Never say never. Tonight Tommy Smothers of The Smothers Brothers finally got an Emmy for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour nearly 40 years after the fact.
For those of you who were not even alive in 1967 when the show premiered this might not seem like a big deal. But to those of us who were faithful fans of The Smothers Brothers (The Smo Bros as we affectionately refer to them) this was a wonderful sight to behold.
You see we the fans, and the Smothers Brothers, were cheated out of a lot of comedy and a lot of political insight when the show was canceled by CBS in April of 1969. I won’t go into the whole megillah here – you can read about it on Wikipedia and other sources on the internet.
True to the wit that was at the heart of the cancellation of their show nearly forty years ago, Tommy accepted the award with his typically confused and innocent act that always hid the sharp sword of truth.
A few quotes from his acceptance speech will give you an idea of the intelligence that drove the humor of The Smothers Brothers:
“There’s nothing more scary than watching ignorance in action.”
“Just one last thought, there’s one word that exists in every language on the face of the Earth, in every society from the time man began to speak and the word is “truth”. It exists in every language and it means exactly the same thing . . . . Truth – truth is what you get other people to believe.”
Tommy I hope you enjoy your “shiny, brand new 1968 Emmy” as much as I enjoyed seeing you get it!
See, Mom did always like you best! CONGRATULATIONS TIMES FORTY!
11 Comments
September 21, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Thanks for the tribute.
I didn’t know this was going to happen, or I would have taped it.
Forty years is a long time to wait for something so well deserved.
Brought tears to my eyes – and a standing O to my feet!
September 22, 2008 at 6:08 am
Robin – How’d you find this post so fast? I was going to e-mail you since you’re the biggest Smo Bros fan I know!
Wasn’t it great?? I had some tears myself and was clapping my hands like an idiot – all by myself, tucked up in my jammies – My little dog Pixel thought I was nuts, lol!
September 22, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I hadn’t heard this yet, as I never pay any attention to awards or awards shows. But this rocks! No show has ever been more deserving and nobody has ever had to wait longer to receive their due.
Thank you for posting this.
September 22, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Jehingr – yeah, it does rock doesn’t it?
September 22, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I have been a Smothers’ Brothers fan forever! I used to leave Fairfax High School on Fridays and go to CBS Television City each week to see the show being taped. I have all of their albums and saw them in concert numerous times.
Heartfelt congratulations, Tommy. At least this honor was overdue and not overlooked. We need your wit, wisdom and political satire now more than ever.
I look forward to seeing you and your brother Dickie in concert real soon.
You, two, will always be my favorites.
September 22, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Tommy, thank you for speaking the truth when you had the opportunity. Congratulations to you, you are a wonderful and refreshing legend in time.
Did I not see your beautiful Marcy present or did I miss her when they panned the audience?
Again, Congrats.
September 22, 2008 at 6:48 pm
This is my first time here but I wondered if anyone had any idea why Dick Smothers did not win as well?
September 23, 2008 at 9:54 am
Colleen – I think the Emmy was given to Tommy as a writer of the show.
I believe that Dick was not a writer of the show, but I may be wrong.
It would be nice to see them get a special Emmy as performers too wouldn’t it?
If anyone knows anything different – please feel free to let us know!
October 7, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I heard about Tommy’s 40 years later Emmy win for writing the day after the telecast… I wish I had seen it. Maybe I can catch it on You Tube. You are right… since Dick wasn’t a writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, he didn’t receive an Emmy. Like you said, it would be nice if Tommy and Dick were honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award or something similar.
October 8, 2008 at 10:07 am
Malcolm – thanks for stopping by my television blog – we’re always commenting back and forth on our pop culture blogs (PopArtDiva™.com – Retro Pop Culture Art and Malcolm’s Pop Culture Dish)
October 24, 2008 at 10:07 am
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