While the likes of Clint Eastwood and Arnold Schwarzenegger have been spotted smoking cigars on screen, one famous face was known for smoking stogies behind the camera instead.
Known as the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock directed over 50 feature films and is established as one of the best and most influential filmmakers in history. As well as making films, Hitchcock loved a good smoke, and smoked cigars for all of his adult life.
Early Life
Born
in Essex in 1899, Hitchcock was the youngest of three children and grew up in
the flat above his father’s greengrocer shop.
Hitchcock
only started creative writing after the war, when he worked for The Henley
Telegraph as an editor. From there, he started work in the advertising
department, where he wrote and drew graphics for adverts.
Introduction to Filmmaking
A
fan of the cinema, Hitchcock heard that Paramount Pictures were opening a new
studio in London, and he sent drawings and title cards for a film they were
producing. Impressed by his work, Paramount hired Hitchcock, and he began work
designing title cards for films.
In
1922, after three years of producing title cards, Paramount closed their London
studio, and Hitchcock began work as an assistant director at Gainsborough
Pictures. Here he worked on a number of films before directing The Pleasure
Garden in 1925.
Hitchcock
first gained commercial success with a film of his own in 1927, with the
release of his thriller The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog. His 1929 film,
Blackmail, became the first successful talkie film in Europe. He continued to
have great success as a director throughout the 1920s and 30s, with his
commercially and critically acclaimed films catching the eye of Hollywood
executives.
Moving
to Hollywood in 1939, Hitchcock began directing films with producer David O.
Selznick. Together they made a number of films, including Rebecca (1940) which
won Best Picture at the 13th Academy Awards.
While
returning to the UK to work during the war, Hitchcock remained based in
Hollywood writing and directing films for the rest of his life.
Hitchcock
reached the peak of his directorial greatness during the 1950s and 60s, when he
released films such as Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), To Catch a
Thief (1955), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960) and The
Birds (1963). These films all established Hitchcock within the thriller genre,
leading to him being deemed the Master of Suspense.
Hitchcock’s
style was revolutionary, and at the time, unconventional. He had a distinctive
style, now known as the ‘Hitchcockian style’, that has inspired many directors.
Throughout his career, Hitchcock directed 53 films and was nominated for 46
Academy Awards – winning six.
Hitchcock
was often spotted with a cigar in hand, with a bowler hat and cigar becoming
something of a trademark look for the director. His smoke of choice was Montecristo cigars, and he is said to have been loyal to
this brand.
During
the Second World War, Hitchcock sent Montecristo cigars from Hollywood to his
friends in the UK, as they were not available in England at that time.
Take
a look at some of the other cigar smoking icons we’ve covered in this series,
including Jack Nicholson, Clint Eastwood and JFK.
Cigar Smoking Icons: Fidel Castro
8 January 2020 by Ellie
One of the most
iconic cigar-smoking figures of the 20th century, Fidel Castro was
rarely seen without a cigar. A controversial figure, Castro was a communist
revolutionary who governed Cuba for almost 50 years. Not only was this
political figure a fan of cigars, but he was also integral to the way the Cuban
tobacco industry works. We take a look at this legendary cigar smoker’s life,
his relationship with cigars, and the impact he has had on the industry.
Early Life
Castro was born in
Cuba in 1926. The son of a Spanish immigrant who had become prosperous as a
sugarcane farmer in Cuba, and one of seven children, Castro spent his childhood
living with tutors and in Roman Catholic Boarding Schools. In 1945, Castro
began a law degree at the University of Havana, where he became involved in
student activism.
Political Beginnings
After taking part in
a number of protests and campaigns against Latin American governments and
leaders, Castro joined the socialist group the Party of the Cuban People in
1947. Now known as a prominent figure in protests and public speeches, Castro’s
politics became increasingly left, heavily influenced by Marxism and the
writings of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin.
After graduating as
a Doctor of Law in 1950, Castro joined the Cuban People’s Party and became
their candidate for a seat in the House of Representatives. However, before the
elections could take place, the former Cuban president, General Batista,
overthrew the government and began a dictatorship.
Cuban Revolution
Batista’s political
actions went against everything Castro had been fighting for, so he formed a
group of revolutionaries, with the intention of sparking uprisings. However,
his first attempt, the Moncada Barracks attack of 1953 backfired, with many of
his men executed, and Castro imprisoned. During his two years in prison, Castro
had spent his time reading Marxist works and corresponding with his supporters.
After his release in
1955, Fidel and his brother Raul fled to Mexico, where they met Argentine
revolutionary Che Guevara. In 1956, Castro and 81 armed revolutionaries began
the journey back to Cuba onboard an old yacht, which ran aground, forcing them
to flee inland. Only 19 revels made it to their destination, but despite this,
were able to raid army posts for weaponry and gain local recruits. Using
guerrilla warfare tactics and a propaganda campaign, Castro led his forces to
win several victories against Batista’s government. With public and US support
ending, Batista fled the country on January 1st, 1959 and Castro
became Prime Minister of Cuba.
Premiership and Presidency
After coming to
power, Castro began to pursue radical policy reforms, nationalising industries
and instituting land reforms to redistribute wealth. Following a trade
agreement with the Soviet Union in 1960, the US became distrustful, severed
economic ties with a trade embargo and unsuccessfully tried to overthrow
Castro’s government.
Castro created a
one-party government to control all aspects of Cuba’s politics, economy and
culture. Any opposition was suppressed, and many upper- and middle-class Cuban
residents immigrated to the US. However, under Castro’s leadership, all Cuban
citizens had equal and free access to health services and education, as well as
having guaranteed employment. In 1976, Castro became President of Cuba as part
of a newly created National Assembly. Cuba was reliant on economic support from
the Soviet Union, so when the Union collapsed in 1991, Cuba was left in
economic decline, and social unrest began.
In 2006, following
some health issues, Fidel Castro provisionally passed control to his brother
Raul, who officially took over as President in 2008. Castro passed away on 25th
November 2016, at the age of 90.
Fidel Castro and Cigars
Castro first started
smoking cigars at the age of 15, when his father introduced him to the habit.
Until the 1980s, Castro was almost always photographed with a cigar in hand,
making it a symbol of sorts for him. Under Castro’s leadership, the Cuban
tobacco industry was overhauled and nationalised, turned into a state company
called Cubatabaco in 1962. Cigars are one of Cuba’s most important exports, and
Castro certainly agreed. The cigar industry is one of the main sources of revenue
for Cuba, and now distributes and exports cigars worldwide under Habanos S.A.
Due to Castro’s controversial politics, there were many attempts to assassinate him by the US. In fact, Castro believed that there were over 600 attempts made on his life. Some of these attempts even involved cigars, due to the fact that he was a renowned cigar smoker. He was reportedly given cigars poisoned with botulinum toxin, as well as a cigar that would have exploded when lit!
Cohiba was Castro’s favourite brand of cigar, claiming that they provide the perfect smoking experience. Cohiba was established in 1966 as a limited production brand exclusive to Fidel Castro. Castro would give Cohiba cigars as diplomatic gifts, and they were not commercially available to the public until 1982. In 1993, a box of 50 Cohiba Lanceros signed by Castro sold for £12,000 at a charity dinner.
Castro stopped
smoking at the age of 59, due to a general health issue in Cuba against
smoking. Wanting to be an example to the country, Castro quit smoking and was
able to stay smoke-free, despite 44 years of enjoying cigars.
Image Credit: Ninian Reid under Creative Commons 2.0
Cigar Smoking Icons: Jack Nicholson
22 November 2019 by Ellie
With 12 Acadamy Award nominations and a career
spanning over sixty years, Jack Nicholson is one of Hollywood’s best actors. Nicholson
has acted in a diverse range of roles in acclaimed movies, including One Flew
Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), The Shining (1980) and Batman (1989). When he’s
not acting or directing, Nicholson likes to relax with a good cigar. Well-deserving
of being called a Cigar Smoking Icon, we take a look at Jack Nicholson’s life
and career, as well as his love of cigars!
Early Life
Nicholson was born in New Jersey in 1937 to
June Nicholson, an unmarried showgirl. June was only 17 years old, so Jack was
raised by her parents, with his mother acting as his sister. Nicholson himself
was unaware of the truth of his parentage until 1974, by which point June had
already passed away.
Known as the ‘Class Clown’ at school, Nicholson
was reportedly in detention every day for a whole school year during High
School. After leaving school, he began work at MGM cartoon studio for
Hanna-Barbera as an office worker, although decided to leave to pursue acting.
After a decade of smaller bit parts on stage
and screen, and a turn to screenplay writing, Nicholson finally got his big
break after landing a role in Easy Rider (1969). Not only was this his big
acting break, but the role also landed him his first Oscar nomination. Nicholson
has gone on to play a huge number of complex and celebrated roles, including
The Joker in Batman (1989) and Jack Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s take on
Stephen King’s novel The Shining (1980). Over the course of his career,
Nicholson has won three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards and six Golden Globe
Awards, as well as earning 40 other major award nominations!
While not officially retired, Nicholson has now
taken a step back from acting, and was last seen in the 2010 film How Do You Know.
A smoker for most of his life, Nicholson discovered his love for Cuban cigars while filming The Last Detail (1973) in Canada, where they could be legally imported. He had decided his character in the film would smoke cigars, despite having quit smoking for ten years at that time. Nicholson took up cigar smoking on a more regular basis in the 1990s, as a replacement for cigarette smoking. He considered cigar smoking to be a better habit. Nicholson states that Montecristo, Cohiba and Romeo y Julieta cigars are the best brands.
Here at Havana House, we stock all of these brands, as well as many more Cuban cigars and smokes from around the world. If you want to learn more about famous cigar smokers, check out the other instalments in our Cigar Smoking Icons series, including JFK and Clint Eastwood.
Cigar Smoking Icons: JFK
10 October 2019 by Ellie
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, popularly known as
JFK, was the 35th President of the United States. As well as being
renowned for his political career, cigar lovers will know of him as being an
iconic cigar smoker, with a complicated history regarding these smokes. We take
a look at his life and his relationship with cigars.
Early Life
Born in Massachusetts in 1917, John Fitzgerald
Kennedy was one of nine children born to Joseph and Rose Kennedy. Throughout
his teen years, Kennedy suffered from a number of health issues that caused
some disruption to his education. His health problems also led to his medical
disqualification from the army. Instead, he joined the United States Naval
Reserve in 1941 and went on to gain a number of awards, including the American
Defence Service Medal and the Purple Heart Medal.
Political Beginnings
Kennedy’s older brother Joseph had been set to
pursue presidency, but following his death in a Naval aeroplane explosion
during World War II, this career path fell to JFK. As such, he started his
political career as a member of Congress after winning the Democratic primary
in Massachusetts in 1946. He served for six years in the House of
Representatives, before gaining a Senate seat in 1952. After two terms in the
Senate, JFK decided to pursue Presidency.
Presidency
Kennedy announced his candidacy for the
Democratic presidential nomination in January 1960. In January 1961, he was
sworn in as the 35th President of the United States, with his
charisma and energy being key factors in his election. JFK was a president of
many firsts; he is the youngest elected president, elected at 43 years old; he
is the first Roman Catholic to serve in office, and he is the first president
to have served in the US Navy. His presidency was largely spent focussed on the
Cold War, and tensions with communist states. Kennedy’s presidency was cut
short following his assassination in 1963.
JFK’s Relationship With Cuba
A key aspect of Kennedy’s presidency was
focussed on Cuba and the Cuban Missile Crisis. During the 1960s, the hostile
relationship between Cuba and the US intensified, eventually leading to an
embargo on Cuban trade in 1962. This prevented any Cuban products from entering
the United States.
JFK and Cigars
Despite the political tensions, Kennedy was
known for his fondness for Cuban cigars, making his relationship with the
country a little complex! Before he put the embargo in place, he was sure to
get a good stock of smokes. His head of press, Pierre Salinger, once revealed
that the president had requested ‘a lot of cigars’ the day before the embargo
was signed. JFK specifically asked for 1000 Petit Upmanns, looking to stockpile
his favourite smoke before he could no longer import the cigars legally! He was
able to source 1,200 of these cigars before the embargo was signed, however,
given that JFK died the following year, it is unlikely that he managed to get
through all of these!
If you would like to experience the taste of Cuban cigars to see why JFK liked them so much, then check out the range of smokes from Cuba we have available here at Havana House.
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