Tom Smothers, one half of TV comedy legends the Smothers Brothers, dies at 86

Tom Smothers does yo-yo tricks during arrivals at CBS' 75th anniversary celebration on Nov. 2, 2003, in New York. Smothers, half of the Smothers Brothers and the co-host of one of the most socially conscious and groundbreaking television shows in the history of the medium, has died at age 86. (Louis Lanzano/AP)

Tom Smothers, half of the Smothers Brothers and the co-host of one of the most socially conscious and groundbreaking television shows in the history of the medium, has died at 86.

The National Comedy Center, on behalf of his family, said in a statement Wednesday that Smothers died Tuesday at home in Santa Rosa, California, following a cancer battle.