Well-known cigar smokers through the centuries

Colloquially known in French as a « barreau de chaise », a chair rung, the cigar has been taken up in many quarters over the centuries. Across the world, a number of public figures, men and women alike, have been pictured with one. Here is a brief overview of the best-known cigar smokers on the planet.

The cigar and public figures

Who could leave out Churchill and his well-stocked humidor, or Fidel Castro, Pierre Lellouche, Bill Clinton, François Lamy and Jérôme Cahuzac? These political figures were all widely known to smoke cigars. Sigmund Freud, the psychoanalyst and neurologist, also smoked while he was thinking. Among actors, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Johnny Depp, Danny Huston, Robert De Niro and Tom Selleck have all been photographed with a habano. A number of singers smoked cigars too, among them Elvis Presley, Jay Z, Jacques Dutronc and the saxophonist and composer John Coltrane. The director Orson Welles had a method of his own: he smoked only the foot and a small part of the body before throwing the rest away.

Well-known women feature in the list as well. Vanessa Paradis has been associated with cigars, as have Christine Ockrent, Whoopi Goldberg, Mylène Farmer, Romy Schneider, Demi Moore, Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez and Madonna.

A few anecdotes about public figures and cigars

In 1962, J.F.K. gave orders for a good thousand small Upmann coronas to be brought to him as a matter of urgency. A regular smoker of habanos, he wanted a personal stock before signing the embargo on Cuba. The next day his press attaché brought him the 1,000 cigars requested, and the 35th President of the United States signed the decree banning all imports of Cuban products into American territory.

Bill Cosby is often cited among the public figures associated with the cigar in the United States. He was said never to go out without one in his pocket. Ron Perlman, the actor from Sons of Anarchy, has for his part said he intends to create his own label. Lastly, one sportsman took to cigars in 1991: after winning the championship, he smoked a Hoyo de Monterrey Double Corona before every game.

Image credits – Cigar Aficionado