Tom Smothers

“We were against the war in Vietnam and for voter registration and social issues. Everybody has their choices, and the obligation of a comedian is first to entertain. And if you're so inclined, and you have some bigger thought, make sure you express it, because that's a gift.”

“Every day I think, 'Gosh, I wish I could be like George Carlin, Bill Maher: I want that edge.' But every time I start to get that edgy thing, I get kind of mean.”

“Freedom of expression and freedom of speech aren't really important unless they're heard. The freedom of hearing is as important as the freedom of speaking.”

“So it - we have one enduring, uh, idea that will always live on with the Smothers Brothers, that 'Mom always liked you best.' We're the universal, uh, feeling that every child, every sibling has had somewhere along the line. Or, 'Who did she like best?' And that became kind of a little mantra.”

“Our mother was so public - we always talked about her. But with her passing, all of a sudden we don't even want to talk about her.”

“I wanted to be in show business, and I was funny.”

“I found out that I couldn't have a nervous breakdown. I tried a couple of times, but it just didn't work out. My mind, my body wouldn't let me.”

“The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen.”

“The ultimate censorship is the flick of the dial.”

“Red meat is not bad for you. Now blue-green meat, that's bad for you!”

“No comedian's wife thinks he's funny. The first few years of the marriage, maybe. I was funny as hell the first couple of years.”

“When you don't know what you're talking about, it's hard to know when you're finished.”

“If you're ahead of your time, who's going to listen? If you're behind the times, it's boring.”

“They ought to put an amendment to the First Amendment that says there shall also be freedom of hearing.”

“It's hard for me to stay silent when I keep hearing that peace is only attainable through war. There's nothing more scary than watching ignorance in action.”

“We weren't radical chic. Jane Fonda embarrassed me. We belonged to no political parties. Basically, we were vaudevillians.”