Comedian Tom Smothers has died at the age of 86.
The National Comedy Center, on behalf of his family, said in a statement Wednesday that Smothers died Tuesday at home in Santa Rosa, California, following a cancer battle.
“Tom was not only the loving older brother that everyone would want in their life, he was a one-of-a-kind creative partner. I am forever grateful to have spent a lifetime together with him, on and off stage, for over 60 years,” his brother and the duo’s other half, Dick Smothers, said in the statement. “Our relationship was like a good marriage — the longer we were together, the more we loved and respected one another. We were truly blessed.”
Tom Smothers, left, of the comedy duo Smothers Brothers, has died at the age of 86 after battling cancer. (Getty Images)
The Smothers Brothers gained fame in 1967 with the CBS show “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.” The show, which aired at the same time as “Bonanza,” featured the duo joking about the Vietnam War, among other taboo topics.
CBS suddenly canceled the show in 1970 after years of back and forth between the brothers and the network censors.
After the show was canceled, the brothers sued CBS for $31 million and were awarded $775,000. Their battles with the network were chronicled in the 2002 documentary “Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.”
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Tom Smothers, left, and Dick Smothers gained fame in the 1960s. (Getty Images)
Tom later thanked the show’s writers while accepting an honorary Emmy award.
“It’s hard for me to stay silent when I keep hearing that peace is only attainable through war,” Smothers said at the 2008 Emmy Awards.
He dedicated his award to those “who feel compelled to speak out and are not afraid to speak to power and won’t shut up and refuse to be silenced.”
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Tom Smothers photographed circa 1970. (Getty Images)
Some of the duo’s controversial jokes included one when they claimed Easter “is when Jesus comes out of his tomb and if he sees his shadow, he goes back in, and we get six more weeks of winter.”
For another episode, singer Pete Seeger joined the brothers to perform his song, “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy.” The tune was widely believed to criticize then-President Lyndon B. Johnson and the Vietnam War. The episode did not air, so Tom and Dick brought him back for a second performance.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
