Chesterfield (cigarette)

Chesterfield is a brand of cigarette made by Altria. It was named for Chesterfield County, Virginia. It was one of the most recognized brands of the early and mid 20th century, but sales have declined steadily over the years. Chesterfields were originally produced by the Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company. In 1999, Liggett sold the L&M, Lark and Chesterfield brands to Philip Morris Companies Inc. The brand is still being made today; it is still popular in Europe, but has been absent from U.S. advertising for many years.

In the 1930s through the 1950s, Chesterfield sponsored popular radio programs. An early one was the radio series Music That Satisfies which was broadcast in 1932-1933. The Chesterfield Hour (1939–1944) featured big bands such as those of Paul Whiteman and Glenn Miller and Fred Waring. It was followed briefly by Johnny Mercer's Chesterfield Music Shop (1944) and then the Chesterfield Supper Club (1944-1949) which featured Perry Como and Jo Stafford with Peggy Lee replacing Stafford on some episodes beginning in 1948.Johnny Mercer originally wrote the pop standard song "Dream (When You're Feeling Blue)" as the theme song for his Chesterfield radio program; the theme for Como's Chesterfield Supper Club was the basis for "Smoke Dreams", covered by Jo Stafford, k.d. lang, and other artists.

Liggett & Myers sponsored Dragnet, both on radio and on TV, during the 1950s. The 1954 theatrical version of Dragnet also had Chesterfield product placements, such as advertisements in scenes taking place at drug stores and news counters, or cigarette vending machines. Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday was seen smoking Chesterfields in the movie and TV series. Also in the 1950s, Gunsmoke on both radio and TV was similarly sponsored primarily by Chesterfields and L&Ms. At the end of The Twilight Zone, for several seasons Rod Serling frequently smoked and promoted Chesterfields.

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