Finding aid for the Smothers Brothers Scripts for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour PASC.0069
Finding aid prepared by UCLA Arts Library Special Collections staff, pre-1999; initial EAD encoding by Julie Graham; machine-readable
finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Online finding aid last updated 2016 November 19.
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
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Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Smothers Brothers Scripts for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
Creator:
Smothers Brothers
Creator:
Smothers, Dick
Creator:
Smothers, Tom, 1937-
Identifier/Call Number: PASC.0069
Physical Description:
16.0 linear feet
(16 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1967-1969
Abstract:
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, starring the folk singing, comedy duo Tom and Dick Smothers, premiered on CBS in February 1967. The controversial television
variety show featured regulars such as Pat Paulsen, Leigh French, and Bob Einstein and guest performers such as countercultural
icons like the Jefferson Airplane and the Doors to established favorites such as Kate Smith and Jimmy Durante. The collection
consists of bound volumes of scripts for The Smothers Brothers comedy hour television show.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Smothers Brothers, 1976.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
9929769413606533
[Identification of item], Smothers Brothers Scripts for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (Collection Number 69). UCLA Library
Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Processed by UCLA Arts Library Special Collections staff, pre-1999.
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The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, featuring the folk singing, comedy team Tom and Dick Smothers, premiered on CBS in February 1967. The variety show attracted
a younger, politically engaged audience. The show's content featured irreverent digs at many dominant institutions such as
organized religion and the presidency. It also included sketches celebrating the hippie drug culture and material opposing
the war in Vietnam. These elements made The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour one of the most controversial television shows in
television history. The Smothers Brothers' oppositional politics led to very public battles over censorship. As CBS attempted
to dictate what was appropriate prime time entertainment fare, the Smothers tried to push the boundaries of acceptable speech
on the medium. The recurring skirmishes between the brothers and the network culminated on 4 April 1969, one week before the
end of the season, when CBS summarily threw the show off the air. Network president Robert D. Wood charged that the Smothers
had not submitted a review tape of the upcoming show to the network in a timely manner. The Smothers accused CBS of infringing
on their First Amendment rights.
The brothers typically opened the show with a few minutes of stand-up song and banter and the show's final segment usually
involved a big production number, often a costumed spoof, featuring dancing, singing and comedy. Guest stars ran the gamut
from countercultural icons like the Jefferson Airplane and the Doors to older generation, favorites like Kate Smith and Jimmy
Durante. Nelson Riddle and his orchestra supplied musical accompaniment, and the show had its own resident dancers and singers.
Regular performers included Tom Smothers, Dick Smothers, Pat Paulsen, Leigh French, Bob Einstein, Mason Williams (1967-1969),
Jennifer Warnes (1967-1969), John Hartford (1968-1969), Sally Struthers (1970), Spencer Quinn (1970), Betty Aberlin (1975),
Don Novello (1975), Steve Martin (1975,) and Nino Senporty (1975).
The show, appearing at a pivotal moment of social and cultural change in the late 1960s, ended up embodying some of the turmoil
and pitched conflict of the era. In the aftermath of the show's cancellation in 1969, the Smothers received a great deal of
support in the popular press. Tom Smothers attempted to organize backing for a free speech fight against CBS among Congressional
and Federal Communications Commission members in Washington D.C. While they were unsuccessful in forcing CBS to reinstate
the show, the Smothers did eventually win a suit against the network for breach of contract. In the years following their
banishment from CBS, the Smothers attempted to recreate their variety show on the other two networks. In 1970, they did a
summer show on ABC, but were not picked up for the fall season. In 1975 they turned up on NBC with another variety show which
disappeared at mid-season.
(Historical information from: The Encyclopedia of Television; http://www.museum.tv/eotv/smothersbrot.htm)
The collection consists of bound volumes of scripts for Smothers Brothers television variety show,
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Included are versions of final draft scripts. Guests represented among the scripts include Eddie Albert, The Beatles, Harry
Belafonte, Jack Benny, George Burns, Glenn Campbell, Betty Davis, Jefferson Airplane, Jackie
Moms Mabley, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Pete Seeger, and Ravi Shankar, among others.
The collection is arranged chronologically.
- Collection PASC 36
- Smothers Brothers television scripts and production material (Collection PASC 36) . Available at Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
- Collection PASC-M 36
- Smothers Brothers musical arrangements (Collection PASC-M 36) Available at Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
- Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour Collections
- Available at the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Smothers Brothers--Archives
Smothers Brothers comedy hour
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