Welcome to the first induction ceremony for the Class of 2024!
As usual, we’re kicking off the year with the traditional inductee of a classic TV personality for January. But sadly, this year we have reason to bring in a pair of classic TV stars....
The Smothers Brothers, consisting of Thomas (February 2, 1937 – December 26, 2023) and Richard (born November 20, 1938), were American folk singers, musicians, and comedians. The brothers' trademark double act was performing folk songs (Tommy on acoustic guitar, Dick on double bass), which usually led to arguments between them. Tommy's signature line was "Mom always liked you best!" Tommy (the elder of the two) acted "slow" and Dick, the straight man, acted "superior".
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the brothers frequently appeared on television variety shows and issued several popular record albums of their stage performances. Their own television variety show, 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', became one of the most controversial American TV programs of the Vietnam War era. Despite popular success, the brothers' penchant for material that was critical of the political mainstream and sympathetic to the emerging counterculture led to their firing by the CBS network in 1969. One episode was left unaired.
Oddly enough, the three of them
are now together in the TVXOHOF.
The brothers continued to work, both independently and as a team, on stage and television, and in films during subsequent decades.
The Smothers Brothers were multidimensional. Most of their appearances were from Earth Prime-Time, but they also had televersions on an alternate Toobworld (where Tom died back in the 1960s). They also had “tooniversions” in the Tooniverse. (There is only one Tooniverse, despite the differences seen in artistic styles for the characters from one show to the other.
Here are their qualifications for membership. Descriptions are from the IMDb.
EARTH PRIME-TIME (Main Toobworld)
THE DANNY THOMAS SHOW
Rusty enters the cold, brutal world of politics: he runs for junior class president.
The Smothers Brothers perform "Marching To Pretoria" at Rusty's fundraiser.
THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS COMEDY HOUR
71 episodes (1967 – 1969)
PLASTIC ONO BAND
'Give Peace a Chance' is an anti-war song written by John Lennon and recorded with the participation of a small group of friends in a performance with Yoko Ono in a hotel room in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
On the 1969 John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band song "Give Peace a Chance", Tommy Smothers plays guitar and shares the bed with John and Yoko - and he also gets a mention in the lyrics - "Ev'rybody's talking about John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rose Marie, Tommy Smothers".
THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS SUMMER SHOW
9 episodes (1970)
THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS SHOW
13 episodes (1975)
SOLID GOLD (1985)
The staff goes to the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas to attend a Lieutenant Governors' conference. Clayton loses a fortune gambling, while Benson, hypnotized by Kraus's friend Zelda Romashkova, performs with the Solid Gold dancers.
WHAT’S ALAN WATCHING? (1989)
TV SPECIAL/PILOT
Seventeen-year-old Alan is a couch potato who views life, and his family, as if they were on television. Libby and Leo are his parents, Gail is his sister (who's engaged to Lenny Kling the Carpet King), Jeff is his brother, Alyssa is his girlfriend and Lenny is his friend.
MAGGIE
THE BALLAD OF MAGGIE DAY (1998)
ALTERNATE TOOBWORLD
(MY BROTHER THE ANGEL)
32 episodes
Dick is a rising young business executive whose life is turned upside-down when his younger brother Tom re-enters his life. This wouldn't be too unusual, but Tom had died two years earlier in a boating accident and is now an apprentice angel always trying to help others, but frequently only makes things worse, which forces the young angel to call upon his earthly brother to set things right.
THE TOONIVERSE
BEN-CENTENNIAL (1997)
Ben turns 25. Meanwhile, Laura rescues a baby bird and nurtures it in the office, eventually enlisting Ben's help when Dr. Katz doesn't want it disrupting himself or the patients.
O BROTHER WHERE BART THOU? (2009)
The Smothers Brothers, with some help from Homer, do their infamous "Boil Them Cabbage Down/Take It, Tom" routine over the end credits.
13 episodes (1975)
BENSON
The staff goes to the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas to attend a Lieutenant Governors' conference. Clayton loses a fortune gambling, while Benson, hypnotized by Kraus's friend Zelda Romashkova, performs with the Solid Gold dancers.
O'Bservation - Benson finds the Smothers Brothers rehearsing in an elevator.
WHAT’S ALAN WATCHING? (1989)
TV SPECIAL/PILOT
Seventeen-year-old Alan is a couch potato who views life, and his family, as if they were on television. Libby and Leo are his parents, Gail is his sister (who's engaged to Lenny Kling the Carpet King), Jeff is his brother, Alyssa is his girlfriend and Lenny is his friend.
MAGGIE
THE BALLAD OF MAGGIE DAY (1998)
ALTERNATE TOOBWORLD
THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS SHOW (1965-66)
32 episodes
Dick is a rising young business executive whose life is turned upside-down when his younger brother Tom re-enters his life. This wouldn't be too unusual, but Tom had died two years earlier in a boating accident and is now an apprentice angel always trying to help others, but frequently only makes things worse, which forces the young angel to call upon his earthly brother to set things right.
THE TOONIVERSE
DR. KATZ, PROFESSIONAL THERAPIST
Ben turns 25. Meanwhile, Laura rescues a baby bird and nurtures it in the office, eventually enlisting Ben's help when Dr. Katz doesn't want it disrupting himself or the patients.
THE SIMPSONS
The Smothers Brothers, with some help from Homer, do their infamous "Boil Them Cabbage Down/Take It, Tom" routine over the end credits.
Brothers Bart sees in his dream of "Bro-Town U.S.A.": the Marx Brothers (Groucho with cigar, Chico playing piano, Harpo playing harp); the Blues Brothers ("Joliet" Jake [John Belushi] and Elwood [Dan Aykroyd]); the Mario Brothers; the Smith Brothers (brand name of cough drops); Sideshow Bob and his brother Cecil; the Wright Brothers; Eli, Peyton, and Cooper Manning; and the Smothers Brothers (Tom Smothers and Dick Smothers, whose comedy-variety TV show was canceled by CBS in 1969).
O’Bservation – Toon Tommy does his yo-yo routine, which causes the Wright Brothers’ plane to crash.
Here are Dick and Tommy with a few other members of the Television Crossover Hall of Fame:
Tommy with John Lennon
[also with Yoko Ono]
With George Harrison
With Mickey Rooney
With Jack Benny & George Burns
With Ringo Starr
(Plus Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin,
John Stewart, Pat Paulsen, Don Novello)
Here's Tommy as
TVXOHOF member Johnny Carson
Hall of Famer Walter Cronkite
reporting on the cancellation of
'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'.
And that's the way it was....
Here are Dick and Tommy with a few other members of the Television Crossover Hall of Fame:
Tommy with John Lennon
[also with Yoko Ono]
With George Harrison
With Mickey Rooney
With Jack Benny & George Burns
With Ringo Starr
(Plus Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin,
John Stewart, Pat Paulsen, Don Novello)
Here's Tommy as
TVXOHOF member Johnny Carson
Hall of Famer Walter Cronkite
reporting on the cancellation of
'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'.
And that's the way it was....
Welcome to the TV Crossover Hall of Fame, Gentlemen. For the time being you are probably seen by your fellow members in the TVXOHOF as your televersions from that alternate Toobworld.
Your passing was a great loss for Toobworld, Tom. But, Dick, please don't be in any hurry to put the act back together....
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