The Curse of Babe! Who knew? My Dad smoked 3 packs of Chesterfields a day. Had his first heart attack at 45. Doc said, "Quit smoking!" He did and gained 30 pounds. He negotiated with the Doc for a pack a day for "weight control". Great deal. He didn't get to see 48. Can't blame The Babe though, Dad was a true blue Dodger fan right up until they abandoned their fans. Then he became a rabid (is there any other type) Mets fan. He had to curb his disdain for the Yankees as he had to take me to The Stadium annually to see Mickey and Yogi.
In today's context Babe's comments seem foolhardy. But when he actually made them EVERYBODY felt that way.
Ya think? I thought Page 2's Off Base researchers came across never-released Movietone newsreels on a regular basis. Maybe the reason the Babe's comments seem foolhardy in today's context was they were written that way :wink:
Terry, If you watched Dragnet you saw Chesterfield's. Don't you recall the jingle during the king size (100 millimeter) battles for Chesterfield's 101, "a silly millimeter longer". From Wikipedia At one time, Chesterfield cigarettes was one of the three most smoked brands of cigarettes in the United States. They are currently being produced by Philip Morris USA as a discount brand of cigarettes. The non-filtered version is known for being very strong. Chesterfield was the preferred brand of James Dean, who was known to be a heavy smoker, often taking in around 2 packs a day. Chesterfield was also the preferred brand of Humphrey Bogart( and contributed to his death from throat cancer at the age of 57), and Lucille Ball. A stolen carton of Chesterfields was featured in Jim Jarmusch's film Stranger Than Paradise. Chesterfield was featured as the sponsor on some of the Dragnet (drama) radio series. In the 1960's, print ads for Chesterfield featured color photographs of 4 smokers from various walks of life with the headline "Chesterfield People: They like a mild smoke, but they don't like filters." In the late 1960's, when other brands brought out extra-long 100 millimeter length cigarettes, Chesterfield unveiled its own version under the brand name 101. The name came from the fact that it was 101 millimeters in length, 1 millimeter longer than its competitors. That fact was the basis for its advertising slogan "a silly millimeter longer", which was used in TV commercials sung to the tune of the popular Ritchie Valens song La Bamba. A song named Chesterfield King by Jawbreaker is named after this brand. It remains a popular brand in Europe.
My dad smoked Chesterfields until he died at 79. He also drank Early Times straight and washed it down with beer. He always said that all beer tastes the same and I tend to agree...but then regular Chesterfield smokers/Early Times drinkers have industrial strength taste buds...
I think my first clue was the claim that the Babe invented the Pull my Finger Joke, I know my Uncle Larry invented that for sure! Terry