Paul O’Grady

1955-

TV personality famous as Lily Savage and as a chat show presenter

Had heart attack in 2001 but resumed smoking

Had second heart attack in June 2006

Robert Oppenheimer

1904-1967

Physicist and one of the leaders of the Manhattan Project that developed the American atomic bomb

Throat cancer

Robert Palmer

1949-2003

Musician. Member of Vinegar Joe and solo artist

Famous for Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley and Pressure Drop

Heart attack

Gwyneth Paltrow

1972-

Actress

Famous for The Talented Mr Ripley, Shallow Hal, and Shakespeare in Love

Rick Parfitt

1948-

Musician – member of of Status Quo

Had quadruple heart bypass in 1997

Treated for throat tumour that turned out to be benign in 2005 and now “trying to stick to a cigarette free regime” according to band’s manager

Jennifer Paterson

1928-1999

Chef and TV personality

Famous as one half of Two Fat Ladies

Lung cancer

George Peppard

1928-1994

Film and TV star of the 1950s to 1980s

Famous for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Blue Max and The A-Team

Lung cancer

Pat Phoenix

1924-1986

Actress

Famous as Elsie Tanner in Coronation Street

Married Tony Booth, father of Cherie Blair

Lung cancer

Harold Pinter

1930-

Playwright and scriptwriter, famous for The Caretaker, The Birthday Party, and the screenplay for The Go-Between

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature 2005

Treated for cancer of the oesophagus in 2002

Brad Pitt

1963-

Actor

Famous for Interview with the Vampire, Fight Club and Ocean’s Eleven

Suzanne Pleshette

1937-

Actress from 1950s to 2000s

Famous for The Birds, Nevada Smith, If It’s Tuesday This Must Be Belgium, 8 Simple Rules and Will & Grace

Treated for lung cancer in 2006

Chris Rea

1951-

Singer-songwriter, famous for 1989 album The Road to Hell

Keith Richards

1943-

Guitarist with the Rolling Stones

Norman Rockwell

1894-1978

Artist

Famous for folksy covers for Saturday Evening Post

Emphysema

Franklin Roosevelt

1882-1945

President of the USA during WWII

Paralysed from the waist down by Guillain-Barré syndrome when he was 39, Roosevelt’s health was further damaged by heavy smoking which gave him high blood pressure and heart disease

Stroke

Francis Rossi

1949-

Musician

Member of Status Quo

Babe Ruth

1895-1948

American baseball player from 1910s to 1930s

Throat cancer

Robert Ryan

1909-1973

Film actor from 1940s to 1970s

Famous for Crossfire, Bad Day at Black Rock, The Dirty Dozen and The Wild Bunch

Lung Cancer

Jean-Paul Sartre

1905-1980

Philosopher and novelist

Famous for Les Chemins de la Liberté, La Nausée and for existentialism

Oedema (swelling) of the lung

Vincent Schiavelli

1948-2005

Actor from 1970s to 2000s

Famous for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Ghost, Tomorrow Never Dies, The Frisco Kid, plus appearances in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Taxi

Lung Cancer

Rod Serling

1924-1975

Writer and broadcaster famous in the 1950s and 1960s

Created the science fiction series The Twilight Zone, and co-wrote the screenplay for Planet of the Apes

Third heart attack

Britney Spears

1981-

Singer and fashion icon

John Thaw

1942-2002

Actor from 1960s to 2000s

Famous for Redcap, The Sweeney, Morse and Kavanagh QC

Cancer of the oesophagus

Fred Trueman

1931-2006

Yorkshire and England cricketer from 1940s to 1960s, and a Test Match Special commentator in 1970s and 1980s

Lung cancer

Lana Turner

1921-1995

Actress from the 1930s to 1970s

Known as The Sweater Girl, she was a popular pinup during WW2

Famous for The Postman Always Rings Twice, Peyton Place and The Bad and the Beautiful

Throat cancer

Kenneth Tynan

1927-1980

Theatre critic and writer

Famous for writing Oh! Calcutta! And for being the first person to say the word “f***” on British television

Emphysema

Shane Warne

1969-

Cricketer

Charlie Watts

1941-

Drummer with the Rolling Stones

Treated for throat cancer in 2004

Auberon Waugh

1939-2001

Novelist and journalist

Editor of the Literary Review, contributor to Private Eye

Member of the Supporters Council for the Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Tobacco (FOREST)

Heart attack

John Wayne

1907-1979

Film star of the 1920s to 1970s

Famous for playing rugged heroes in war films and westerns including Sands of Iwo Jima, The Alamo and True Grit

Lung cancer

Kate Winslett

1975-

Actress

Famous for Titanic and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Bill Wyman

1936-

Former bass player with the Rolling Stones

Dick York

1928-1992

Actor from 1940s to 1960s

Famous as Darrin Stephens in Bewitched

Emphysema

Catherine Zeta-Jones

1969-

Actress

Famous for The Darling Buds of May, Mask of Zorro, and Chicago

Warren Zevon

1947-2003

Singer and songwriter from 1970s to 1990s

Lung cancer