In 2017, The Hollywood Reporter gave me the opportunity to write an oral history about a passion of mine, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, the groundbreaking variety program anchored by Tommy Smothers, who died Tuesday at age 86, and his brother, Dick. Airing on CBS from 1967-70, the controversial show offered an alternate television universe for a young generation, filled with sharp humor, political satire, rock music and relevance. Not ahead of its time but rather right on it.
I compiled countless interviews with what felt like every surviving performer from the show, including Steve Martin and Rob Reiner. Everyone except the brothers themselves, who had proved rather elusive.
Through back channels, I finally acquired Tommy Smothers’ cellphone number, along with a series of warnings. First, I was told, be persistent because he hardly ever answers his phone. Second, be persistent because he probably won’t return your call. And third, don...
I compiled countless interviews with what felt like every surviving performer from the show, including Steve Martin and Rob Reiner. Everyone except the brothers themselves, who had proved rather elusive.
Through back channels, I finally acquired Tommy Smothers’ cellphone number, along with a series of warnings. First, I was told, be persistent because he hardly ever answers his phone. Second, be persistent because he probably won’t return your call. And third, don...
- 12/29/2023
- by Marc Freeman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Variety shows are complicated,” Tom Smothers told Rolling Stone in 2015. The occasion was the launch of Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris, the ultimately short-lived attempt to revive the long-standing song-dance-and-skits format for TV.
Few knew how thorny such undertakings could be than Smothers, who died this week at age 88. With his brother Dick, he injected topical anti-war humor and rock guests like the Who and George Harrison into prime time on the legendary Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967-1969), a daring approach that ultimately led to its cancellation. With...
Few knew how thorny such undertakings could be than Smothers, who died this week at age 88. With his brother Dick, he injected topical anti-war humor and rock guests like the Who and George Harrison into prime time on the legendary Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967-1969), a daring approach that ultimately led to its cancellation. With...
- 12/28/2023
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
Mel Brooks is one of the best comedic voices in American cinema history, a man who has made some of the most influential comedies ever made. His work has tackled multiple genres, from sci-fi to Westerns to horror, and they have lampooned, parodied, and commented on a variety of topics, always with biting social commentary.
"History Of The World, Part I," although not usually regarded as his finest work, is nevertheless one of the purest Mel Brooks experiences you can have. This is a movie that fires on all cylinders and delivers an anthology of jokes and commentary on the whole history of humanity, from the stone age and the Roman times all the way to the French revolution. This is a movie I watched way too young, knowing only that it was a comedy about history and I loved comedy and history — only to then be opened to a...
"History Of The World, Part I," although not usually regarded as his finest work, is nevertheless one of the purest Mel Brooks experiences you can have. This is a movie that fires on all cylinders and delivers an anthology of jokes and commentary on the whole history of humanity, from the stone age and the Roman times all the way to the French revolution. This is a movie I watched way too young, knowing only that it was a comedy about history and I loved comedy and history — only to then be opened to a...
- 1/18/2023
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
The icon-establishing performances Marilyn Monroe gave in Howard Hawks’ Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and in Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot (1959) are ones for the ages, touchstone works that endure because of the undeniable comic energy and desperation that sparked them from within even as the ravenous public became ever more enraptured by the surface of Monroe’s seductive image of beauty and glamour. Several generations now probably know her only from these films, or perhaps 1955’s The Seven-Year Itch, a more famous probably for the skirt-swirling pose it generated than anything in the movie itself, one of director Wilder’s sourest pictures, or her final completed film, The Misfits (1961), directed by John Huston, written by Arthur Miller and costarring Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift.
But in Don’t Bother to Knock (1952) she delivers a powerful dramatic performance as Nell, a psychologically devastated, delusional, perhaps psychotic young woman apparently on...
But in Don’t Bother to Knock (1952) she delivers a powerful dramatic performance as Nell, a psychologically devastated, delusional, perhaps psychotic young woman apparently on...
- 4/11/2016
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
The following is a list of all comic books, graphic novels and specialty items that will be available this week and shipped to comic book stores who have placed orders for them.
Abstract Studios
Rachel Rising #25, $3.99
AC Comics
Crypt Of Horror Volume 21 Tp, $29.95
Alternative Comics
Big Feminist But Comics About Women Gn (not verified by Diamond), $20.00
Mostly Wordless Hc, $18.95
Sugar Booger #2 (Of 3)(not verified by Diamond), $5.95
Altus Press
Doc Savage The New Adventures Volume 7 Phantom Lagoon Sc (not verified by Diamond), $24.95
Amryl Entertainment
Cavewoman Journey #1 (Of 2)(Cover A Rob Durham), $3.75
Cavewoman Journey #1 (Of 2)(Cover B Rob Durham), Ar
Cavewoman Journey #1 (Of 2)(Cover D Budd Root), Ar
Antarctic Press
Last Zombie Zomnibus Tp, $49.99
Arcana Studio
Chambers Gn, $19.95
Archie Comic Publications
Betty And Veronica Double Digest #223, $5.99
Jughead And Archie Double Digest #1, $3.99
Mega Man #36 (Patrick Spaziante Regular Cover), $2.99
Mega Man #36 (Brent McCarthy Trial Of Dr Wily Variant Cover), $2.99
Avatar Press
Absolution Volume 2 Rubicon Tp,...
Abstract Studios
Rachel Rising #25, $3.99
AC Comics
Crypt Of Horror Volume 21 Tp, $29.95
Alternative Comics
Big Feminist But Comics About Women Gn (not verified by Diamond), $20.00
Mostly Wordless Hc, $18.95
Sugar Booger #2 (Of 3)(not verified by Diamond), $5.95
Altus Press
Doc Savage The New Adventures Volume 7 Phantom Lagoon Sc (not verified by Diamond), $24.95
Amryl Entertainment
Cavewoman Journey #1 (Of 2)(Cover A Rob Durham), $3.75
Cavewoman Journey #1 (Of 2)(Cover B Rob Durham), Ar
Cavewoman Journey #1 (Of 2)(Cover D Budd Root), Ar
Antarctic Press
Last Zombie Zomnibus Tp, $49.99
Arcana Studio
Chambers Gn, $19.95
Archie Comic Publications
Betty And Veronica Double Digest #223, $5.99
Jughead And Archie Double Digest #1, $3.99
Mega Man #36 (Patrick Spaziante Regular Cover), $2.99
Mega Man #36 (Brent McCarthy Trial Of Dr Wily Variant Cover), $2.99
Avatar Press
Absolution Volume 2 Rubicon Tp,...
- 4/29/2014
- by Adam B.
- GeekRest
The following is a list of all comic books, graphic novels and specialty items that will be available this week and shipped to comic book stores who have placed orders for them.
3 Finger Prints
Zombies Vs Cheerleaders Volume 2 #3 (Cover A Bill McKay)(not verified by Diamond), $3.99
Zombies Vs Cheerleaders Volume 2 #3 (Cover B Bill Maus)(not verified by Diamond), $3.99
Zombies Vs Cheerleaders Volume 2 #3 (Cover C Matt Hebb & Jason Worthington)(not verified by Diamond), $3.99
3D Total Publishing
Art Fundamentals Sc (Slipcased Edition), $49.99
Beginner’s Guide To Creating Manga Art Sc, $24.99
Aam Markosia
Project Luna 1947 Gn, $15.99
Abrams Comicarts
Star Trek The Original Topps Trading Card Series Hc, $19.95
AC Comics
Crypt Of Horror Volume 19 Tp, $29.95
Archaia Entertainment
Mouse Guard Legends Of The Guard Volume 2 #3, $3.50
Archie Comic Publications
Archie 1000-Page Comics Extravaganza Tp, $14.99
Life With Archie #32 (Dean Haspiel Variant Cover), $3.99
Life With Archie #32 (Fernando Ruiz Regular Cover), $3.99
Aspen Comics
Executive Assistant Assassins #15 (Cover A Lori...
3 Finger Prints
Zombies Vs Cheerleaders Volume 2 #3 (Cover A Bill McKay)(not verified by Diamond), $3.99
Zombies Vs Cheerleaders Volume 2 #3 (Cover B Bill Maus)(not verified by Diamond), $3.99
Zombies Vs Cheerleaders Volume 2 #3 (Cover C Matt Hebb & Jason Worthington)(not verified by Diamond), $3.99
3D Total Publishing
Art Fundamentals Sc (Slipcased Edition), $49.99
Beginner’s Guide To Creating Manga Art Sc, $24.99
Aam Markosia
Project Luna 1947 Gn, $15.99
Abrams Comicarts
Star Trek The Original Topps Trading Card Series Hc, $19.95
AC Comics
Crypt Of Horror Volume 19 Tp, $29.95
Archaia Entertainment
Mouse Guard Legends Of The Guard Volume 2 #3, $3.50
Archie Comic Publications
Archie 1000-Page Comics Extravaganza Tp, $14.99
Life With Archie #32 (Dean Haspiel Variant Cover), $3.99
Life With Archie #32 (Fernando Ruiz Regular Cover), $3.99
Aspen Comics
Executive Assistant Assassins #15 (Cover A Lori...
- 9/23/2013
- by Adam B.
- GeekRest
Chicago – Actor Michael Rapaport proves himself a gifted documentarian with “Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD and a gift for fans of the golden age of hip-hop. Documenting the ups and downs of one of the most beloved and influential bands in the history of rap, Rapaport has delivered a strong music doc that sags a bit near the end but nevertheless serves to remind viewers of the right age that hip-hop just ain’t what it used to be.
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0
I’m old enough to remember when A Tribe Called Quest hit the music world like a bomb. For the right listeners of the right age (of which I was one), the band was a part of a wave of bands that were revolutionizing hip-hop in their own way. I vividly remember De La Soul, The Jungle Brothers,...
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0
I’m old enough to remember when A Tribe Called Quest hit the music world like a bomb. For the right listeners of the right age (of which I was one), the band was a part of a wave of bands that were revolutionizing hip-hop in their own way. I vividly remember De La Soul, The Jungle Brothers,...
- 10/24/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
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