TODAY WE CONTINUE WITH PEOPLE THAT SHAPED MY AGE OF AQUARIUS:  WITH TOMMY SMOTHERS

Many people will shake their head at this choice—a folksinger in a brother’s act, he was the comic relief and some how in the 60’s he ended up with a TV show (along with that same brother as well).  But I remember that show very vividly with it’s cutting edge items like Peter Fonda as Thomas Jefferson reciting the Declaration of Independence-–reminding us how rebellious we once were and how close we were to the same condition again.

Tom Smothers negotiated creative control over their (2nd) CBS show, a variety show entitled The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1967.  IN 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.,,,The brothers’ oppositional politics led to their show’s demise, with David Steinberg later claiming “The most innovative variety show on television shut down because of political pressure”.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Smothers

 “When the Smothers Brothers came on the air we had no political point of view or social consciousness, it just evolved as the show was on the air.” Tommy Smothers

Some might have thought of it as just a TV stunt for an ambitious star, but I truly believe that Tommy (and probably to a lesser extent Dicky) it was an awakening–heavens even late in the 60’s early 70s  my father who was in WWII and earned a Bronze Star was seriously against the war—course it didn’t help that he was a dyed in the wool Democrat and even his own mother surely must have had trouble believing Tricky Dickie (and I’m not referring to Smothers).

Smothers introduced some musical acts at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.  And as he became more politically active, he befriended similarly inclined celebrities like John Lennon.  In 1969, Smothers played guitar on John Lennon‘s recording of his single “Give Peace a Chance (as well as his name being mentioned in the song).”. … Smothers can be seen in the documentary film about Lennon “Imagine” in the hotel room.

“I lost perspective, my sense of humour. I became a poster boy for the First Amendment, freedom of speech, and I started buying into it. It was about three years when I was deadly serious about everything….I’m still politically active, I’m still angry, but I’ve got it in the right position now”    Tommy Smothers    (He reportedly got into an altercation with Bill Cosby about not taking a political stand on issues of the day like civil rights —-now we know Cosby was too busy with other activities–which cumulated with Cosby hitting him in the head when they both attended a function at the Playboy Mansion.)

There were lots of spokesmen in the 60’s but few in prime time on a network (when you had maybe 3 networks and 1-2 independents that  made up your whole viewing experience) show available to all.  I by the way was in a religious college (I know probably not the best place for me but it did show me there were even more censor ship than CBS) and you couldn’t have TVs—I however with my mom’s knowledge (the woman was sometimes very groovey) and blessings had a small, portable TV on which I watched the show–along with my roomies and suite mates–religiously picking up on the implied and not so overt references as one would listen to a good sermon.

Dickie Smothers doing an op-ed about how voters have to take the whole package when they elect a president:
“Suppose you just love how the Vietnam War is going,”, he asked, staring into the camera with John Stewart sincerity, “but you just hate those astronauts.”  http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/23/1264780/-When-the-Smothers-Brothers-Got-Censored# Now that’s how they did so much of it.

“Freedom of expression and freedom of speech aren’t really important unless they’re heard. The freedom of hearing is as important as the freedom of speaking. It’s hard for me to stay silent when I keep hearing that peace is only attainable through war. There’s nothing more scary than watching ignorance in action”  Tommy Smothers

Unfortunately, this innovative and contemporary comedy and music all too often had to be hard won against Network Executive Meddling over the show’s content. For instance, while the execs were okay with Seeger being on TV(first  time since he was blacklisted), his new Protest Song “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy,” was not and the brothers had to fight to eventually get it on air in a later broadcast. Eventually, the show and the network were butting heads continually, with Tom Smothers being more brazen and stubborn and the network execs receiving complaints both from the President of the United States himself and rural oriented affiliates. Furthermore, the show’s good ratings had less sway with CBS than they would have had with a lower-rated network…. The execs eventually lost all patience and abruptly pulled the show in 1969. The Brothers successfully sued the network for Breach of Contract, but their peak time of cultural influence was over. Still, the Brothers had set a precedent for political satire daring humor that later shows like Saturday Night Live would take much further. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/TheSmothersBrothersComedyHour

In the book   Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour it was speculated:

However, by becoming unexpected martyrs to the cause of free speech, the Smothers Brothers lost their most influential national TV platform just when that freedom mattered the most. Like Elvis Presley when he was shipped off to the army, or Muhammad Ali when he was stripped of his heavyweight title for refusing to fight in Vietnam, the Smothers Brothers were nonconformist iconoclasts, pop-culture heroes yanked from the national spotlight in their prime. Muhammad Ali became the champ again, and Elvis returned to record many more number-one hits, but Tom and Dick Smothers never again enjoyed the influence or mass popularity of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. In terms of introducing and encouraging new talent, pushing the boundaries of network television, and reflecting the youth movement and embracing its antiwar stance and anti-administration politics, the show was, quite literally, their finest Hour.

Accepting an award for defending freedom of speech (2012):, Tom Smothers joked, “Of course, many of you recognize the fact that we are not the original Smothers Brothers. I’m sure they would have loved to have been here to receive this award. But the original Smothers Brothers passed away in 1969.”

You can say the dirty words now, but there is no content – political satire is limited to small podiums and little soap boxes.