Ken Fritz, was a personal manager of Tom and Dick Smothers for the better part of 60 years. In 1964 and recently out of college, Fritz started out as a sort of advance man for their tours before becoming their full-time road manager. Later, he co-managed them with Ken Kragen and eventually assumed solo management for all aspects of their careers. He was also an executive producer on many of their projects, including the groundbreaking The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. His other clients have included Neil Diamond, Peter, Paul and Mary and George Benson. Here, Fritz reflects on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour as well as Tom Smothers as a comedian, businessman and friend.
In 1966 William Morris pitched CBS a new variety show starring The Smothers Brothers and CBS wanted it. We were very firm with the network that they were not going to buy the live versions of the nightclub shows, as Tommy was adamant that this would be different, with fresh material.
In the beginning, we had at least a two-week delay from taping to air. Then there was a strike. Upon its settlement, CBS asked if we could produce a show for that Sunday, a mere one week from air. We agreed to tape the show on Friday for airing two days later in our usual time slot. We would tape on Fridays, edit all night and then air on Sundays.
Clearly this abbreviated delay afforded us the opportunity to deliver more current material with a mere 48 hours delay. It also meant that the material was not only more timely but to some, had more of an edge.
Creative control was always up there on Tom’s list of priorities. We became more and more determined to have as much control as we could get. As such, once the strike was over, CBS wanted us to return to the original two week tape-to-air schedule but we refused.
There were times (and there were MANY) when the L.A. program practices censors raised issues about certain elements in a script which we couldn’t resolve at Television City. I would get on a plane and fly to Black Rock [the CBS building] in New York. There, two meetings occurred.
First, I would present my case to Frank Stanton, Chairman William S. Paley’s number two. Stanton always reminded us that there was pressure from the FCC regarding broadcast standards and licensing and that Washington, including then-President Lyndon Johnson, was calling about our Anti-Vietnam War position.
Then I would walk down the hall and pitch Paley, who delivered the same arguments I heard from Stanton. It was like, in the 60 seconds before I got there, Stanton had already called Paley. I sometimes wondered if Paley had Stanton’s office bugged so he knew what was coming.
It was a trading session which I affectionately referred to as “Two Shits for a Fuck.” I would go in there knowing what essential element I wanted. I would always get one, sometimes two. Never three. It felt like a game with Mr. Paley. Just basic negotiation — everyone got something.
But these outcomes weren’t always satisfactory with Tom. Sometimes, there was friction between us, as he was always pressing for victory on all points. He would say, “Why did you let Bill Paley…why didn’t you get all three?” I maintained that a good negotiation is one in which everyone got something.
In terms of being fired, the issues were cumulative, involving years of confrontations until a supposed breach of contract regarding timely delivery of our final cut. That was the triggering moment but certainly not the only reason. That moment had been building since the first season. I used to say to Tommy, “Listen, these guys own the store. They have the keys. We need to remember that.”
We subsequently developed a show that was picked up by NBC. But it was a harder project to get energized. There wasn’t the same drive as we’d had at CBS. After the years of fighting with CBS both in the studio and then in court, Tommy was ground down, which years later he admitted. The Peacock project was a disappointment for all of us.
Despite what he and Dick went through as children growing up after their father was killed as a prisoner in WWII and his mother becoming an alcoholic, which resulted in a profoundly dysfunctional environment, it always touched me that they were able to evidence their core of kindness and generosity to those in their inner circle. Tom was a caring big brother to Dick. Having been an older brother myself I understood some of the dynamics between them. And as a straight man, Dick was the perfect foil for Tom. His intuitive grasp of how to shape lines in order to elicit the “Tommy-isms” was unparalleled.
In 1968, when my wife and I bought our first home up Doheny, we had a budget which was firm. We were going back and forth with the broker. After offers and counter offers, we were stuck $5,000 apart. We had reached our ceiling and were reluctantly ready to walk away. Two days later, the broker called and said, “OK, you got the house at your price.” Twenty years later she told us the truth: Tommy had paid the other $5,000 but said, “Don’t tell him I told you.”
A few years ago, I shared with Tommy that I knew about his silent support. He explained, “You and Brenda were going to have a baby and I wanted to make you happy.”
Funny, feisty, kind and intelligent…he challenged, he changed and enhanced my life. That was Tommy.
