Jennifer Warnes Remembers Tom Smothers

Smothers Brothers Reunion

With Donovan and Tom

Tom Smothers, that unique, brilliant, delightful spirit, has passed away. I have been reading the tributes and watching film clips, feeling bonded with those who in the late 60s gathered around the TV on Sunday nights to watch the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Those who remember the fresh exuberant innocence of those days.

On this last Christmas weekend, I called Tom’s phone machine and sang Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas in my best Judy Garland voice. The last time we spoke he said, I don’t understand this ‘end of life’ thing, do you? I didn’t know how to respond. As if there was an answer. That phrase ‘end of life’ doesn’t apply to Tom Smothers. Some people seem to give off a permanent kind of light like there’s no end to this energy within them. My mom is one of those. I never worry about her. She’s still going strong somewhere. I don’t know how I know this; I just know it.

I’ve been thinking about those CBS television days and how sweet they were. Tom and I were always friends. Seeing him again at fellow cast member Bob Einstein’s memorial service a few years ago filled us with a moment of unexpected joy. Memories of good times I guess, as fresh as yesterday.

After their show had been canceled, I spent some time housesitting Tom’s home in Mill Valley while he was toiling in LA, in the thick of his legal battles. His grandfather lived in an adjoining apartment, and I would look after Grandpa Remick. I believed that as soon as Tom and Dick won their lawsuit, we all would be back on TV, but it didn’t go that way.

Tom and Dick gave me a public presence when I was very young, just 21. I didn’t know exactly what to do with it, except to sing, tell a few jokes, and laugh a lot at theirs. Tom and I hung out freely with our friends and acted silly as often as possible. This was a group of inventive, one-of-a-kind wild thinkers, and now with Tom’s passing, I have a feeling in my gut that Tom’s departure marks the end of an era. A beautiful, innocent, spirited, goofy, important era.

Back: Mason Williams, Rob Reiner. Bob Einstein (Super Dave Osborne), Steve Martin, Glen Campbell, John Hartford
Middle: Tom, Dick, Jennifer
Front: Pat Paulson, Leigh French

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was created by savvy performers, writers, producers, and crew. They were interested in helping America laugh and inviting us to think about freedom of speech at a time when the carnage in Vietnam provided a horrifying backdrop of reality to our daily lives. Our generation was dying in Vietnam. The war didn’t make sense. Tom and Dick reminded us of that fact.
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was a gathering of folks who were terrifically funny and creative but also willing to challenge the censors. I learned from them how to trust live performance, and how to think on my feet.

A few years before, my best friend and I would race home after school, turn on the TV, and watch Soupy Sales on a low-budget, very goofy live comedy show. Then we’d phone each other recounting every comedic moment, laughing until we peed. It was a short leap from Soupy Sales to my double bill with the deadpan comedian Pat Paulsen at an Orange County supper club. I’m drawn to funny people, I guess. Pat brought me to CBS and the Smothers show, where I was hired to warm up the audience. Then suddenly I was performing live to a national audience with the finest group of people you’ll ever meet. I was the blonde girl with the granny glasses, who sang and did some comedy.
The self-confidence stays with me. We were children, mischievous, inventive, and funny. Maybe the brothers saved some lives by challenging the status quo. I don’t know, but I think some celebration is in order, don’t you? How about National Smothers Day? We can all take the day off from work, hang out with friends, and do silly things. Dick is alive and well after all. You and I are too. Maybe we need to start a club to encourage each other to be foolish and brave.

In the meantime, with respect for Tommy, let’s question authority. Whatever they tell you, it ain’t necessarily so. And about this end-of-life thing, maybe we should all talk a little more about that. Seems to me that there’s a right and wrong way to do it. Tom did it beautifully. Robin Williams struggled with it. If you want to express love to someone close to the gate, help them a little bit with that end-of-life stuff. Many Vietnam soldiers didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. That’s happening all over the world, right now.

With Donovan