Smothers Brothers persevere

Why have comedy teams all but disappeared?

“It’s too difficult,” said Tom Smothers, who with his brother Dick created the Smothers Brothers act, which has performed 46 years, a record for comedy teams.

The pair will appear Monday at the Evergreen State Fair with a longevity record that may be out of reach.

“Comedy teams last 10 to 14 years, tops; George and Gracie had about 20 years,” Tom Smothers said.

A comedy team is so much like a marriage that the brothers went to couples counseling for six years. They followed the counselor’s advice to quit thinking of themselves as brothers and to treat each other like professionals.

But the profession has changed.

“Today, producers can manufacture stand-up comics and create a sitcom. Laverne and Shirley were a great team, but if they started today, they would just be killed … We’re the last comedy team standing.”

The brothers and their relatively young team of writers (including Rob Reiner, also known as Meathead on “All in the Family”) used to satirize the Vietnam War during their popular television show, “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.”

“We were reflecting what was happening on the streets.”

CBS executives didn’t like the reflection, leading to serious censorship issues.

“It was hard for them to handle that situation when there was no book on it. They were looking for dirty words and that wasn’t what we did.

“Look what they say now. There’s sex and violence and sexuality but no real social commentary, although there’s the illusion of freedom because you can say dirty words.”

CBS dropped the show in 1969.

“And it’s been 35 years since there was a comedy show in prime time with political content. If there is anything we should question, it is the government.”

Being fired sent them into the Dark Ages, Smothers said. The Las Vegas jobs dried up; they started doing dinner theater and Broadway shows.

“But we made it back all the way to television and now, in the twilight of our career, we still book 12 to 18 months in advance,” said Smothers, who owns and works a winery (Remick Ridge) in California’s Sonoma Valley.

In Smothers’ opinion, there aren’t many truly excellent comedy acts today.

“It’s too fast. There’s no air, no space, no timing; it tends toward the smutty side. There’s not enough social commentary. The ones that (excel) are my heroes, Bill Maher and Jon Stewart, but they’re not on prime time (network television). The others are talking to a dumbed-down America. Smart people have little places that they can go to get their fix.”

Good comedy is timeless, he said.

“Laurel and Hardy still make people laugh. We have all these long pregnant pauses and people still laugh. The show still has a point of view.”

Ironically, the brothers started out as folk singers, although Smothers knew he had a comedic gift when he was 13.

“I was the dumbest guy in the class, and I didn’t know that I was dyslexic at the time. So I embraced (dumb) as a social tool … People do relate to the victim. If you play a victim, everybody’s been there before.”

The Smothers Brothers – Tom (left) and Dick – perform Monday at the fair.