Hollywood stars paid to smoke

Hollywood’s Golden Age stars were paid to promote smoking, a new study says. A-list actors such as Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy and John Wayne received huge amounts of money through their film studios, according to researchers at the University of California at San Francisco. A key documents uncovered by the researchers was a list of payments for a single year in the late 1930s detailing how much stars were paid by American Tobacco, the makers of Lucky Strike. Documents show movie stars who endorsed Lucky Strikes cigarettes in 1937 were paid $218,750, the equivalent of $3 million in today’s economy. In total, almost 200 stars took part in cigarette endorsements, even though it was already known that tobacco use could lead to health problems. James Cagney, one of the stars who didn’t sell out, was still affected, commenting in his autobiography about his dismay at the loss of co-star Ann Sheridan at 51 of cancer of the esophagus and liver. Other stars who died of smoking related diseases include Humphrey Bogart (throat cancer, age 57), Spencer Tracy (heart attack following lung congestion at 67), John Wayne (lung & stomach cancer at 72), Clark Gable (coronary thrombosis, 59), Gary Cooper (prostate cancer, 60) and Betty Grable (lung cancer, 57).

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Thanks to Erwin for providing me with the following information:

STARS PAID TO PROMOTE LUCKY STRIKE - 1937/8
Actor = US$ paid (2008 equivalent)
Gary Cooper = 10,000 (146,583)
Joan Crawford = 10,000 (146,583)
Henry Fonda = 3,000 (43,975)
Clark Gable = 10,000 (146,583)
Bob Hope = 2,500 (36,646)
Gertrude Lawrence = 1,750 (25,652)
Carole Lombard = 10,000 (146,583)
Myrna Loy = 10,000 (146,583)
Fred MacMurray = 6,000 (87,950)
Ray Milland = 2,000 (29,317)
George Raft = 3,000 (43,975)
Edward Robinson = 3,000 (43,975)
Barbara Stanwyck = 10,000 (146,583)
Gloria Swanson = 1,500 (21,988)
Robert Taylor = 10,000 (146,583)
Spencer Tracy = 10,000 (146,583)
Source: Tobacco Control 2008