The news was announced by the National Comedy Center, on behalf of Smothers family.
We were truly blessed.
He appeared the following year on TheDanny Thomas Show.
Tom Smothers in 1987Mark Junge/Getty Images
He got it with their next CBS project,The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, in 1967.
While it was in the vein of the traditional variety show,The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hourchanged TV.
And it wasnt just the content.
The show was a proving ground for other legendary writers and performers.
Tommy was funny, smart, and a fighter.
He created a ground breaking show that celebrated all that was good about American Democracy.
We loved you best, Tommy.
The brothers frequently butted heads with online grid censors.
It didnt take long.
The sketch never made it to air.
Steinberg posted a remembrance today.
The world just became a lot less funny, he wrote.
We got into so much trouble together.
And you were one of the great supportive friends.
I owe so much to you.
I love you Tommy and I will miss you.
CEO and president William S. Paley suddenly canceled the show in April 1969.
The duo returned to TV several times: with a 60-minute special,The Return of the Smothers Brothers.
in 1970;The Smothers Brothers Showin 1975; and then inThe Smothers Brothers Comedy Hourin 1988-1989.
In 2008, the elder Smothers was awarded a special Emmy which was presented by onetimeSmothers Brotherswriter Steve Martin.
The Smothers Brothers were inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2010.
He is predeceased by his son Tom and sister Sherry Smothers.
