A-Z GUIDE TO MOVIES AND TV SHOWS PARODIED BY MAD, CRACKED, CRAZY, ETC. UP TO 1996. THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS. SPOILERS AND OTHER NON-SEQUITURS, TOO. SOMETIMES THESE THINGS HAVE WORDS OR SITUATIONS WE DON'T USE ANYMORE. YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE THEY'RE OLD.
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Wednesday, August 23, 2023
THE SMOTHERED BROTHERS SHOW
THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS COMEDY HOUR
CBS 1967-1969, 1988-1989
Tom and Dick Smothers came to prominence in the mid-sixties as a comedy team/folk duo with several hit records and then a TV show. Most of their act consisted of them starting a song and, Tom, the dumber one, interrupting, and often it would evolve into sibling rivalry.
This was the back cover for Cracked #76, May 1969.
THE SMOTHERED BROTHERS SHOW
Cracked Collectors Edition #77, January 1989
w: Peter Bagge
a: Rob Orzechowski
They brought the show back with a few specials twenty years later, recycling a lot of the same material they did then.
In the late 80s much of Paul Simon's material was co-opted from native African songs.
Pat Paulsen for President was a recurring bit they had with one of their regular cast members. Here they show a comedy sketch is no different from the campaigns of Pat Robertson, George H.W. Bush, Jerry Brown, or Jesse Jackson. Tea Time with Goldie was a bit they did with one of their cast members (Leigh French) giving a monologue with marijuana innuendos.
SUNDAY NIGHT RATING BATTLE
Cracked #65, November 1967
a: John Severin
When the show premiered, it was on opposite long-running series Bonanza.
At one time Woody Allen was just a guy who made films, but before that he was just a comic.
They were always in danger of being kicked off the air for digs at religion and Vietnam and the Nixon administration that wouldn't even register with anyone today, This is from MAD #122, August 1968.
This is one of the controversial jokes they were suspended for. Beware, you and your entire family could be jailed for life without trial just for your knowing it exists.
The Brothers Brothers was a recurring bit on In Living Color.
There was a story about them in Wild magazine, too. It was in #3, the one with Pat Paulsen on the cover. I don't have it myself, but I think it was called The Censored Brothers.
On page 3 of the Cracked parody, among the presidential candidates, that's Gary Hart rather than Jerry Brown. The line about "going on a rice-free diet" is a joke about the extra-marital affair with Donna Rice that sank his 1984 presidential bid.
On page 4, the joke about "over-the-hill comedians trying to make a comeback" comes from Lucille Ball and Gale Gordon, who had starred a couple years before in Life with Lucy. It was Ball's last project, and it flopped, lasting only one short season. Before looking up this reference, I had no idea she'd even attempted another series.
There was a story about them in Wild magazine, too. It was in #3, the one with Pat Paulsen on the cover. I don't have it myself, but I think it was called The Censored Brothers.
ReplyDeleteOn page 3 of the Cracked parody, among the presidential candidates, that's Gary Hart rather than Jerry Brown. The line about "going on a rice-free diet" is a joke about the extra-marital affair with Donna Rice that sank his 1984 presidential bid.
ReplyDeleteOn page 4, the joke about "over-the-hill comedians trying to make a comeback" comes from Lucille Ball and Gale Gordon, who had starred a couple years before in Life with Lucy. It was Ball's last project, and it flopped, lasting only one short season. Before looking up this reference, I had no idea she'd even attempted another series.