Alan Landers
Encyclopedia
Alan Landers (November 30, 1940 – February 27, 2009) was an American
male model and actor, best known as the "Winston Man", who appeared in advertising for Winston
cigarette
s.
, New York
on November 30, 1940, he started to smoke "before [his] bar mitzvah". He enlisted in the United States Army
at 17, where smoking breaks of five minutes each hour helped in the development of a two-and-a-half pack per day smoking habit.
centerfold. He also appeared in Cosmopolitan
, GQ and Vogue
. In addition to an appearance in the 1977 film Annie Hall
playing the part of a pompous producer, he also had roles in several television programs such as America's Most Wanted
.
Appearing in advertisements for Winston cigarettes in the mid-1960s, Landers recounted how he would smoke through cartons of cigarettes, ensuring that the ash on the end of the cigarette was never more than one-quarter inch, puffing to make a spiral of smoke just right for the photograph in ads that appeared with the slogan "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should
". Reynolds paid him $3,000 to $5,000 a day for the week-long photo shoot, making it one of his most rewarding modeling jobs.
and later emphysema
and cancer of the larynx, and had coronary artery bypass surgery
, all of which he attributed to a lifetime of heavy smoking. Part of his right lung was removed in 1988, which led him to stop smoking for a few years. He resumed the habit in 1992, stopping a year later when he lost part of his right lung due to cancer.
He became an anti-smoking advocate
, calling himself "Winston Man", attributing his health problems to his smoking. Landers traveled to lobby for tobacco reform before the United States Congress
and the World Health Organization
.
He filed a lawsuit in 1995 against the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, makers of Winston, claiming that the company's cigarettes had exposed him to health risks without adequate warning. An R. J. Reynolds spokesman stated at the time suit was filed that Landers was free to read the warnings that appeared on cigarette packages in the period when he was modeling. The case was scheduled for trial in April 2009, six weeks after his death, and his attorney was considering how to proceed with the matter.
In a magazine interview in early 2000, he stated that "Looking back on my career, I am ashamed that I helped promote such a lethal and addictive product to the children and adults of this country."
When asked how he could have ignored the health risks of smoking, particularly after the addition of the Surgeon General's official 1964 report linking cancer to smoking, he insisted in a 2000 interview with Jane Brody
of The New York Times
that "at no time was I ever told that cigarettes could be dangerous to my health". His attorney noted that whatever Landers knew about the risks of smoking, "He knew a lot less than R. J. Reynolds did."
In an interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Landers stated that "When I got the diagnosis, I thought about killing myself, but that didn't last. The tobacco companies have been waiting for me to die for years and I haven't. I'm not going to give them the satisfaction of beating me."
He died from cancer of the larynx on February 27, 2009 at his home in Lauderhill, Florida
, after surviving his previous bouts with lung cancer
as well as heart disease
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
male model and actor, best known as the "Winston Man", who appeared in advertising for Winston
Winston (cigarette)
Winston cigarettes are manufactured by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company or its newer incarnation as RJR Nabisco and/or its affiliates.The brand was introduced in 1954, and became the best-selling brand of cigarettes in the United States...
cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
s.
Biography
Born in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on November 30, 1940, he started to smoke "before [his] bar mitzvah". He enlisted in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
at 17, where smoking breaks of five minutes each hour helped in the development of a two-and-a-half pack per day smoking habit.
Modeling
After leaving military service, Landers took acting classes in New York and worked as a model, appearing in numerous fashion magazines, including being featured in a PlaygirlPlaygirl
Playgirl is a print quarterly adult magazine published in the United States that is marketed mainly to heterosexual women, but has also gained a considerable gay following...
centerfold. He also appeared in Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
, GQ and Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
. In addition to an appearance in the 1977 film Annie Hall
Annie Hall
Annie Hall is a 1977 American romantic comedy directed by Woody Allen from a screenplay co-written with Marshall Brickman and co-starring Diane Keaton. One of Allen's most popular and most honored films, it won four Academy Awards including Best Picture...
playing the part of a pompous producer, he also had roles in several television programs such as America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...
.
Appearing in advertisements for Winston cigarettes in the mid-1960s, Landers recounted how he would smoke through cartons of cigarettes, ensuring that the ash on the end of the cigarette was never more than one-quarter inch, puffing to make a spiral of smoke just right for the photograph in ads that appeared with the slogan "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should
Winston tastes good like a cigarette should
"Winston tastes good like a cigarette should" is an enduring slogan that appeared in newspaper, magazine, radio, and television advertisements for Winston cigarettes from the brand's introduction in 1954 until 1972. It is one of the best-known American tobacco advertising campaigns...
". Reynolds paid him $3,000 to $5,000 a day for the week-long photo shoot, making it one of his most rewarding modeling jobs.
Anti-smoking advocacy
In 1987, he was diagnosed with lung cancerLung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
and later emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
and cancer of the larynx, and had coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
, all of which he attributed to a lifetime of heavy smoking. Part of his right lung was removed in 1988, which led him to stop smoking for a few years. He resumed the habit in 1992, stopping a year later when he lost part of his right lung due to cancer.
He became an anti-smoking advocate
Anti-smoking movement
Tobacco control is a field of public health science, policy and practice dedicated to controlling the growth of tobacco use and thereby reducing the morbidity and mortality it causes...
, calling himself "Winston Man", attributing his health problems to his smoking. Landers traveled to lobby for tobacco reform before the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
and the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
.
He filed a lawsuit in 1995 against the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, makers of Winston, claiming that the company's cigarettes had exposed him to health risks without adequate warning. An R. J. Reynolds spokesman stated at the time suit was filed that Landers was free to read the warnings that appeared on cigarette packages in the period when he was modeling. The case was scheduled for trial in April 2009, six weeks after his death, and his attorney was considering how to proceed with the matter.
In a magazine interview in early 2000, he stated that "Looking back on my career, I am ashamed that I helped promote such a lethal and addictive product to the children and adults of this country."
When asked how he could have ignored the health risks of smoking, particularly after the addition of the Surgeon General's official 1964 report linking cancer to smoking, he insisted in a 2000 interview with Jane Brody
Jane Brody
Jane Ellen Brody is an American author on science and nutrition topics, who has written a number of books and reported extensively for The New York Times as its "Personal Health" columnist, which appears weekly in the paper's Science Times section, which has been syndicated nationwide...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
that "at no time was I ever told that cigarettes could be dangerous to my health". His attorney noted that whatever Landers knew about the risks of smoking, "He knew a lot less than R. J. Reynolds did."
In an interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Landers stated that "When I got the diagnosis, I thought about killing myself, but that didn't last. The tobacco companies have been waiting for me to die for years and I haven't. I'm not going to give them the satisfaction of beating me."
He died from cancer of the larynx on February 27, 2009 at his home in Lauderhill, Florida
Lauderhill, Florida
Lauderhill is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 66,887. It is part of the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010 census....
, after surviving his previous bouts with lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
as well as heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
.