February 19, 1987
A controversial,
anti-smoking ad aired for the first time on television. It featured Yul Brynner
who died shortly after of lung cancer.
In
January 1985, nine months before his death, the tour reached New York for a
farewell Broadway run. Aware he was dying, he gave an interview on Good Morning
America discussing
the dangers of smoking and expressing his desire to make an anti-smoking
commercial. The Broadway production of The King and I ran from
January 7 to June 30 of that year, with Mary Beth Peil as Anna. His last performance marked the
4625th time he had played the role of the King. Meanwhile, the American Cancer
Society and
he created a public service announcement using a clip from the Good
Morning America interview.
Brynner
died of lung cancer on October 10, 1985, in New York City. A few days
after his death, the recorded anti-cigarette public service announcement was
shown on all the major US television networks, and also in many other
countries. In it, he expressed his desire to make an anti-smoking commercial
after discovering how sick he was, and that his death was imminent. He then
looked directly into the camera for 30 seconds and said, "Now that I'm
gone, I tell you: Don't smoke. Whatever you do, just don't
smoke. If I could take back that smoking, we wouldn't be talking about any
cancer. I'm convinced of that."
February 20, 1972
Radio personality and newspaper columnist Walter
Winchell dies at the age of 74.
Winchell's
influential gossip and news show, Walter Winchell's Jergens Journal, ran
for 18 years.Winchell started as a
vaudeville performer, working with an array of future stars, including Eddie
Cantor and George Jessel. He began writing about Broadway in 1922 for the Vaudeville
News and in 1929 began writing a syndicated column for the New York
Daily Mirror, which ran for three decades. But dishing on socialites became
his claim to fame when he began his radio news show in 1930. His fast-paced
show was packed with short news and gossip items-his rapid-fire radio prattle
was clocked at 215 words a minute. Millions of people tuned into his witty and
extremely popular Sunday evening show, which he introduced with, "Good
evening, Mr. and Mrs. North and South America and all the ships at sea. Let's
go to press!"
A gossip columnist when
few others existed, Winchell ruined more than a few careers with reports that
some maintained were sensationalistic, reckless, and actually untrue. His show
popularized catchphrases like "blessed event" and "scram,"
and peers admired his penchant for finding fresh ways to report on Hollywood's
elite. Winchell starred as himself in several films, including Love and
Hisses in 1937 and Daisy Kenyon in 1947.
What
some called captivating reporting was labeled yellow journalism by others. His
career declined in the 1950s. Like so many other radio stars, Winchell's career
lost its sparkle when Americans' allegiance turned to television. Meanwhile, he
made an unpopular decision to back Senator Joseph McCarthy's "Red
Scare," publicly accusing a number of Hollywood stars of being communists.
In the 1960s, the New York Daily Mirror closed and his column ended. One
of his last major jobs was narrating "The Untouchables," a popular
television drama series, from 1959 to 1963. When he died penniless in 1972, it
was reported that just one person-his daughter-showed up at his funeral.
February 19, 1987
A controversial,
anti-smoking ad aired for the first time on television. It featured Yul Brynner
who died shortly after of lung cancer.
Brynner
died of lung cancer on October 10, 1985, in New York City. A few days
after his death, the recorded anti-cigarette public service announcement was
shown on all the major US television networks, and also in many other
countries. In it, he expressed his desire to make an anti-smoking commercial
after discovering how sick he was, and that his death was imminent. He then
looked directly into the camera for 30 seconds and said, "Now that I'm
gone, I tell you: Don't smoke. Whatever you do, just don't
smoke. If I could take back that smoking, we wouldn't be talking about any
cancer. I'm convinced of that."
February 20, 1972
Radio personality and newspaper columnist Walter Winchell dies at the age of 74.
Winchell started as a
vaudeville performer, working with an array of future stars, including Eddie
Cantor and George Jessel. He began writing about Broadway in 1922 for the Vaudeville
News and in 1929 began writing a syndicated column for the New York
Daily Mirror, which ran for three decades. But dishing on socialites became
his claim to fame when he began his radio news show in 1930. His fast-paced
show was packed with short news and gossip items-his rapid-fire radio prattle
was clocked at 215 words a minute. Millions of people tuned into his witty and
extremely popular Sunday evening show, which he introduced with, "Good
evening, Mr. and Mrs. North and South America and all the ships at sea. Let's
go to press!"
A gossip columnist when
few others existed, Winchell ruined more than a few careers with reports that
some maintained were sensationalistic, reckless, and actually untrue. His show
popularized catchphrases like "blessed event" and "scram,"
and peers admired his penchant for finding fresh ways to report on Hollywood's
elite. Winchell starred as himself in several films, including Love and
Hisses in 1937 and Daisy Kenyon in 1947.
What some called captivating reporting was labeled yellow journalism by others. His career declined in the 1950s. Like so many other radio stars, Winchell's career lost its sparkle when Americans' allegiance turned to television. Meanwhile, he made an unpopular decision to back Senator Joseph McCarthy's "Red Scare," publicly accusing a number of Hollywood stars of being communists. In the 1960s, the New York Daily Mirror closed and his column ended. One of his last major jobs was narrating "The Untouchables," a popular television drama series, from 1959 to 1963. When he died penniless in 1972, it was reported that just one person-his daughter-showed up at his funeral.
Stay Tuned
Tony Figueroa
Stay Tuned
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