CELEBRITY ADS: FREDRIC MARCH

This is one of the last cigarette ads claiming a doctor’s endorsement. This 1954 ad in Life magazine showed Hollywood star Fredric March making this assertion after having read the letter written by a “Dr. Darkis” that was inset into the advertisement. Dr. Darkis explained in this letter that L&M filters used a “highly purified alpha cellulose” that was “entirely harmless” and “effectively filtered the smoke.” Darkis was not a physician, but a research chemist...