Big Chuck Opens His Variety Show Vault: “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour”

Tommy and Dick Smothers were already established stand-up comedians when they got their very own variety show in 1967.  It ran two years.

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.  The comedy writers for the show included some of the best and brightest of the era including Rob Reiner, Steve Martin and Jim Stafford.  Regulars included Leigh Ann French ( a hippie who served her "own brand of tea"), Super Dave Osborne (a hilarious stuntman) and deadpan comedian Pat Paulson (who "ran" for president several times).

Musical guests included Ray Charles, The Doors, Kate Smith, The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, and Peter Paul and Mary.  The show had a large production budget and routinely included fancy sets, singers and dancers and glitzy costumes.

William S. Paley, head of the network, personally canceled the show on April 4, 1969. The brothers had become increasingly controversial in their comments, and their guests sometimes rankled the studio heads (Joan Baez in particular was condemned by the big shots for praising her then husband, David Harris, for refusing to enter military service).  All of this played out while the Vietnam War was raging on.

Here is a clip of the opening of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.