Celebrity
Smoking Deaths 
Menstuff® has information on
over 200 celebrities who have died from smoking related
deaths.
Painting courtesy of Albert Ortiz's No Smoking Art. Here's the Chart of Celebrities depicted.
Allen, Gracie, 58, actress; heart attack (August 27, 1964) The Burns and Allen Show. Allen lived with a George Burns, an inveterate cigar smoker, for 38 years; she had a long history of heart problems.
Ambrose, Stephen E., 66, historian; lung cancer (October 13, 2002) Band of Brothers, The Good Fight, Nothing Like it in the World
Armstrong, Louis, 74, musician, heart attack (July 6, 1971) Armstrong, a smoker, advertised Camels.
Arnaz, Desi, actor, lung cancer (December 2, 1986) Lucy
& Desi plug Philip Morris Check out the Philip Morris
commercial at: www.tvparty.com/tv/ilovelucy1.ram
Astor, Mary, 81, actress; emphysema (September 24, 1987) The Maltese Falcon
Baldwin, James, 63, author, esophageal cancer.(November 30, 1987) Go Tell it on the Mountain; The Fire Next Time
Ball, Lucille, actress, aortic aneurism (Helen Gurley Brown claims cause of death was "smoking-induced lung cancer") I Love Lucy Lucy & Ricky Call for Philip Morris See the "I Love Lucy" entry at the Female Celebrity Smoking LIst
Bankhead, Tallulah, 65, actress; lung cancer or emphysema (December 12, 1968) The Blue Angel
Barger, Carl, President, Florida Marlins; aortic aneurysm (December 9, 1992)
Barker, George Granville, 78, English Poet; emphysema (October 31, 1992)
Basie, William "Count", 79 Band Leader; pancreatic cancer (1984) smoker; advertised camels
Becaud, Gilbert, 74 Singer; cancer (December 17, 2001) Et maintenant (What Now My Love?)
Bel Geddes, Barbara, 82, Actress; lung cancer (August 8, 2005) First "Maggie" in " Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" on Broadway; Miss Ellie Ewing, "Dallas"
Benson, Renaldo "Obie", 69, Singer; lung cancer (July 1, 2005) The lung cancer was discovered when he had a leg amputated several weeks before because of circulation problems The Four Tops "Baby I Need Your Loving,'' ''Reach Out (I'll be There),'' ''I Can't Help Myself,'' ''Standing in the Shadows of Love.'' Wrote "What's Goin' On?"
Benny, Jack, 80, comedian/violinist; pancreatic cancer (December 26, 1974)
Benaderet, Bea, 62, TV actress; emphysema/lung cancer (October 13, 1968) Beverly Hillbillies, Burns & Allen, Petticoat Junction, Betty Rubble's voice in The Flintstones
Bernstein, Leonard, 72, composer, conductor; heart attack due to lung failure (October 14, 1990)
Blake, Amanda, 60, actress; throat cancer complicated by a type of viral hepatitis brought on by AIDS, according to her physician, Lou Nishimura. (August 16, 1989) Miss Kitty on Gunsmoke; At 48, Blake, once a 2-pack a day smoker, had a malignant tumor removed from her tongue; she re-learned how to speak, toured for the American Cancer Society, and fought oral cancer until her death 12 years later. President Reagan presented her with the ACS's "Courage Award" in 1984. Dr. Nishimura contributed his information in a 1991 UPI item.
Blakey, Art, 71, jazz drummer and band leader; lung cancer (1990)
Blass, Bill,79, fashion designer; throat cancer (June 12, 2002)
Brand, Neville,71, actor; emphysema (1992)
Bogart, Humphrey, 57, actor; cancer of the esophagus (January 14, 1957)
Boone, Richard, 64, actor; throat cancer (January 10, 1981) Have Gun, Will Travel; The Kremlin Letter
Brand, Neville, 69, actor; decorated WWII soldier; emphysema (April 16, 1992) D.O.A., Stalag 17, That Darn Cat!
Brinegar, Paul, 77, actor; emphysema (March 27, 1995) Wishbone, Rawhide
Brynner, Yul, 65, actor; lung cancer (October 10, 1985) The King and I Diagnosed in 1983, Brynner made a memorable anti-smoking commercial. [DEAD LINK]
Buck, Frank, 66, writer/adventurer, lung cancer (1950) Bring 'Em Back Alive
Buckley, William F., Jr., 82, prominent conservative author (February 27, 2008) Had suffered from emphysema--which he ascribed to inhaling cigars--and diabetes. Considered the father of the modern Conservative movement, he was the Founder and Editor of "National Review." In a column published 3 months before his death, Buckley commented on the cause of his emphysema: Half a year ago my wife died, technically from an infection, but manifestly, at least in part, from a body weakened by 60 years of nonstop smoking. I stayed off the cigarettes but went to the idiocy of cigars inhaled, and suffer now from emphysema, which seems determined to outpace heart disease as a human killer. Stick me in a confessional and ask the question: Sir, if you had the authority, would you forbid smoking in America? You'd get a solemn and contrite, Yes.-- Buckley, "My Smoking Confession" NY Sun, Dec. 3, 2007.
Butler, John, 56, General Manager of the San Diego Chargers football team, lung cancer (April 11, 2003)
Caen, Herb; SF columnist; lung cancer (February 1, 1997)
Calhoun, Rory, 76, actor; emphysema (April 28, 1999) TV: The Texan, Capitol Calhoun's Chesterfield ad is PM Bates# 2023238532
Caldwell, Erskine, 83, author; lung cancer (April 11, 1987) Tobacco Road, God's Little Acre
Candy, John, 43, actor; heart attack (March 4, 1994) Second City TV; Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Cantineflas (Mario Moreno Reyes), 81, popular Mexican comedian; lung cancer (April 20, 1993)
Carson, Johnny, 79, talk show host; emphysema (January 23, 2005). Carson also had heart problems, including a bypass operation in 1999. The Tonight Show
Carr, Allen, 72, British-based, world-wide quit-smoking guru; lung cancer (November 29, 2006). Allen Carr's Easyway
Carver, Raymond, 50, author; lung cancer (August 2, 1988) What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, Fires: Essays, Poems, Stories
Caruso, Enrico, 48, opera singer; absesses from pleurisy of the lungs (August 2, 1921) Smoked 2 packs of Egyptian cigarettes a day.
Cassidy, Jack, 50, actor; died in a fire from smoking in bed (December 12, 1976) Father of Patrick, Shaun and David Cassidy
Cervone, Ed, 56, artist; lung cancer (2001)
Cipollone, Rose, 58, housewife; lung cancer (1984)
Clooney, Rosemary, 74, singer, actress; lung cancer (June 30, 2002) MOVIES: White Christmas SONGS: Come on-a My House
Cobb, Ty, 74, baseball player; cancer, diabetes, chronic heart disease (July 17, 1961)
Cole, Nat "King", 45, singer, first African-American TV show host; died after surgery for lung cancer (February 15, 1965) The Christmas Song, Unforgettable
Cooper, Wilhelmina Behmenburg, 40, model; lung cancer
Connors, Chuck, 71; actor; lung cancer (November 10, 1992) The Rifleman
Coward, Noel, 73, playwright, entertainer; heart attack (March 26, 1973
Cooper, Gary, 60, actor; lung cancer (May 13, 1961) High Noon, Sgt. York Advertised Chesterfields
Cooper, Wilhelmina Behmenburg, 40, modeling agency pioneer; throat cancer (1980)
Crawford, Victor,63, tobacco lobbyist-turned-tobacco-control-advocate; lung cancer (March 2, 1996) Coined the phrase, "Health Nazis" I used the oldest trick in the book -- when there's no way you can attack the message, attack the messenger. There was no way I could attack anything advocates said about health and addiction and win. It wasn't even an option. So I'd always say, `Well, the jury's still out on the health stuff, but that's not the real issue. The real issue is freedom of choice, freedom of choice, and these health Nazis want to take it away!'"
Crosby, Gary, 61, author, son of Bing Crosby; lung cancer (August 24, 1995) Going My Own Way (1983)
Davis, Bette, 81, stroke (1989)
Davis, Jr., Sammy, 64, entertainer; throat cancer (May 16, 1990)
Dederich, Charles E., 83, addiction counselor, heart and lung failure (March 4, 1997) Founder and head of Synanon, Dederich in 1971 decided not only to stop supplying his community of ex-heroin addicts cigarettes without charge but also to ban smoking on Synanon property. The next year is one of the most tumultuous in Synanon's history to that point. About 100 people left. At least one member told the New York Times that quitting tobacco was much harder than quitting heroin.
Desmond, Paul, 52, musician, composer, bon vivant; lung cancer (May 30, 1977) Alto saxophone; Take Five with Dave Brubeck quartet
Dewhurst, Colleen, 67, actress, lung cancer (1991)
Diamond, Selma, 64, actress; lung cancer (May 14, 1985) Night Court, My Favorite Year, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
Disney, Walt, 65, animator, producer; lung cancer (acute circulatory collapse following an operation to remove a tumor) (December 15, 1966)
Dorsey, Jimmy, 53, musician, bandleader; lung cancer (June 12, 1957) So Rare, Tangerine
Downey, Morton, Jr. , 67, talk show host, actor ("The Mouth"); lung cancer (March 11, 2001) The Morton Downey Jr. Show.
Duisenberg, Wim , 70, heart attack, July 31, 2005 Former European Central Bank chief who helped create the euro currency. Duisenberg "died a natural death, due to drowning, after a cardiac problem."
Eliot, T.S., 76; author, poet; emphysema (January 4, 1965) The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Hallow Men, Murder in the Cathedral
Faria, Mimi, 56; singer, activist; complications from lung cancer (July 18, 2001) Reflections in a Crystal Wind, Bread and Roses founder; sister of Joan Baez, wife of Richard Faria
Ellington, Duke, 75; composer/band leader; lung cancer/pneumonia (May 24, 1974) Sophisticated Lady, It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't Got that Swing
Fenneman, George, 77; announcer, actor; emphysema (May 19, 1997) Groucho Marx sidekick, You Bet Your Life
Finks, Jim, 65; football team president/manager; lung cancer (1993) Much-admired New Orleans Saints football team president and general manager. Credited with helping to bring about the return of the Chicago Cubs and New Orleans Saints. From Tobacco News, 6/10/93: There is no smoking anymore on the grounds of the New Orleans Saints' mini camp. Signs went up on orders of owner Tom Benson, after . . . Jim Finks was diagnosed with lung cancer April 30. "There's no smoking anywhere on the Saints property," Coach Jim Mora said. "And I mean anywhere."
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, 44, writer; heart attack (December 21, 1940) The Great Gatsby
Fleming, Ian, 56, author; heart attack (August 12, 1964) James Bond novels
Flood, Curt, 59, baseball player/free agent advocate; throat cancer (January, 1997)
Flynn, Errol, 50, actor; heart attack (October 14, 1959) Robin Hood, Captain Blood Sidelight: In his youth, Flynn ran a tobacco plantation in New Guinea
Fosse, Bob, 60, dancer/choreographer, smoked 4 packs a day; heart attack (1987)
Freud, Sigmund, 83, cancer of the jaw (1939)
Gable, Clark, 59, actor; heart attack (November 16, 1960) The Misfits
Gainsbourg, Serge, 63, poet, pop singer-songwriter, actor and director; heart attack (March 2, 1991) Je t'aime... moi non plus
Gargan, William, 73, actor; heart attack (February 17, 1979) 50s TV detective series, Martin Kane Gargan would hang out at Happy McMann's Tobacco shop, touting his sponsor's products. His career ended when he lost his larynx to cancer in 1960. He became the spokesman for the American Cancer Society, speaking out against smoking.
Gassman, Vittorio, 77, Actor, author; heart attack (June 29, 2000) Bitter Rice, Mambo, Scent of a Woman (1974) "Suffering chronically from emphysema, bronchitis, high blood pressure and depression, the cigar-smoking Gassman abandoned stage acting in February, telling his final audience ruefully: 'Death does not obsess me--it disgusts me.'"--LA Times, 7/1/00
Giamatti, Bart, 51, baseball commissioner; heart attack (1990)
Godfrey, Arthur, 80, radio/TV entertainer; emphysema
(diagnosed with lung cancer in 1959, then recovered after
surgery) (March 16, 1983) Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts
"Smoke 'em by the carton"; also advised people not to smoke,
but if they did, to smoke Chesterfields. For a classic
medical claim, see, roswell.tobaccodocuments.org/pages/godfrey.htm
Goizueta, Roberto, 65, Coca-Cola CEO, lung cancer (October 18, 1997)
Gordon, Dexter, 67, saxophonist, throat cancer (March 25, 1990)
Gotti, John, 61, Mafia Don, throat cancer (June 10, 2002) The once-powerful boss was 100lbs when he died, and hadn't eaten solid food in a year.
Grant, General Ulysses S., 63, throat cancer (July 23, 1885) 18th President of the US
Grable, Betty, 56, "pin-up" girl, actress; lung cancer (July 2, 1973) How to Marry a Millionaire
Gray, Les, 57, singer, heart attack. (February 21, 2004) The lead singer of 1970s chart topping band "Mud" had been battling against throat cancer, and had opted for chemotherapy over removal of his voice box.
Gzowski, Peter, 67, Radio host ("The Voice of Canada"); COPD/emphysema (January 24,, 2002) Morningside
Guardino, Harry, 69, actor; lung cancer (July 17, 1995)
Hamilton, Carrie, 38, writer, producer; lung cancer (January, 2002) Daughter of Carol Burnett
Hammett, Dashiell, 67, writer; lung cancer (January 10, 1961) The Maltese Flacon; The Thin Man
Hansberry, Lorraine, 34, playwright; lung cancer (1965) A Raisin in the Sun, To Be Young, Gifted, and Black
Harrison, George, 58, musician; lung cancer (November 29, 2001) The "Quiet Beatle." He had been battling various forms of the disease for at least three years: In 1998, he underwent radiation therapy for throat cancer, which he attributed to years of smoking.
Haynes, Lloyd, 52, TV actor; lung cancer (December 31, 1986) General Hospital, Mr. Dixon in Room 222
Hayward, Susan, 55, actor; lung cancer metastized to her brain (March 14, 1975) I'll Cry Tomorrow, I Want to Live!
Heckart, Eileen, 82, actress, cancer (December 31, 2001) Butterflies Are Fee, Bus Stop, Somebody Up There Likes Me
Hellman, Lillian, 79, author; lung cancer (June 30, 1984) The Little Foxes, The Children's Hour
Henderson, Joe, 64, jazz tenor saxophonist; heart failure following a long bout with emphysema. (June 30, 2001)
Hobbs, Elsbeary, singer; throat and lung cancer (May 31, 1996) Bass singer with The Drifters Under the Boardwalk, On Broadway, There Goes My Baby
Holliday, Judy, 43, actress; throat cancer (June 7, 1965) Born Yesterday
Humphrey, Hubert, Vice-President under Johnson, 66, bladder cancer (1978)
Huntley, Chet, actor, news commentator; lung cancer (1974)
Huston, John, 81, director; emphysema/pneumonia (1987)
Howard, Mo, 77, actor; lung cancer The "boss stooge" of The Three Stooges
Ives, Burl, 85, actor; oral cancer (April 14, 1995) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; The Big Country
James, Dennis, 79; announcer, actor, game show host; lung cancer (June 5, 1997) Voice of Old Gold Cigarettes when they danced died of lung cancer 30 years after quitting smoking. Had spurned lucrative tobacco contract after SG's report.
Jennings, Peter, 67, newscaster; lung cancer (August 7, 2005) Anchorman, ABC's World News Tonight
Jones, Lindley Armstrong ("Spike"), 53; comedic composer/band leader; emphysema (May 1, 1965) Smoked 5 packs a day
Jones, Etta, 72; singer; lung cancer (Oct. 16, 2001)
Karloff, Boris, 81, actor; heart and lung disease (emphysema) (February 2, 1969) Frankenstein; Targets
Kaufman, Andy, 35, lung cancer (1984)(Kaufman only smoked in-character, but played for years in smoky clubs.)
Keaton, Buster, 71, deadpan silent film actor; lung cancer (February 1, 1966) The General
Kendrick, Eddie, 52; singer; (1992) The Temptations Asked kids not to smoke.
Kieslowski, Krzystof, 54, film director; heart attack (March 13, 1996) Blue, White, Red Retired to a house in 1994: "There is a veranda and a chair. I'll have lots of books, lots of cigarettes, lots of coffee. Don't you sometimes dream of the same thing?"
King Edward VII of England, 69, pneumonia; he suffered for years from a series of heart attacks, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. (May 6, 1910) As the Prince of Wales he helped make smoking, and particularly cigar smoking, fashionable. He smoked twelve large cigars and twenty cigarettes a day. In 1876, he gave Benson & Hedges its first royal warrant. Edward VII became king on the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, at the age of 59. Legend has it that he said to his friends in Buckingham Palace upon his mother's death: "Gentlemen, you may smoke."
King Edward VIII of England, 77, throat cancer. May 28, 1972 Later titled as: Duke of Windsor when he abdicated the throne to marry Mrs. Wallis Warfield Simpson.
King George V of England, 70; he suffered from bronchitis and numerous lung problems; his death was thought to be from a viral respiratory infection. (January 20, 1936)
King George VI of England, 56; a lung cancer sufferer who had had part of his lung removed, he died of a massive heart attack. (February 6, 1952) Father of Queen Elizabeth II
Kleban, Edward, 48, songwriter/lyricist; "complications from cancer of the mouth" (December 29, 1987) Kleban won a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award for the lyrics of A Chorus Line Founded the Kleban Foundation,which awards grants to lyricists.
Knapp, Caroline, 42; writer; lung cancer(2002) Drinking: A Love Story; Appetites In "Drinking," she attends a stop-smoking session, but decides alcohol is her real problem; is puzzled when her dying mother askes her to give up smoking."Appetites" does not address smoking at all.
Knotts, Don 81,actor; lung cancer (February 24, 2006) "The Andy Griffith Show," "Three's Company," "The Incredible Mr. Limpet" (1964), "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" (1966)
Kovacs, Ernie, 43; TV personality; skull fracture from an automobile accident caused while he was trying to light his trademark cigar (January 11, 1962)
L'Amour, Louis, 80, author; lung cancer. (June 10, 1988) High Lonesome, Comstock Load, Hondo, Sackett
Landon, Michael, 54, actor, smoked 4 packs a day; cancer of the pancreas and liver (July 1, 1991) Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie; I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957)
Lerner, Alan Jay, 67, playwright, lyricist; lung cancer. (June 14, 1986) My Fair Lady, Brigadoon, An American In Paris, Gigi, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Camelot
London, Julie, 74, singer, actress; complications from stroke (October 18, 2000) Cry Me a River (1956), Emergency (70s TV series), "The Marlboro Song" (early 60s)
Marchand, Nancy, 71, actress; lung cancer (June 18, 2000) The Sopranos, Lou Grant
Maris, Roger, 51, baseball player; lung cancer [disputed; some say he died of lymphoma]. The home-run record holder appeared in Camel ads in the 60s
Martin, Dean, 78, singer; acute respiratory failure. (December 25, 1995) Ocean's Eleven
Marvin, Lee, 67, actor; heart attack. (August 29, 1987) Cat Ballou
Marx, Groucho, 86, actor/entertainer; lung cancer. (Aug. 19, 1977) (Disputed: cause of death may have been pneumonia. Groucho had been ailing since he had a heart attack and several strokes in 1971) A Day at the Races; You Bet Your Life
Matthau, Walter, 79, actor; heart attack. (June 30, 2000) The Fortune Cookie, The Odd Couple, Grumpy Old Men While making "The Fortune Cookie" in 1966, he suffered a serious heart attack. His doctor attributed it to smoking three packs a day and constant worry about gambling and told him to give up both. Matthau stopped smoking. In 1976, he underwent heart bypass surgery.
Maxwell, Marilyn, 49, actress/performer; "heart attack brought on by high blood pressure and a pulmonary ailment"--IMDB (March 20, 1972)
McLaren, Wayne, 51; model; lung cancer (Summer, 1992) "Marlboro Cowboy". At a Philip Morris shareholders meeting, he asked the company to limit their advertising.
McLean, David, 73; Former TV "Marlboro Man," actor/model; lung cancer (Oct. 12, 1995)
McLure, Doug, 56; TV actor; lung cancer (February 5, 1995) The Virginian
McQueen, Steve, actor; lung cancer McQueen Viceroy commercial
Meadows, Audrey, 71, actress; lung cancer (Feb. 3, 1996) The Honeymooners
Mercouri, Melina, 68, actress; lung cancer (March 6, 1994) Never on Sunday
Merrill, Gary, 74, actor; lung cancer (March 5, 1990) All About Eve, Dr. Gillespie on Young Dr. Kildaire Husband of Bette Davis
Millar, David, model; complications from emphysema. According to his sister, Millar was the first Marlboro Man.
Mitchum, Robert, 79, actor; emphysema, lung cancer (July 1, 1997) The Night of the Hunter, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison, Cape Fear, The Big Sleep, That Championship Season
Moore, Gary, 78, game show host; emphsema, November 28, 1993 I've Got a Secret, To Tell the Truth
Moorehead, Agnes, 73, actress; lung cancer (April 30, 1974) TV: Bewitched Movies: Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, Show Boat (1955)
Morton, Gary, 74, actor, stand-up comic, producer; lung cancer (March 30, 1999) "The Lucy Show" (1962-8); "Here's Lucy" (1968-74); "Life with Lucy" (1986)
Muller, Heiner, 66, playwright; throat cancer (Dec. 30, 1995) Revered German playwright, poet, director, translator
Murrow, Edward R., 57, newscaster; lung cancer. ( April 27, 1965) Host of The Camel News Caravan
Nixon, Pat, 81, First Lady of the US, 1969-74; multiple conditions. ( June 22, 1993) The wife of Richard M. Nixon suffered strokes in 1976 and 1982. Had mouth cancer, emphysema and lung cancer.
Nye, Carrie, 69, stage actress; lung cancer (July 14, 2006) Wife of Dick Cavett, who said, "she tried to quit a couple of times [but smoking] became part of her early persona; perhaps based on Tallulah Bankhead or Marlene Dietrich."
Oliver, Susan, 53, actress, author; lung cancer (May 10, 1990) Vina the slave girl in the first episode of Star Trek
Orbison, Roy, 52, singer, heart attack (December 6, 1988) Crying, Only the Lonely, Pretty Woman
Onassis, Jacquie, 64, First Lady 1961-63; non-hodgkins
lymphoma (May 19, 1994) Reputedly a 3-pack-a-day
chain-smoker (variously reported as Salem, Newport, L&M,
Pall Mall, Marlboro and Merit), who concealed the habit from
the public, and quit when she received the cancer diagnosis.
smokingsides.com/asfs/K/Kennedy.html
O'Neal, Patrick, 66, actor; lung cancer (August, 1994) The Kremlin Letter
Owens, Buck,, singer;
Owens, Jesse, 66, track star; lung cancer 1936 Gold Medal winner at the Berlin Olympics; first cigarette pitchman to target blacks (Lucky Strike)
Palladin, Jean-Louis, 55, chef; lung cancer (November 25, 2001)
Palmer, Robert, 54, British rock star; heart attack (September 26, 2003. Addicted to Love (1986)
Parks, Bert, 77, actor/singer; lung cancer (February 2, 1992)
Patchett, Jean, 75, fashion model; emphysema (January 22, 2002)
Patterson, Jennifer, 71, TV cook; lung cancer (August 10, 1999) Two Fat Ladies (UK)
Peppard, George, actor; "complications arising from the treatment of cancer"; Peppard had smoked 2 packs a day until 1993, when he had a cancerous tumor removed from his lung (May 8, 1995) Breakfast at Tiffany's, A-Team
Pleshette, Suzanne, 70, actor; lung cancer leading to respiratory failure (January 17, 2008) The Birds, Fate is the Hunter; 8 Simple Rules, Bob Newhart Show (TV)
Powell, Dick, 59, actor; lung cancer (1963)
Price, Vincent, 82, actor; lung cancer (October 26, 1993) The Tingler, The Fall of the House of Usher
Puccini, Giacomo, 65, opera composer; throat cancer (1924) La Boheme, Tosca, Madame Butterfly
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowden, 71, UK Royal Family; stroke/heart attack (February 9, 2002) During her life, she suffered migraines, laryngitis, bronchitis, hepatitis and pneumonia. In 1985, tissue taken from her left lung proved to be benign. This did not stop her smoking; nor did the fact that four monarchs - Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII and the Princess's own father, George VI - died of smoking-related illnesses. Within months of the biopsy operation she was smoking 30 cigarettes a day. She had apparently given up smoking when she suffered her first, mild stroke in 1998.
Ramsey, Anne, 59, actress; throat cancer (August 11, 1988) Throw Mama from the Train
Rand, Ayn, 78, author/philosopher; heart failure/lung cancer (March 6, 1982) The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged
Rawls, Lou, 72, singer; lung cancer (January 6, 2006)
Ray, Aldo, 64, actor; complications from throat cancer, pneumonia (March 27, 1991)
Reasoner, Harry, newscaster; lung cancer, pneumonia (August 6, 1991) 60 Minutes
Reese, Pee-Wee, 81, baseball player; lung cancer (August 14, 1999). Brooklyn Dodgers shortstop
Reeve, Dana, 44, actress, singer, author, motivational speaker, advocate; lung cancer (March 6, 2006). Many news reports noted that the nonsmoking widow and caregiver of actor Christopher Reeve had spent a lot of time performing in smoky nightclubs.
Reeves, Del,74, country singer; emphysema (January 1, 2007) The Girl on the Billboard
Remick, Lee, 55, actress; lung and liver cancer (July 2, 1991) A Face in the Crowd, The Long Hot Summer, Anatomy of a Murder
Reinach, Jacquelyn, 70, writer; lung cancer (September 30, 2000) Sweet Pickles (Children's book classic); Know the Facts: Keep Your Power A young person's anti-smoking program which won an Emmy in 1993
Reynolds, R.J. Sr., 67, founder of RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co., pancreatic cancer (1916)
Reynolds, R.J. Jr., 58, emphysema
Reynolds, R.J. III, 60, emphysema, (1994)
Richards, Ann, 73, Texas Governor, esophageal cancer (September 14, 2006)
Ripken, Cal Sr., 83, baseball coach, lung cancer(1994)
Rogers, Stan, 33, Canadian folksinger, airliner fire caused by smoking(1983) "Northwest Passage," "The Mary Ellen Carter." This incident was instrumental in the later ban on airplane smoking. See http://www.rambles.net/one_warm89.html
Ruff, Patsy, 56, one of the world's first successful double-lung transplants, kidney failure (October 21, 2000) After her 1987 transplant, Ruff worked for the American Lung Association, warning about smoking. . . the anti-rejection drugs Ruff took led eventually to kidney failure.
Rugova, Ibrahim, 61, writer, first President of Kosovo (2002-2023); lung cancer (January 21, 2006) Chain-smoking fighter for ethnic Albanians, and equal rights for Kosovo province with Serbia; opposed Yugoslavian President Miloscevic.
Ruth, Babe, 53, baseball player. Naso-pharyngeal cancer. (August 16, 1948)
Sartre, Jean-Paul, 74, philosopher (existentialism), author; After 2 heart attacks (1971, 1973), his health was never the same; his sight failed almost totally and his production diminished; In March of 1980, he was hospitalized for edema of the lungs, and died a few weeks later. (April 13, 1980) 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature No Exit, Nauseau, St. Genet
Sayre, Nora, 68, author; emphysema (August 8, 2001) "Sixties Going on Seventies" (1973), "Running Time: Films of the Cold War" (1982), "Previous Convictions: A Journey Through the 1950s" (1995), and "On the Wing: A Young American Abroad" (2001) "Known for her chain-smoking and irascible personality"
Schiavelli, Vincent, 57, actor (December 26, 2005 Popular droopy-eyed character actor. "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Ghost"
Schippers, Thomas, 47, conductor, musical director; lung cancer (December 16, 1977) Co-founderof the Spoleto arts Festival
Scott, George C., 71, actor; ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (September 22, 1999) Scott suffered several heart attacks over the years. He claimed he got his gravelly voice from "smoking too many cigarettes."
Patton, Dr. Strangelove, The Hustler, Anatomy of a Murder, The Hospital
Scotti, Vito, 78, actor; lung cancer (June 5, 1996) The Aristocats, The Godfather, Get Shorty
Serling, Rod, 51, writer/director; smoked 4 packs a day; heart disease. (June 28, 1975) The Twilight Zone (1959-64)
Seyrig, Delphine, 58, actress; lung disease (October 15, 1990)
Shaw, Robert, 51, actor; heart attack (August 28, 1978) Jaws, From Russia With Love, The Sting
Shirley, Anne, 75, actress; lung cancer (July 4, 1993) Anne of the Green Gables, Stella Dallas
Sinatra, Frank, 82, singer, heart attack (May 14, 1998) Sinatra was also suffering from bladder cancer, early Alzheimer's and the effects of a stroke.
Shamseddine, Ayatollah Mohammed Mehdi, 64, spiritual leader of Lebanon's Shiite Muslims and a staunch advocate of Christian-Muslim coexistence; lung cancer (January 10, 2001)
Shostakovich, Dmitri, 69, composer; lung cancer (August 9, 1975)
Smith, "Sonic" Fred, 45, rock musician; heart failure (November 4, 1994) Guitarist with MC5
Soo, Jack, 63, actor; cancer of the esophagus (January 11, 1979) Barney Miller
Stander, Lionel, 86, actor; lung cancer (November 30, 1994) Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Max in Hart to Hart
Stanwyck, Barbara, 82, actress; congestive heart failure (January 20, 1990) Stella Dallas, Double Indemnity
Stapleton, Maureen,, actress;
Stevens, Woody, 84, horse trainer (August 22, 1998) Trained winners in all three Triple Crown races, including five straight Belmont winners during the 1980s.
Sullivan, Ed, 72, entertainer; lung cancer (1974)
Taglioni, Fabio, 80, Ducati motorcycle engineer and designer; throat cancer (July 18, 2001)
Talman, William, actor; lung cancer (August 30, 1968) D.A. Hamilton Burger, Perry Mason TV Series When He came down with lung cancer, He was the first actor to do a TV commercial on the danger of smoking. (Internet Movie Database) He died before the commercial aired.
Tarbox, Barb, 42; former Canadian model became a tobacco control activist, lung cancer (May 18, 2003968) You are all so much above this. You're intelligent. You're energetic. You have the world before you in the palms of your hands. Any dream you have is possible. But if you walk the path I walked, this is the path you will walk. And I don't want any of you ever to walk this walk.
Taylor, Robert, 57, actor; lung cancer (June 8, 1969) Quo Vadis, Magnificent Obsession, Broadway Melody of 1938, Saddle the Wind
Thaw, John, 60, actor; throat cancer (February 21 2002) The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner, The Sweeney, Inspector Morse
Thomas, Ross, 69, author; lung cancer (December 19, 1995) Espionage author; wrote the screenplay for Bad Lieutenant, his Briarpatch won the Edgar Award for Best Mystery Novel (1985)
Thompson, Hank, 82, country singer; lung cancer (November 6, 2007) The Wild Side of Life
Thornbury, Will, 57, model; Lung Cancer (1992) Modeled for Camel TV ads
Tierney, Gene, 70, actress; emphysema (November 6, 1991) Laura, Leave Her to Heaven The squeakiness of her voice in her first film, "The Return of Frank James," impelled her to take up smoking cigarettes.
Tone, Franchot, 63, actor; lung cancer (September 18, 1968) Mutiny on the Bounty, Lives of a Bengal Lancer
Tracy, Spencer, 66, actor; lung congestion; heart attack (June 10, 1967) mCaptains Courageous (1937), Boys' Town (1938), San Francisco (1936), Father of the Bride (1950), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), Old Man and the Sea (1958), Inherit the Wind (1960), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
Tubb, Ernest, 70, singer; emphysema (September 6,1984) "The Texas Troubador"-- Waltz Across Texas, I'm Walking the Floor over You
Tucker, Forrest, 67, actor; lung cancer and emphysema (October 25, 1986) Sands of Iwo Jima, The Yearling, Gunsmoke
Tucker, Sophie, 78, entertainer; lung cancer (February 9, 1966)
Turner, Lana, actress; throat cancer (June, 1995) TV: Falcon Crest. Movies: Imitation of Life (1959), Madame X (1966), Peyton Place (1957), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Twain, Mark, 75, writer; "angina pectoris" (April 21, 1910) In his later years, he had reportedly decreased his cigar smoking from 20/day to 3 or 4. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Vander Pyl, Jean, actor; lung cancer (April 13, 1999)
Voice of Wilma Flintstone, The Flintstones www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O5pA1k0JBI
Video of Fred & Wilma's Winston ad "Everybody on the
Flintstones smoked and all of them ended up dying of
smoking-related diseases. . . That little cute laugh that
Betty and Wilma did with their mouths closed? They came up
with that because when they normally laughed, because they
were smokers, they coughed."-- Michael O'Meara, son of Jean
Vander Pyl. See Benaderet, Bea
Vaughan, Sarah, singer; lung cancer (1990) Broken-hearted Melody
Varney, Jim, 50, actor; lung cancer (February 10, 2000) "Ernest P. Worrell" Though hopelessly hooked on cigarettes, he wouldn't allow himself to be photographed smoking, for the sake of all the kids who loved Ernest. And, though he entertained them by clowning, sprawling, grinning and cutting up, the talented Mr. Varney had one last message for those kids: Don't smoke. --Lexington Herald-Leader 2/11/00
Walker, Nancy, 69, actress; lung cancer (March 25, 1992)
Wagoner, Porter, 80, singer; lung cancer (October 28, 2007) Satisfied Mind, Green, Green Grass of Home, Please Don't Stop Loving Me (Duet with Dolly Parton)
Wayne, John, 72, actor; After exposure to nuclear
radiation, cancer took a lung in 1963; had many battles with
heart disease and other cancers. (June 11, 1979) Stagecoach;
Red River; Fort Apache; Rio Grande; She Wore a Yellow
Ribbon; The Searchers and this Camel commercial: www.tvparty.com/g2c/waynecamel.ram
Wells, Mary, 49, singer; larynx cancer (1992) My Guy
Wheeler, Bert, 72, comedian; emphysema (January 18, 1968)
Wilcoxon, Henry, 79, actor; cancer and COPD (March, 1984) Cleopatra (1934), Crusades, Greatest Show on Earth, The Ten Commandments, That Hamilton Woman, Mrs. Miniver, Man in the Wilderness, Last of the Mohicans (1935), Unconquered, Caddy Shack
Wild, Jack, 53, actor; oral cancer (March 1, 2006) The Artful Dodger in Oliver! (1968); HR Pufnstuf.(TV)
Wilson, Bill, 76, founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, emphysema (1971)
Wilson, Carl, 51, musician (Beach Boys); complications from lung cancer (February 6, 1998)
Williams, Tex, country-western singer; lung cancer (October 13, 1985) Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette) (1947)
Wolfman Jack, 57, radio personality, actor; heart attack (July 1, 1995) American Graffitti
Woodbury, Joan, 74, actress; COPD, lung cancer (February, 1989) Anthony Adverse, Algiers, Hit the Deck, Latins From Manhattan, The Ten Commandments, Bride of Frankenstein. Other westerns with William Boyd (Hoppalong Cassidy), Tex Ritter, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry. Made over 70 "B" films: Boston Blackie, Charlie Chan, etc. She was the original Brenda Starr.
Yennimatas, George, Greek National Economy Minister, 55; complications from lung cancer (April 25, 1994)
Yennimatas was one of Greece's most beloved politicians. When he presented the 1994 budget to reporters in November, he announced a new tax on tobacco, saying the revenues would be earmarked for an anti-smoking campaign.
York, Dick, 63, actor; emphysema (1992)
Young, Faron, 64, country-western singer; self-inflicted gunshot wound. (Dec. 10, 1996). Young "had been depressed recently about emphysema and other health problems"--NY Times, 12/11/96. Goin' Steady; Sweet Dreams; Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young
Young, Coleman A., 79, Detroit, Michigan's longest-serving mayor. Emphysema. (November 29, 1997)
Zevon, Warren., 56, singer/songwriter. Mesothelioma (an
asbestos-related lung cancer; smoking greatly increases the
risk) (September 7, 2003) Werewolves of London
Source: www.tobacco.org/resources/misc/losses.html
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