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The Smothers Brothers are Thomas ("Tom" – born February 2, 1937) and Richard ("Dick" – born November 20, 1939), American singers, musicians, and comedians. The brothers' trademark double act was performing folk songs (Tommy on acoustic guitar, Dick on string bass), which usually led to arguments between the siblings. Tommy's signature line was, "Mom always liked you best!" Tommy (the elder of the two) acted "slow", and Dick, the straight man, acted "superior". In the 1960s, the brothers frequently appeared on television variety shows and issued several popular record albums of their stage performances. Their own television variety show, ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'', became one of the most controversial American TV programs of the Vietnam War era. Despite popular success, the brothers' penchant for material that was critical of the political mainstream and sympathetic to the emerging counterculture led to their firing by the CBS network in 1969. One show was left unaired.〔Dick and Tommy Smothers, "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" - "The Best of Season 3", copyright Time-Life DVD. Originally aired on the "E" network.〕 The brothers continued to work, both independently and as a team, on stage and television, and in films during subsequent decades. ==Early years== The brothers were both born on Governors Island in New York Harbor, where their father, Thomas B. Smothers, Jr., a West Point graduate and U.S. Army officer, was stationed.〔 Tom was born on February 2, 1937, and Dick was born on November 20, 1939. Major Smothers served in the 45th Infantry Regiment (United States) and died during World War II, while being transported from a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Fukuoka, Japan, to a POW camp in Mukden, Manchukuo.〔 They were raised by their mother in the Los Angeles area. They graduated from Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, California, and attended San Jose State University. After a brief time in a folk group called the Casual Quintet, the Smothers made their first professional appearance as a duo in February 1959 at The Purple Onion in San Francisco. They were a popular act in clubs and released several successful record albums, the most successful being ''The Smothers Brothers at the Purple Onion'' in 1961. Their first national television appearance was on ''The Jack Paar Show'' on January 28, 1961. The brothers appeared in a segment of the television series ''Burke's Law'', in 1964, in which they played two compulsive hoarders.〔 Their first television series was a situation comedy, ''The Smothers Brothers Show'' (1965–1966). Tom played an angel come back to earth to oversee his brother Dick, who played a swinging bachelor. It did not do well in the ratings and had little of the music that was identified with the brothers. Tom would later say "Four Star (the production company) gave me ulcers." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Smothers Brothers」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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