Cigar Smoking in Comedies
For a dedicated cigar smoker, his cigars are a deadly serious issue. That is, of course, unless the cigar smoker is a comedian. For comedians, cigars aren’t just used in matters of luxury, they are also used as props, sometimes serving as a signature feature of a stand-up routine. To some, cigars are as essential as the microphone, helping entertainers to leave the audience in stitches…and ashes. We wish to pay homage to comics of yesterday and today who have regaled us with hilarious lines describing the outcome when a rabbi, a priest, and a cigar enter a bar together.
Groucho Marx: The best known cigar smoking comic (or even just cigar smoker) is probably Groucho Marx. His cigar was a constant fixture. He set the standard for cigar smoking aficionados. The current crop of funnymen copy him by just puffing on, or pretending to puff on, a cigar and growing their eyebrows out for two or three years.
George Burns: Preferring cigars over most things in life, George Burns was also rarely seen on stage without a cigar. Starting his vaudeville career using cigars as props, Burns eventually became synonymous with cigars; the two were inseparable. Upon his death at 100, he was buried in a suit, with three cigars in his jacket pocket.
Bill Cosby: While Bill Cosby didn’t smoke cigars in public or use cigars as props as frequently as other comedians, he was once an avid cigar smoker, a habit he has since given up. This was a hobby he began in order to copy Groucho Marx, one of his comedic idols. In an episode of “The New Bill Cosby Show,” Groucho Marx appeared on stage, looked at Cosby and said, “You smoke cigars I see. They’re a handy thing to have for a comedian – assuming, of course, you are a comedian.” And here we thought Bill Cosby only smoked pudding pops.
Milton Berle: Whether he was performing in front of a packed house at a Vegas hotel, or becoming television’s first major star, Milton Berle always maintained a magnetic charisma. During the golden age of TV, he became known as “Uncle Miltie” a nickname attributed to the endearment America felt towards him. Though he wasn’t a drinker, Berle was an avid cigar smoker and an avid gambler, spending days smoking cigars at the horse races.
Ernest Kovacs: Kovacs was a forerunner of today’s TV comedians, holding little back as he adlibbed and mugged for the camera. As series such as “Laugh-in” were modeled after his creative genius, a creative genius that led him to knock down the wall between audience and performer, Kovac was nothing if not innovative. While Kovacs was a spokesman for Dutch Masters cigars, off camera he only lit up Havana cigars. His on-air ads are considered to this day to be among the funniest ever made.
David Letterman: Following in the footprints of one of his mentors, David Letterman has become as synonymous with late night television as Johnny Carson. While he does not use cigars as an on-stage routine, he can often be seen smoking cigars between commercial breaks. He then appears back on stage with a face of guilt, looking like a cat that just ate a canary.
Comedians and cigars have always gone hand-in-hand. From silent pictures to current comedy the only bit of luxury made for comedians is cigars. That’s, of course, not to say only comedians should smoke cigars. That notion, naturally, deserves the biggest laugh of all.
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