Former arts council director reflects on time when the Smothers Brothers came to Idaho Falls

IDAHO FALLS — The sound of laughter and applause echoed from the theater.

It was 2009, and a famed comedy duo was performing at the Civic Center in Idaho Falls. By the time the show was complete, the performers received a standing ovation.

The performers that dazzled Idaho Falls that night were the Smothers Brothers, pioneers in biting satirical comedy.

“The show exceeded my expectations,” said Carrie Getty Scheid, the Idaho Falls Arts Council Director at the time.

Scheid found herself reflecting on this show when she heard on Dec. 27 that Tom Smothers, one-half of the comedy duo, had died.

RELATED | Tom Smothers, one half of famed comedy duo, dies at 86

Long before their Idaho Falls performance, the brothers ran a CBS variety show called “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” from 1967 to 1969, when it was suddenly canceled. Scheid was in her early teens at the time and still remembers watching the show.

Scheid described the television landscape at that time as “pretty traditional,” and she saw the Smothers Brothers as “real rebels at their time.”

“They were like idols for me as counterculture characters,” Scheid said.

She sees them now as being ahead of their time because of the way comedy has changed.

“It’s pretty tame stuff compared to what goes, thanks to social media,” Scheid said. “People say whatever they want and they’re rude and terrible to each other, so they’re almost quaint by comparison.”

Even in 2009, Scheid said, the culture had become more accepting of mocking establishment figures and accepted ideas. In Idaho Falls, the Smothers Brothers had a nostalgic draw.

When they took the stage and assumed their roles, Dick the “conservative” brother and Tom the “naughty” one, it was clear they held affection for each other, Scheid said.

When she met the two icons of her teenage years, she found the brothers carried that affection for each other on and off stage. She was able to sit down and have a drink with them before the performers went out to a meet and greet with the show’s sponsors.

She’d heard a story at the time that when the Smothers Brothers were at the Idaho Falls airport, they were recognized by a group of fans and Tom did a Yo-yo routine for them.

“They were professional entertainers that understand how important it is to interact with their fan base,” Scheid said.

In her time as director, Scheid met a lot of different performers. She found that most of them were, “wonderfully easygoing” people, and the Smothers Brothers fit this category. Scheid had the opportunity to meet Tom and thought “he was very personable.”

“He and his brother were charming and they were there to entertain. They seemed to be grateful to be there,” Scheid recalled.

Scheid was surprised when she heard that one of her icons had died, she said. She had thought he was younger than 86.

“He was such a colorful counterculture figure and that generation is disappearing now,” Scheid said.