Tom Smothers, who with his younger brother Dick changed the face of comedy with their musical humor and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, died Tuesday in Santa Rosa, California, following a cancer battle. The news was announced by the National Comedy Center, on behalf of Smothers’ family. He was 86.
Tom and Dick Smothers started out as folk musicians in the early ’60s, and soon discovered that, while they were not good enough to be professional musicians, the act worked if they mixed in comedy.
Dick Smothers said in a statement, “Tom was not only the loving older brother that everyone would want in their life, he was a one-of-a-kind creative partner. I am forever grateful to have spent a lifetime together with him, on and off stage, for over 60 years. Our relationship was like a good marriage – the longer we were together, the more we loved and respected one another.
Tom and Dick Smothers started out as folk musicians in the early ’60s, and soon discovered that, while they were not good enough to be professional musicians, the act worked if they mixed in comedy.
Dick Smothers said in a statement, “Tom was not only the loving older brother that everyone would want in their life, he was a one-of-a-kind creative partner. I am forever grateful to have spent a lifetime together with him, on and off stage, for over 60 years. Our relationship was like a good marriage – the longer we were together, the more we loved and respected one another.
- 12/27/2023
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
In the early '70s Walter Matthau excelled in three powerful cops 'n' robbers movies; the second sees him as a tough, laconic San Francisco detective charged with an impossible task -- running down a machine gun mass murderer, with no clues and no living witnesses. The Laughing Policeman Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1973 / Color / 1:85 enhanced widescreen / 112 min. / Street Date October 18, 2016 / available through Kl Studio Classics / 29.95 Starring Walter Matthau, Bruce Dern, Louis Gossett Jr., Albert Paulsen, Anthony Zerbe, Val Avery, Cathy Lee Crosby, Mario Gallo, Joanna Cassidy, Shirley Ballard, William Hansen, Paul Koslo, Louis Guss, Clifton James, Gregory Sierra, Warren Finnerty, Matt Clark, Joseph Bernard, Leigh French, Anthony Costello. Cinematography David M. Walsh Film Editor Bob Wyman Original Music Charles Fox Written by Thomas Rickman from the novel by Maj Sjowall, Per Wahloo Produced and Directed by Stuart Rosenberg
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Viewers that like Walter Matthau in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Viewers that like Walter Matthau in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three...
- 10/17/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
SAG yesterday released the official list of candidates for its upcoming national board elections. Notably, all of the open seats in La (the Hollywood Division) are held by MembershipFirst members, which means that, as was the case last year, Mf can at best maintain its level of representation on the national board. More likely, it will lose some of its board seats.
On the Hollywood divisional board, Mf could gain or lose, as all division seats are up every year. This contrasts with the national board, where approximately 1/3 of the 69 seats are up in any given year. The president and secretary-treasurer, who are ex officio members of the board, have two-year terms, and are not up for election this year.
Ballots in Hollywood and New York will be mailed on August 24 with a return deadline and tabulation on September 23. Election results are expected to be announced that evening.
The Hollywood...
On the Hollywood divisional board, Mf could gain or lose, as all division seats are up every year. This contrasts with the national board, where approximately 1/3 of the 69 seats are up in any given year. The president and secretary-treasurer, who are ex officio members of the board, have two-year terms, and are not up for election this year.
Ballots in Hollywood and New York will be mailed on August 24 with a return deadline and tabulation on September 23. Election results are expected to be announced that evening.
The Hollywood...
- 8/5/2010
- by jhandel@att.net (Jonathan Handel)
Los Angeles (August 4, 2010) – Screen Actors Guild today released the official list of candidates for its upcoming national board elections. Ballots for all eligible members in Hollywood and New York will be mailed on August 24 with a return deadline and tabulation on September 23. Election results are expected to be announced that evening. Approximately 1/3 of the total 69 national board seats are open for election this year. The Hollywood Division will elect 13 national board members and 22 alternates. Twelve (12) candidate positions will be seated for a three (3) year term and one (1) candidate position will be seated for a one (1) year term (all national board alternates serve for one year). The New York Division will elect 5 national board members and nine alternates. Each seat is for a three-year term (all national board alternates serve for one year). Directors holding nine other national board seats will be elected from SAG Branches outside Hollywood and New York.
- 8/5/2010
- by Nikki Finke
- Deadline Hollywood
The SAG board’s moderate majority fired National Executive Director Doug Allen today by using a document signed by board members and called a “written assent.” Much to my surprise, Allen chose not to fight and instead emailed the SAG staff acknowledging that he had been terminated and saying goodbye. A copy of the email is below.
Perhaps one reason Allen agreed so readily is that—as has not previously been reported—the assent provides that his contract will be paid out in full. The assent itself has not previously been released. However, I’ve received a copy. See below.
A natural question is how the process unfolded. I spoke to two sources close to the situation who laid out the following narrative:
At around 11:00 a.m. Monday morning, a group of board members went to SAG’s La headquarters. The group included Unite for Strength leader Ned Vaughn,...
Perhaps one reason Allen agreed so readily is that—as has not previously been reported—the assent provides that his contract will be paid out in full. The assent itself has not previously been released. However, I’ve received a copy. See below.
A natural question is how the process unfolded. I spoke to two sources close to the situation who laid out the following narrative:
At around 11:00 a.m. Monday morning, a group of board members went to SAG’s La headquarters. The group included Unite for Strength leader Ned Vaughn,...
- 1/27/2009
- by noreply@blogger.com (Jonathan Handel)
The controversial MembershipFirst faction of SAG announced Friday a slate of 33 potential candidates who will vie for openings on the national and local boards and go head-to-head with the newly formed opposition group, Unite for Strength.
Among the actors looking to fill Hollywood's 11 national board seats and 22 local seats are 11 new MembershipFirst candidates, including Scott Bakula, Keith Carradine, Charles Shaughnessy and Joely Fisher. Also on the slate are 22 incumbents to the board, including JoBeth Williams, Joe Bologna, and Lainie Kazan.
The announcement of the candidates comes a day before a crucial SAG national board meeting Saturday and two days after Unite for Strength announced its intention to contest seats held by those in MembershipFirst. Unite's 31 candidates include Amy Brenneman, Kate Walsh and Doug Savant.
MembershipFirst came to power in 2005 and currently dominates the Hollywood board, holding the majority of seats as well as backing current president Alan Rosenberg. The group is the controlling voice in the SAG contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, which is currently at a stand still.
Unite for Strength blames MembershipFirst for its hardline approach to the negotiations as well as its anti-aftra sentiment, which led to the unsuccessful campaign to get members to vote down the sister union's primetime/TV deal with the AMPTP.
In its announcement, MembershipFirst said its goals for the coming year include uniting "all actors under the Screen Actors Guild banner, protect actors wages and working conditions in all areas, fight for residuals in all media platforms, protect the right of every dues paying member to vote on SAG issues and to secure complete jurisdiction in new media."
Unite for Strength's main goal is to merge SAG with AFTRA, something the MembershipFirst faction has bitterly opposed in the last two attempts in 1999 and 2003.
The potential MembershipFirst national board candidates are:
Scott Bakula
Joe Bologna (incumbent)
Clancy Brown
Keith Carradine,
Joely Fisher
Lainie Kazan (incumbent)
William Russ (incumbent)
Alan Ruck
Charles Shaughnessy
JoBeth Williams (incumbent).
Joe d'Angerio (incumbent)
Jane Austin (incumbent)
Jeff Austin (incumbent)
Renee Aubrey (incumbent)
Steve Barr (incumbent)
Michael Bell (incumbent)
Warren Berlinger (incumbent)
Eugene Bogs (incumbent)
Tom Bower
Anthony Desantis (incumbent)
Ron Harper (incumbent)
David Jolliffe (incumbent)
Russell McConnell (incumbent)
Peggy Miley (incumbent)
Paul Napier (incumbent)
Peter Van Norton
France Nuyen (incumbent)
F.J. O'Neil (incumbent)
Vic Polizos
Yale Summers (incumbent)
Charles Malik Whitfield
Christopher R. Wielh
Scott Wilson (incumbent)
Current MembershipFirst sitting members of the SAG National Board of
the Hollywood Division are:
1st Vice President Kent McCord
Angel Tompkins
Bonnie Bartlett
Justine Bateman
Joanna Cassidy
Seymour Cassel
George Coe
Anne DeSalvo
Frances Fisher
Leigh French
Elliott Gould
Valerie Harper
Sumi Haru
Robert Hays
Anne-MarieJohnson
Diane Ladd
Piper Laurie
William Mapother
Esai Morales
Barbara Niven
Harrison Page
Susan Savage
Nancy Sinatra
Renee Taylor
Angela Watson
Jenny Worman...
Among the actors looking to fill Hollywood's 11 national board seats and 22 local seats are 11 new MembershipFirst candidates, including Scott Bakula, Keith Carradine, Charles Shaughnessy and Joely Fisher. Also on the slate are 22 incumbents to the board, including JoBeth Williams, Joe Bologna, and Lainie Kazan.
The announcement of the candidates comes a day before a crucial SAG national board meeting Saturday and two days after Unite for Strength announced its intention to contest seats held by those in MembershipFirst. Unite's 31 candidates include Amy Brenneman, Kate Walsh and Doug Savant.
MembershipFirst came to power in 2005 and currently dominates the Hollywood board, holding the majority of seats as well as backing current president Alan Rosenberg. The group is the controlling voice in the SAG contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, which is currently at a stand still.
Unite for Strength blames MembershipFirst for its hardline approach to the negotiations as well as its anti-aftra sentiment, which led to the unsuccessful campaign to get members to vote down the sister union's primetime/TV deal with the AMPTP.
In its announcement, MembershipFirst said its goals for the coming year include uniting "all actors under the Screen Actors Guild banner, protect actors wages and working conditions in all areas, fight for residuals in all media platforms, protect the right of every dues paying member to vote on SAG issues and to secure complete jurisdiction in new media."
Unite for Strength's main goal is to merge SAG with AFTRA, something the MembershipFirst faction has bitterly opposed in the last two attempts in 1999 and 2003.
The potential MembershipFirst national board candidates are:
Scott Bakula
Joe Bologna (incumbent)
Clancy Brown
Keith Carradine,
Joely Fisher
Lainie Kazan (incumbent)
William Russ (incumbent)
Alan Ruck
Charles Shaughnessy
JoBeth Williams (incumbent).
Joe d'Angerio (incumbent)
Jane Austin (incumbent)
Jeff Austin (incumbent)
Renee Aubrey (incumbent)
Steve Barr (incumbent)
Michael Bell (incumbent)
Warren Berlinger (incumbent)
Eugene Bogs (incumbent)
Tom Bower
Anthony Desantis (incumbent)
Ron Harper (incumbent)
David Jolliffe (incumbent)
Russell McConnell (incumbent)
Peggy Miley (incumbent)
Paul Napier (incumbent)
Peter Van Norton
France Nuyen (incumbent)
F.J. O'Neil (incumbent)
Vic Polizos
Yale Summers (incumbent)
Charles Malik Whitfield
Christopher R. Wielh
Scott Wilson (incumbent)
Current MembershipFirst sitting members of the SAG National Board of
the Hollywood Division are:
1st Vice President Kent McCord
Angel Tompkins
Bonnie Bartlett
Justine Bateman
Joanna Cassidy
Seymour Cassel
George Coe
Anne DeSalvo
Frances Fisher
Leigh French
Elliott Gould
Valerie Harper
Sumi Haru
Robert Hays
Anne-MarieJohnson
Diane Ladd
Piper Laurie
William Mapother
Esai Morales
Barbara Niven
Harrison Page
Susan Savage
Nancy Sinatra
Renee Taylor
Angela Watson
Jenny Worman...
- 7/25/2008
- by By Leslie Simmons
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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