Broadway Singers who Smoke...... — Page 5

Ethel Merman smoked early in her career but, according to her autobiography, gave it up one year for Lent. More interesting is a story in Ralph Blumenthal's book 'Stork Club'. It seems the Merm was having an affair with Sherman Billingsley, the (married) owner of the Stork. One afternoon, they snuck out to Sherm's car for a little 'privacy' and, it seems, one of them dropped a lit cigarette and poor Ethel sat, bare-assed upon it, causing a rather painful burn. Smoking, as they say, can be hazardous to your health.

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As long as they don't smoke next to me at a restaurant, I really do not care. I personally hate cigarette smoke, but we all have our flaws and vices. Some are just more obvious than others. Me, I like my red wine and my strong coffee in the morning. If smoking does marginalize or damage the voice, well, then it their problem and not yours. As long as their behavior does not affect you, why should it matter. For goodness sakes, get out of folks bedrooms, bathrooms, and ash trays. If they are smoking next to you, then move or ask them to move. Otherwise, get over it.

love4cheno...this might sound stupid, but where exactly is that (or during what part of the movie did you see getting filmed?), and who is that?

Smoking effects some voices more than others. Decades of heavy smoking can certainly darken the tone somewhat and for some singers cause them to lose range, but then there are singers like Sarah Vaughan, who still had one of the most extraordinarily beautiful instruments of the 20th century at the time of her death. While her timbre was a bit darker at the end (which was also in part due to the fact that she was in her mid 60s and voices typically get heavier as one ages), she still had three+ octaves of range and could still famously hold a note, perfectly on pitch with vibrato for 30 seconds (she actually did it once on a dare on a tv special in the 80s, shortly before her death -- 32 seconds I believe).

I don't know. While it's certainly not good for the voice or overall health, smoking effects different people in different ways (genetics play a huge role), so don't freak if you find out your favorite singer smokes. MANY of the greatest singers in history were smokers at one time or another (I have a theory that it comes from the fact that most singers are orally-fixated) and a surprising number of them kept their voices in tact for decades.

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Um...get back to work...or at least checking on the figure skating results.

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These people are role models for childen and for aspiring performers. Their actions DO affect people. It is also very uninspiring for people who will never have the incredible opportunities that these stars have been given. Many of us would die to be on broadway and to be blessed with an amazing voice, and would NEVER ruin that for ourselves by smoking. Smoking not only ruins your voice, but also can KILL you. My uncle died of lung cancer, and it is not an easy way to go. It is excruciatingly painful and he could have had more that 20 years left to his life. Instead, he is dead. His death could be preventable. Broadway stars are activists about AIDS awarness and preventions. Smoking kills just like AIDS does. Both issues are important, and both should be recognized. These stars actions DO have effects.

I know I sound like a mother, but smoking is really bad for you. It can kill you if you do it enough.

http://www.philipmorrisusa.com/en/home.asp

Updated On: 4/7/06 at 08:16 PM

wickedangel, I hardly think that you can compare smoking to AIDS. Also, I think it's very hard to argue that these performers are somehow appointed as role models the moment they become famous. Sure, young children will look up to famous people regardless if those people want that or not, but on the other hand, people should not be forced to live their lives according to whether their behavior is appropriate or beneficial to their younger fans. Frankly, if a young girl says she's going to smoke because Idina Menzel smokes, there's no doubt in my mind that there were some other major contributing factors as well.

Smiles, when someone mentioned that Anthony Rapp supposedly smokes, Anthony himself posted on these boards saying that he and Tracie Thoms do not smoke. I don't believe he explicitly stated that the other main cast members do, but I think it's a very reasonable assumption.

Frankly, if a young girl says she's going to smoke because Idina Menzel smokes, there's no doubt in my mind that there were some other major contributing factors as well.

I was just going to post something kind of similar to that. Yes, these people are obviously role models for a lot of different demographics, but in all seriousness, that's a little bit too cliché, don't you think?

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Right. I could understand people complaining if these actors were signing autographs for a [predominantly young] crowd while smoking cigarettes. But still, I just think that if you've got a child who thinks they should smoke because Actor X smokes, there's a LITTLE something else going on there. It seems like it's over-simplified by the DARE generation to just say that people think smoking is cool by example and therefore do it.

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Updated On: 4/7/06 at 08:51 PM

I kept seeing Chuck Cooper smoke whenever I was at Lennon stagedoor. It was funny because he dropped his lighter on stage one night.

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Now, exactly what smoke are we referring to? 'Cause I have a list of stars who smoke a variety of substances.