Dick Smothers, Jr., the son of comedian/political activist Dick Smothers of
The Smothers Brothers, is an adult-film movie actor who, according to a
2003 interview, aims to become "the Orson Welles of porn." Born in 1964, he
claims to be an "exhibitionist" with "an incredibly overactive libido."
He made his porn film debut in 2003 starring in Bad Influence (2003), playing the
lead in a pornographic homage to Die Reifeprüfung (1967).
One of six children born to Dick Smothers and and his first wife, he
has also become an online entrepreneur. He is the proprietor of an
adult entertainment website and and a web-based game show.
In a 2003 interview with Reuters, Smothers claimed that he was
interested in the acting aspect of being in porn movies, but also
admitted he enjoyed the sexual side of his chosen career. He announced
his ambition was to become "a recognized, full-spectrum adult
entertainer and entrepreneur."
Smothers, who left behind a career as a sales executive for an office
products manufacturer, has gained some recognition for the quality of
his work. He was nominated for a 2006 AVN (Adult Video News) Award for
Best Actor (the "Oscars" of the adult entertainment industry, according
to "Entertainment Weekly" magazine) in an adult film In addition to his
entrepreneurial spirit, his creative ambitions are wider than that of
becoming a highly respected performer in adult movies.
"What I really want to do is become the Orson Welles of porn," Smothers told
Reuters, "not only performing in these films, but writing, directing
and doing the music." Smothers had a rock band called lectrikDik before
turning to adult films, and once performed his music on a Smothers
Brothers television show.
His father, in a 2003 interview, recounted how he was shocked by his
son's career change. "My first reaction was, 'What name are you going
to use?' He says he's going to use his name, and I said, 'Wait a
minute. That's my name. I had it first.' "
While a devout Christian, Smothers Sr. has always been a champion of
free expression, a position reinforced by the trauma of having his and
his brother's highly successful CBS series canceled by the network in
the late 1960s for being too politically liberal. While uncomfortable
with his son's career choice, he refuses to condemn him. In fact, he is
sympathetic to the pressures undergirding his son's career choice.
On his part, Dick Jr. said he will focus on the "couples-oriented"
genre that occasionally crosses over to cable television in a
bowdlerized form. In a move evocative of his father's moral standards,
the son has added strict controls to his website to prevent it from
being penetrated by minors.
