The Famous Cigarette

Howdy!

Some of you may not know that I am a smoker. I love to smoke cigarettes, cigars and most of all my beloved pipe (I am the only 20 year old I know who smokes one!). However, much to my dismay, there is a stigma attached to smoking and smokers. Namely, when someone enters the room smelling slightly of tobacco (mmm-mmmm!), people run for the hills crying “UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN!”.

Soooo in defense of smokers everywhere, I thought I’d post images of Golden Age stars enjoying a cigarette and try to bring some of the glamor back into our Diva Nicotina.

Apologies to D.D.C.I 😉

First on the list is Humphrey Bogart who is perhaps the patron Saint of cinematic smokers, consuming 3-4 packs of cigarettes a day. His female counterpart in cinematic smoking would have to be…

…Joan Crawford, a picture of elegance with her cigarette. Joan starred in Today We Live in 1933 with

…Gary Cooper. According to Elinor Glyn, Gary Cooper had “IT”. He also looks very dapper with his cigarette. Someone else who had “IT” was…

…Clara Bow. Clara was in fact the “IT” Girl. If there had been an “IT” Boy, it surely would have been…

…Rudolph Valentino! The original movie-star sex symbol! Another famous sex symbol smoker was…

…Cary Grant! But Cary didn’t just stop at cigarettes, oh no. He also loved to smoke a pipe! Cary was hassled by the British Foreign Office for not immediately enlisting in the British Army at the start of W.W.II., as was…

…Sir Laurence Olivier. Olly enjoyed a cigarette, as did his wife…

…Vivien Leigh! Doesn’t she look stylish with her long cigarette holder? Vivien is best remembered for her role of Scarlett O’Hara in the classic Gone With The Wind. However, the author of the novel, Margaret Mitchell, really wanted…

…Miriam Hopkins for the role. Miriam had a particularly bitter rivalry with…

…Bette Davis. Another person to have a rivalry with Bette was…

…Errol Flynn. As you can see, Errol is looking very suave with his pipe. Another person who enjoyed a pipe was…

…Clark Gable, who also smoked cigars and cigarettes. You can just picture Ol’ Gabe lounging around in his ranch, lighting up a cigarette before leaning over and lighting…

…his lovely wife, Carole Lombard‘s. Carole got her start in Mack Sennett comedies, as did…

…Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin was born in England, but came to America and made it BIG in comedy. Another person with a similar story was…

…Bob Hope. Hope was one of the last Great American icons of the Golden Age, along with…

…Jimmy Stewart. Jimmy starred in a remake of The Big Sleep. The star of the original was…

…Humphrey Bogart! And so we come full circle! I hope you have enjoyed my little trip down a cigarette-butt littered Memory Lane 🙂

AND HAPPY 100TH BABY JEAN!