William Talman Anti-Smoking Ad 1968

[texasghost]

There were quite a few actors coming out to fight smoking during that time like Yul Brynner and John Wayne.

It was when these ads that started congress to lobby to create the ban of smoking ads on TV and radio.

[paganbaby89]

I saw this PSA when it came out and never forgot it. A loss of a fine actor, and a heartbreaking loss to a family.

[stefonamus]

After 40 years, Talman's message still strikes home.

[aitraining]

@stefonamus  It really does. Not preachy either. Just straight fron the heart.

[143AC]

Dear Soylentteal,

Sadly,my mom,dad and grandpa didn't listen to Bill Talman's advice about smoking in this PSA"So,take some advice from someone..who's been smoking and losing for years..If you don't smoke don't start..if you do smoke quit! Don't be a loser!".

[soylentteal]

@143AC, it was easier for me, because my parents never smoked. Check out Yul Brynner's message, too. It's heartbreaking as well, in its own way.

[tripjet999]

The tobacco drug is a weapon of mass destruction which KILLS 5,000,000 addicts and hundreds of thousands of INNOCENT people (who breathed toxic tobacco smoke) around the world EVERY YEAR.

BAN THE TOBACCO DRUG, NOW!

[jobedied]

It's interesting people are dropping today who never died before. Smoking is making it more prevalent.

[Aeolis7]

Mr. Talman was a great actor. He was a joy to watch all those years on Perry Mason. It's a shame his life had to end so soon. What a powerful message.

I am glad I don't smoke.

[glasscitadel12]

i didn't know he died of cancer back then. another of our tv legends. i keep learning so much, just watching you tube.

[marythebabynurse]

I remember watching this on TV and decided right then and there to never start smoking.

[Fruth37]

Cancer really took it out of Mr. Talman. He looks like he's in his 70's and he was only 53 when he died.

[TheSketchySketch]

Smoking is delightful :)

[perogie34]

@TheSketchySketch I bet cancer is too. :)

[remuswolfrocket]

My Mom died from smoking.

[markleerook]

Smoking also killed Ms. Landers(actress Sue Randall) the teacher on Leave It To Beaver. Apparently and sadly, she didn't heed the warning. Very pretty and so busy helping others she forgot about herself.

[Dylanramsay91]

Fuck I need a cigarette

[ryoushii]

I remember that commercial when it aired.

[Juliaflo]

@ryoushii So do I,

Don't figure out my age, LOL.

Happy New Year.

[JSG1951]

Me too, very sad

[catfan]

@ryoushii I do too!! I was nine at the time. He may have lost as Hamilton Burger and in real life to cancer, but he did so much good because of this PSA. RIP and God Bless, Mr. Talman!

[BuddyNovinski]

@catfan People should realize that the surgeon general did not declare that cigarette smoking is dangerous to health until the beginning of 1964. Cigarette commercials ran on television until the end of 1970.

Raymond Burr also smoked occasionally (and the Perry Mason in the books certainly did in the setting of the 1930's to the 1960's) in the series. However, cancer did not claim him until 1993. Now is that as we are living longer, we're getting old enough for dementia and Alzheimer's!

[catfan]

@BuddyNovinski Raymond Burr, incidentally, died from liver cancer. Thank you for bringing up the points about cigarette commercials!

[resmith66]

Bill Talman was a great actor-the best picture he ever made was The Hitch-Hiker which you can watch full-length on YouTube-He was absolutely terrifying as a cold-blooded killer. More importantly he was a very brave man to have done this PSA-he had to have known his days were numbered and probably wanted to save others from the same terrible fate.

[MissGreenAgain]

It's really sad when you see how little Bill's youngest kids were when he died. :(

[Starsky5000]

I'm proud of you Duke for quitting. I never smoked in my life and i never ever will.

[tripjet999]

And ban smoking EVERYWHERE, indoors and out. Currently, 65,000 INNOCENT Americans die each year because they were exposed to toxic tobacco smoke, the mother of all chemical weapons!

[MissGreenAgain]

I'm from Canada, and when I was in New York, I tried to cough away so much smoke from the people smoking right outside the buildings. Here, it's illegal to do that so close.

[samsam2021]

if you genuinely want to stop smoking i fully recommend visiting trendycig . co . uk and use the half price code - HPT92009

[soylentteal]

Thanks to both Bill Talman and Yul Brynner for their brutally honest PSAs. No telling how many were saved by them.

[TroyOi]

@soylentteal You can count me among those whom William Talman can claim at least partial credit for saving. I was 13 when his ad came out, and it has stuck with me to this day. It was a powerful message, perhaps his greatest contribution to humanity, and his family should be eternally proud of what he did. I hope it provided a measure of comfort to him as he slipped his earthly bonds. My deepest gratitude, Mr. Talman!

[GaryCraig965]

The bottom line is, people who smoke are either weak or dumb. If you can stop and don't, YOU'RE DUMB. If you want to stop and can't---WEAK. With every puff, you're killing your body. Why not just drink DRANO it's quicker.

[Lateboomer059]

All these years later, I remember seeing this ad on TV, I was 9 at the time. It affected me profoundly. Many members of my family have died from cancer, the closest to me being my dear mother, who smoked 60 years and died of lung cancer weighing only 66 pounds.

Thank you for posting this.

[Starsky5000]

I'm So Sorry for all the people you lost, especially your mom. Smoking is a terrible thing.

[MissGreenAgain]

My great-aunt smoked for over thirty years and had to get treatment for cancer. Thankfully, she's recovered and can't even stand the smell of smoke anymore.

[headley62]

If smoking is terrible, how would you define abortion?

[jaytf123]

Start smoking then. Are you from the tobacco lobby?

[ChasingSatanAway]

Smoking is late term abortion.

[143AC]

The last words.."Or You'll lose your family"..Mr.Talman

didn't say those words..I did..but..he could have..because

sadly,his family lost him and I lost my mom 32 years

ago.

[KemoSTL]

hahahahaha

[143AC]

So..I say to all of you..who are even contemplating the need

to smoke a cigarette...I'll say this"I've loss my mother to

smoking and losing your family is to precious a commondity

..As Mr.Talman said If you don't smoke don't start..If you

smoke quit! ..Or you'll your family!"

[143AC]

Sadly,19 years later..my mother died of spine and lung

cancer.(The cancer spread from her backbone to her lung

at a fast rate..due to the years that she smoked those

damn Salems).

[paulmello1]

I remember seeing this ad when I was 13....It was powerful then....it is just as powerful now. This is the best antismoking ad that I have EVER seen. Mr Tallman had a lot of guts to make this ad. Thank you for sharing.

[larchmontmark]

Me too (I was a little older, but yeah) -- and very well said.

I remember how striking this ad was at the time -- and it still is.

[lambo434]

this is my grandfather and susan is my mother

[JubalCalif]

Wow....this brings back a LOT of memories! I recall seeing this clip in a movie theater when i was a kid in the late 60's. The late great Mr Talman was one of my all-time favorite character actors. How sad that he left us too soon. And I think it was brave of him to make this announcement. A truly fine man. Thanks for sharing it with us! :)

[ftsjr]

I remember when this ad first appeared. Actually, shortly before I saw it, I had read of William Talman's death. Even at the age of 11, I was (and still am) a big Perry Mason fan.

[MerleOberon]

We forget how powerful anti-smoking spots were then, when cigarettes were still advertised...maybe time to bring them back?

[fatcatsathat]

To my of thinking, the best way to quit smoking is to not get started,

[ltgillis65]

In the opening, it said that Talman's wife Peggy had terminal lung cancer in 2001, when did she pass away?

[lambo434]

she died in 2003

[ltgillis65]

Thank you,

[jonbcaliman]

Notice they show Barbie's rack but NOT High School Debbie's! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!

[bradley825]

I lost two of my aunts to smoking, and my father ended up in the hospital for smoking. He started back when he was 13.

[procommenter]

The cancer industry triumphantly impoverishes the terminal patient physically, morally & financially. Cancer doesn't exist in the wilderness amongst animals. They consume pits, seeds, grasses and the rumens of their prey that are rich in Amygdalin. Amygdalin is the control, preventive & cure for cancer. Dr. John Beard discovered 100 yrs. ago that trophoblast cells & cancer cells are one-and-the-same. See: "A World Without Cancer" on this venue.

[maydom04]

@procommenter Fascinating, but i thought cats, dogs CAN get cancer ?!

[ricvonzipper]

The way never to start smoking is the way I did it. I smoked a pack and a half of Terryton's in one sitting when I was an exceptionally stupid 15 year old. I was so sick from that, I never wanted to see another cigarette and to be around them causes an extremely adverse reaction. BTW...Perry Mason, the theme, the actors, the stories....none better in television history.

[143AC]

Dear Watersmith, Mr.Talman almost got the role of"TV's Perry Mason"?

But? Mr.Burr wanted the role of"Perry"so badly..that

he stayed in a hotel room starved himself and did

the audition..to the point..Where? "PM's"creator Mr.Gardner Said"That's PM!".

[Watersmith53]

This was a watershed announcement that helped turn the tide on a nation's attitude toward smoking. By the way, I've heard that Talman actually wanted to audition for the role of Perry Mason. But he was excellent as Burger. Though the shows were before my time, I still enjoy them on DVD.

[LittleLordLoftin]

@Watersmith53 - I read in a Perry Mason TV Companion Book that Raymond Burr tried out for the Hamilton Burger part but Perry Mason's creator saw Burr and wanted him for the PM role. Either way it makes an interesting story.

[tandmark]

I was still in junior high school when this spot first aired. It's as intense to watch today as it was back then.

[aitraining]

This was a very brave thing for an actor to do back then. Outing smoking like this was not done very often back then.

[55555BlueSky]

i remember seeing this as a kid and haven't seen it in all these years... guess it made an impact. never smoked.

[lovedefeatsus]

Jack Cassidy also died from smoking in a different way:

He died when his couch caught fire after falling asleep with a lit cigarette.

[greenapplecanada]

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[floundermania]

boy u can see in his face that the morphine he was on to do this commercial wasn't completely working.

[Wrkoutguy08]

I was just out of high school when I first smoked weed. I had some wild college days, but gave up all smoking & drinking when I was 19. Now I'm 29, and haven't gone back, but my younger brother is 28, and has been smoking for probably 12 years. Good luck to him.

[teachyourkid]

In 1969, my father died of smoking at the age of 37. My mom raised five children under 13 years old--the baby was 4 at the time. Dad has been gone 39 years. What would it had been like for all of us had he not smoked?

[AllRequired]

What about that ad with the Marlboro man hooked up to all those tubes? How indpendent can you really be, it asked.

[yhshvh10]

Thank You for Posting. after 20 years enslaved by the 'evil weed' tobacco, I stoped smoking Last May and I feel GREAT!

[MisterShazam]

Good for you , man . Who needs it?

[rll1954]

Smoked for 10 years but quit sept. 27, 1981. Do I sometimes want one? Yes. But will not do it!

[aitraining]

I quit January 5th (7 months ago) and after 20 years also. I never thought I could do it. Now I can't imagine why I did in the first place.

[02chevyguy]

Airtraining...CONGRATULATIONS! Just remember.."one day at a time".

[aitraining]

Thank You!

[143AC]

My parents have been dead for years. Yet..You're Right! Nicotiene is addictive and once you get hooked

on that junk..you can't stop. Thank God I did listen to people like Mr.Talman

and I never smoked!

[143AC]

My God! Why didn't my parents listen to Mr.Talman and

Mr.Brenner and stop smoking those damn Cigerettes?!

[erinandcompany]

You have no idea how powerful addiction is. The desparation is like trying to go without food. Nicotiene is a powerfully addictive drug. I am so sorry about your parents. I just prayed for you. I really hope someday kids will finally get it, and they won't even try one anymore. That's where it starts, the first cigarette you try. After that, the ones you justify. Soon, you're addicted, and addiction is horrible.

[143AC]

Sadly..this is Mr.Talman's last tv appearance.

He did this before Yul Brenner did such a TV PSA

and he lost to lung cancer too!

[bloodandsnatters]

no truer words

[sirlordwhitman]

So when was the shift of Smoking is great for you to smoking kills you in the 60s? Early in the decade, there was all kinds of Pro-smoking ads on tv.

[chiquicolon]

For those of us that are beyond 40 years and never smoked before, should help those that do, especially those teens, who think that smoking makes the look more mature. Smoking causes DEATHS, BAD BREATH, changes the color of teeth, it may even cause death by fires.

[ghb61]

I remember seeing this ad when I was about 7 years old--it really made an impression on me, to this day (although I think I probably knew even when I was 7 that I'd never smoke).

Very powerful ad.

[Enz88]

lol i think that its better just not to smoke.. atleast it wont kill you but smokeing can.. dunno but only thing that i have came up with is that you might open a chat with some1 in bar and there are also better ways to open it so why smoke lol..

[headley62]

My uncle smoked and died in 1971 at the age of 44. My great grandfather on the same side of the family smoked all his life too and died at the age of 96 in 1975. I don't smoke, but this aniti-smoking campaign is getting a little boring.

The fact is, the medical industry doesn't want to find a cure for cancer. It is making too much money off of the publics misery. Sad, but true.

[prochoicechuckles85]

I agree headley there is too much money to be made from cancer. In fact the cancer industry is just as bad as the tobacco companies if not worse- at least the latter dont lie about wanting to save lives.

Big Pharma has blocked a cure for cancer for years!!

[Okileen]

Bill Talman, a great man and actor who realized too late the toll smoking ultimately takes. Hope he saved and keeps saving people from this deadly addiction through this ad, unseen for years but now available on YouTube.

[slowdive23]

WHat an ad! See my posting with Bill Talman in a remarkable performance (two years before passing) here at you tube. Does this mean his wife died of second hand smoke and is the reason she was diagnosed in 2001? Or did she smoke too?

[birdypeel]

Something's wrong with the video--It stops at the :14/:15 mark and a black screen with very quick flashes of the next video blurbs. Is this a temporary problem? Please fix it, if you can, because I would really appreciate the chance to see this. Thank you!

[carlsperr]

They must have fixed it as it plays fine for me.

[dogmo1001]

People -- even celebs -- just didn't talk about cancer much in public back then. A lot of people thought it was distasteful and shouldn't be spoken of in public. There was a lot of criticsim of the Surgeon General's report on smoking... not necessarily that it wasn't true -- just that the government shouldn't be talking about it.

I remember when I saw this back then that I thought it was a brave and valuable thing to do.

[AllRequired]

Those anti-smoking ads were the best thing to happen to television. The younger a kid is when he hears it, the better his chances. I know; I was three when I saw the Johnny Smoke ad and it turned me off the stuff on the spot.

[us71]

There's also another anti-smoking video that Yul Brynner did.

[lolSnailDied]

Face it to all smokers you are just losers you try to act So cool Hey guys i smoke hey guys the reason i smoke cuz it really feels good! What are you talking about feeling good? getting adictid to it is stupid what your basicly saying is Cool my friend is smoking now let me try! next 5 years Why did i have to smoke i dont belive it i could of changed it.. then another 5 years later (depends) your dead and then you suffer in well i dont wanna say it

[mackidz]

Hey LOLSnailedied.  What a riot...YOU are a moroon

[SergeStiles]

Rest in peace, Talman!

I am a fan of his and Raymond Burr's... I watch Perry Mason all the time now, I'm so glad they still air it on TV...

As sad as this video is (because he did in fact lost his life), thanks for sharing! I wish more people would listen to his message. Well, they don't air it now, but people should listen to the ones now.

My grandfather just recently died of lung cancer.

[michaeledwardmorris]

Seeing this reminds me of seeing Sammy Davis, Jr. in his last year as he was dying of throat cancer after years of smoking. Or seeing Humphrey Bogart spoof the Lucky Strike commercials on Jack Benny's program in 1954 knowing he would die from smoking-related cancer less than 3 years later. A powerful message from Mr. Talman (BTW, this PSA ran on LA television for about 2 years following his death).