Great profile of the actor who played poor old Ham Burger.

Profile: Detroit-born 'Perry Mason' Actor William Talman

One Brave Precedent: Detroit native William Talman played the perennial loser on 'Perry Mason,' but his groundbreaking final appearance as a dying anti-smoking advocate made him a winner in most people's eyes

http://www.hourdetroit.com/Hour-Detroit/March-2012/One-Brave-Precedent/

Here is the commercial....

Another famous person featured in an anti-smoking commercial after his death....

I remember this ad when it appeared. I was probably smoking a cigarette at the time and probably continued to smoke it during the ad. I also remember seeing an MD in a similar ad who was smoking a cigarette just before having a lung removed (minutes before). That ad made more of an impression on me than the one with Ham Burger. Not enough to make me quit smoking which I finally did in 1984. A friend of mine said, if you are smoking into your 40's it isn't a matter of IF you will have emphysema but WHEN. Not sure why that finally registered but I quit soon after that.

We all know people who either died directly as a result of smoking or suffered additional debilitating effects of whatever disease actually did them in. This includes driving while smoking. A good friend of mine who was a King Air 200 captain and smoker died suddenly two months after retiring at 65. He never got to enjoy his new fishing boat or retirement.

Best regards,

RA1