Famous Cigar Smokers

There are some famous people who are hard to picture without including a giant plume of cigar smoke. These aficionados have forged very successful careers in Hollywood, politics, and even sports. They have shared their larger-than-life personalities and have always seemed to have a trusty cigar within reach. Who are some of these people, and where have you seen them with a cigar?

Shakira and Rhianna

Not daily cigar smokers, but Shakira and Rhianna set the stage on fire in the song, “Can’t Remember to forget you”. Showing lots of skin, breasts, and booty, the song’s official video is one of the most sensual and provocative videos of all time. They almost leave nothing to the imagination. This video will turn on any man or woman in a heartbeat.

George Burns

George Burns smoked between 10 to 15 cigars a day and lived to be 100 years old. He defied the odds as well as the recommendations of doctors. Before he died, George Burns had one final wish – to be buried with his three favorite cigars. He smoked cigars for 70 years, and his experience with the smooth, rolled tobacco was more of a relationship than an addiction. He will go down in the history books as a fantastic comedian but should also be remembered as a cigar aficionado.

Winston Churchill

Churchill could very well be named the most influential cigar smoker of all time. This former British Prime Minister smoked between 8 to 10 cigars a day – a staggering number for any person. In fact, he smoked with such vigor that eventually a size of cigar was named after him. This size is one of the largest that you can buy and is very popular to this day. A Churchill cigar can take up to two hours to smoke. You would be hard-pressed to find a picture of Winston Churchill where he does not have a cigar in his mouth.

Bill Clinton

This suave politician got himself into hot water with his use of cigars. We don’t need to go into the lurid details in this article but suffice to say the man is a creative appreciator of the handmade cigar.

Mark Twain

Samuel Clemens managed to be nearly as prolific of a writer as he was a consumer of cigars. He eloquently quipped, “If smoking is not allowed in heaven, I shall not go.” His dedication to the art of smoking extended itself to all hours of the day, and he’d frequently fall asleep with a lit cigar in his mouth. Perhaps he was responsible for a few fires in his time. Reputable sources assert that Twain smoked as many as 22 cigars a day, and he started smoking when he was only 8. He is quoted as saying, “I began to smoke immoderately when I was 8 years old. That is, I began with 100 cigars a month, and by the time I was twenty I had increased my allowance to 200 a month. Before I was thirty, I had increased it to three hundred a month.” That type of dedication deserves to be noted.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

The legend himself, Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger is almost inseparable from cigars in movies. We've seen him smoke cigars in movies like the predator, The last Action Hero, and The Raw Deal. Arnold loves smoking medium-bodied cigars like the Cuban Punch.

Clint Eastwood

Is there a more iconic actor portrayed in westerns than Clint Eastwood? In most of his movies, Clint is seen lighting up a cigarillo which is a small-gauged cigar. No matter how dangerous the situation or how many bandits were gunning for him, he always had time to light up his cigar and enjoy at least a few puffs before all hell broke loose. What would “High Plains Drifter” be without him lighting a cigarillo just before shooting three would-be assailants?

Michael Jordan

MJ, as he is affectionately known, is probably the best basketball player to ever lace up a pair of athletic shoes. Now that he has retired, he plays a fair amount of golf and always seems to have one of his favorite cigars lit up. He is so dedicated to smoking cigars that he even had one producing smoke at a practice round of the President’s Cup tournament at the Hardin Park Golf Course in San Francisco despite the city’s ban on smoking at public courses. Smoking at these courses is punished with a fine of $100, but the City Attorney Dennis Herrera never made even so much as a peep regarding the situation. Back in 1999 Jordan even had to have surgery on his right index finger after severing his tendon with a cigar cutter.

There have been many famous people who have been avid cigar smokers. There have also been millions of average people who have succumbed to the pleasure of lighting up their favorite cigar and bathing their senses in glorious plumes of tobacco smoke. Does your dedication match any of these great men? Perhaps it is time for you to light up one of your favorite cigars as a show of appreciation for the dedicated aficionados who have come before you.