Ken Fritz, was a personal manager of Tom and Dick Smothers for the better part of 60 years.
Later, he co-managed them with Ken Kragen and eventually assumed solo management for all aspects of their careers.
He was also an executive producer on many of their projects, including the groundbreakingThe Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
Ken Fritz and Tom Smothers
His other clients have included Neil Diamond, Peter, Paul and Mary and George Benson.
Here, Fritz reflects onThe Smothers Brothers Comedy Houras well asTom Smothersas a comedian, businessman and friend.
Then there was a strike.
We agreed to tape the show on Friday for airing two days later in our usual time slot.
We would tape on Fridays, edit all night and then air on Sundays.
Clearly this abbreviated delay afforded us the opportunity to deliver more current material with a mere 48 hours delay.
Creative control was always up there on Toms list of priorities.
We became more and more determined to have as much control as we could get.
I would get on a plane and fly to Black Rock [the CBS building] in New York.
There, two meetings occurred.
First, I would present my case to Frank Stanton, Chairman William S. Paleys number two.
It was like, in the 60 seconds before I got there, Stanton had already called Paley.
I sometimes wondered if Paley had Stantons office bugged so he knew what was coming.
It was a trading session which I affectionately referred to as Two Shits for a Fuck.
I would go in there knowing what essential element I wanted.
I would always get one, sometimes two.
It felt like a game with Mr. Paley.
Just basic negotiation everyone got something.
But these outcomes werent always satisfactory with Tom.
Sometimes, there was friction between us, as he was always pressing for victory on all points.
He would say, Why did you let Bill Paley…why didnt you get all three?
I maintained that a good negotiation is one in which everyone got something.
That was the triggering moment but certainly not the only reason.
That moment had been building since the first season.
I used to say to Tommy, Listen, these guys own the store.
They have the keys.
We need to remember that.
We subsequently developed a show that was picked up by NBC.
But it was a harder project to get energized.
There wasnt the same drive as wed had at CBS.
The Peacock project was a disappointment for all of us.
Tom was a caring big brother to Dick.
Having been an older brother myself I understood some of the dynamics between them.
And as a straight man, Dick was the perfect foil for Tom.
His intuitive grasp of how to shape lines so that elicit the Tommy-isms was unparalleled.
We were going back and forth with the broker.
After offers and counter offers, we were stuck $5,000 apart.
We had reached our ceiling and were reluctantly ready to walk away.
Two days later, the broker called and said, OK, you got the house at your price.
A few years ago, I shared with Tommy that I knew about his silent support.
He explained, You and Brenda were going to have a baby and I wanted to make you happy.
Funny, feisty, kind and intelligent…he challenged, he changed and enhanced my life.
