Tom Smothers, half of American comedy duo the Smothers Brothers, dies at 86

Smothers and his younger brother, Dick, started out wanting to be folk singers but found success weaving comedy into their act, a formula they perfected in 1967 with the CBS show "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," a precursor of "Saturday Night Live" and other satirical television shows. Tom played guitar and Dick played bass, and both brothers sang. In his onscreen persona, Tom was the dimwitted, stammering older brother to Dick, spinning elaborate stories of their childhood and his resentment of Dick as their mother's favored son.