Smothers Brothers Announce Retirement

LAS VEGAS (May 18) -- When Dick Smothers told a full house in Las Vegas on Sunday night that this was "the last time we'll be performing together on a stage like this," it seemed like he was, as the Smothers Brothers are wont to do, only kidding.

Surely, disbelieving audience members muttered to one another as they left the Orleans showroom, if this was the Smothers Brothers retiring after 52 years of iconoclastic comedy, there would have been some fanfare, some promotion.

It turns out that there had been some advance notice, though it was hardly wrapped in neon lights: Last week, a teaser went out to casino slot club members offering free seats to the brothers' "farewell performances this weekend." And on Tuesday afternoon, Tom Smothers' personal assistant, Donna Seltzer, offered AOL News confirmation, of a sort:

"They've been together performing for 52 years, so they are taking a long-needed break. I think that's the best way to put it."

A Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on Feb. 17 by younger brother Dick Smothers, 71, indicated that he couldn't pay his mortgages because "his brother, the other half of his comedy act, is contemplating a complete cessation of his entertainment work."

Tom Smothers, in a lengthy interview with TheStrip podcast on May 6, seemed to be hinting at taking a break. The remark came in a jocular ramble in which he marveled over their longevity and at the time didn't seem like a grand pronouncement -- but now there's reason to believe otherwise.

"We're kind of retiring, taking a sabbatical for 10 years," he said. "Then you come back when you're 90 and they give you a Kennedy Center Honor if you can still walk."

[Update: Tuesday night, Tom spoke to AOL News' Steve Friess and explained the duo's decision.]

The Smothers Brothers website has since been scrubbed of future dates that were listed as recently as last week. Also, Sunday's performance was recorded by a team of at least five cameramen, not a typical endeavor in an off-Strip showroom known for presenting seemingly perennial nostalgia acts. The wives and children of both brothers were in attendance, Tom Smothers said from the stage.

Dick Smothers' bankruptcy filing indicates that he is about $2.7 million in debt but earned more than $486,000 in 2009. He is in default on two properties in Sarasota County, Fla.

The Smothers Brothers, one of the most enduring partnerships in American show business, are best known for their legendary battles with CBS network censors during their popular but tumultuous tenure on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour." As documented in David Bianculli's recent book, "Dangerously Funny," the clean-cut siblings who started out in the early 1960s with benign, folksy humor turned edgy, satirical and political as the Vietnam War wore on and as their disputes with CBS grew more rancorous.

They were responsible for launching or accelerating the careers of a long list of major talent, including The Who, Steve Martin and Simon & Garfunkel. Others who credit them with paving their way include Bill Maher, Stephen Colbert, Norman Lear and Lorne Michaels.

Their program also unseated the long-running, seemingly untouchable hit "Bonanza" as the top show in its Sunday time slot. Nonetheless, the controversies and dramas led CBS to cancel the show in 1969, a decision that led the Smothers Brothers to win a breach-of-contract lawsuit in 1973 for $916,301. After that, the Smothers Brothers performed in dinner theaters and comedy clubs and did some acting in plays, but they never regained their prominence.

Still, by the late 1980s, they were again popular at least in Las Vegas, where they played several weekends a year to full houses. In 2008, Tom Smothers received an honorary Emmy for his writing for "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour."

Sunday's performance was no different, serving up the classic Smothers fare of Tom rambling fantastical tales and his brother, the straight man, interrupting to correct him. They also showed a video montage of their greatest moments, including the seminal occasion when Pete Seeger appeared on their show to play "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" and George Harrison bucked them up on national TV over their CBS censorship woes by exhorting them, "Well, whether you can say it or not, keep trying to say it."

The Smothers' political leanings shone through as well, with bits taking on the tea party, Sarah Palin and Arizona's controversial immigration law. At one point Tom Smothers asked the audience whether there were any Republicans in the audience. When several applauded, he good-naturedly quipped, "Well, you must be very proud of yourselves."

One audience member, Daniel Bledsoe of Las Vegas, was stunned by the lack of hype surrounding the closure of this landmark career.

"I was very surprised by their abrupt retirement," he said. "I would have thought they would have done a farewell tour like most performers do. But I do feel lucky to have been at what was billed as, and what I legitimately think is, their last show."

Bledsoe noted that Tom Smothers did seem to have lost a performing step and appeared to lose his place from time to time. During the May 6 interview, the entertainer referenced more than once that he "had this Alzheimer's thing," but it's unclear whether he was serious.

In that same conversation, Tom Smothers said he's disappointed there aren't more comedy duos anymore -- he cited Penn & Teller as the only contemporary one he could think of -- and said he's hoping to launch a "Two Funny" reality TV show competition to find new ones.

He also was philosophical about the fact that most young Americans are unaware of their pop cultural significance.

"Eventually we all outgrow our audience," he said. "People say, 'God, I didn't know you were involved. I didn't know you were involved with John Lennon, hanging out with the Beatles, being on the album, all that kind of stuff and everything.' ... We've got over 100 years in the business between the two of us. This has been a great career."