reddit

Not exaxtly; what surprised me was that *both* brothers were still alive. I thought one of them had died like 20 years ago.
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misc1972@reddit

That was the car talk guys.
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allaboutmojitos@reddit

The car talk guys were amazing. I used to laugh so hard listening to them, but also learned so much! I just went on a not-so- deep dive. Tom died in 2014, Ray is still alive. I had no idea they both had degrees from MIT, and Tom also had degrees from Northeastern and BU.
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Fuck-Ketchup@reddit

I had a colleague who knew the eggs prestone guy. When he told me, we listened to that call again and were soon both dying of laughter.
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AnnaWinter2023@reddit

Me! I barely remember them
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jessek@reddit

He had a second career as The Yo-Yo Man in the 80s.
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wandernwade@reddit

Aww. 💔
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Ok-Breadfruit-2897@reddit

dang, he lives right up the road.....RIP tommy
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southernrail@reddit

Very young gay me had the BIGGEST crush on the brother on the left. probably my first celebrity crush. definitely my parents entertainment, but I was all about it. He was replaced by Steve Martin very, very quickly tho.
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DaisyJane1@reddit (OP)

That's Tommy.
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Why-did-i-reas-this@reddit

(Tom) Mom likes you best!!!! (Dick) Lower your voice! (Tom in deep bass tone) Mom likes you best!!!
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Opus-the-Penguin@reddit

One of the best routines ever. They printed a transcript of it in an issue of Bananas magazine and it was hilarious.
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grumpycat46@reddit

I remember them, but I thought they where both gone, didn't know they where still alive, they looked old when they weren't old weird
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vishnusnavel87@reddit

I went to culinary school in Oregon with one of their kids. A million years ago. Tommy was funny as hell.
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AZonmymind@reddit

I was born in 67, so I grew up listening to my dad's Smothers Brothers albums. Also, I got to see them perform live in Vegas at the Desert Inn in 1989 when I went to a conference there while in college. A young Jeff Dunham was the opening act. RIP Tommy
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TomMixsSuitcase@reddit

Grew up listening to their LPs. Live at the Purple Onion and Two Sides of the Smothers Brothers. RIP.
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foetusized@reddit

I grew up listening to my father’s LPs of comic music. Smothers Brothers, Tom Lehrer, Stan Freberg, and Alan Sherman were the memorable ones. Much of the comedy made reference to stuff from the 50s and 60s, but the more I learned about things like McCarthyism, the more I understood about why it was being mocked by these guys.
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aunt_cranky@reddit

Awwww man... They were actually pretty audacious for the time. Their humor was subtle enough to evade the censors, even though they did get in trouble for speaking out against the war in Vietnam.
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dustin91@reddit

Truth
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Gibabo@reddit

I was born in 74, so their show was already over by the time I came along, but reruns played where I lived in the 80’s… Smothers Brothers, Dick Cavett, Laugh-In… I watched and loved them all.
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l_rufus_californicus@reddit

Ah, Tommy. God rest ye. Funny bastards, right on the bleeding edge for broadcast at their time.
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Wu_Oyster_Cult@reddit

The Smothers Brothers hosting the Young Comedians show on HBO, introducing Jerry Seinfeld & Maureen Murphy: https://youtu.be/aeM2G_p4hFo?si=hLAO0NernbVUNMVh
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FrankDrebinsbeaver@reddit

I loved their comedy and fruit spreads
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zoot_boy@reddit

I remember when they tried to bring their show back in the early 90s.
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GalaxyRedRanger@reddit

Vaguely.
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Whitworth@reddit

Damn. I was just thinking about these guys the other day and how old they are now.
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Flaky_Web_2439@reddit

Just say Yoooooo! I visited their Vineyard in California in the 80s or 90s. I remember they had a line called “mother’s wine” that was made specifically to be mixed with soda lol. I watch their old specials once every couple of years, and they still make me laugh so hard! Have a good journey, Tom!
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JackTrippin@reddit

My grandparents were into the Smothers Bros. My memory is hazy but didn't they air before or after the Carol Burnett show? I'm frankly surprised that he was _only_ 86. They must have been just kids when they were on tv!
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PizzaWhole9323@reddit

Rest in peaceYo-Yo Man!
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bigredthesnorer@reddit

Another childhood Saturday night TV guy gone….
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Definitive_confusion@reddit

Dammit, now I wish I had a yoyo
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Expat111@reddit

My parents loved that show. I never got the humor.
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