To the hard core cigar smoker, cigars are not meant to be used as laughing matter, unless the cigar smoker happens to be a comedian. Comedians use tobacco cigars as props, which sometimes serve as a signature feature of a stand-up comedy routine. To some comedians, cigars and cigarettes are as essential as the microphone. We shall take a look at the cigar smoking comedians of the past as well as present. Groucho Marx is perhaps not only the most well-known cigar smoking comedian, but one of the most famous cigar smokers of all the eras. Nobody would have seen him in public without his trusty cigar. Truly, Marx is considered one of the pioneers in the cigar smoking world. Nowadays, comedians anywhere in the world can mimic his routine just by puffing on a tobacco cigar.

George Burns preferred cigars over most of the other things in his life. George Burns was very rarely seen on stages without a cigarette or a cigar. Starting his career using cigars as props, he eventually became one and the same with cigars; the two had become almost inseparable. When he died, he was buried wearing a suit, with three cigars in the jacket pocket. Another celebrity Bill Cosby never smoked cigars in public or used cigars as props as frequently as other famous and celebrated comedians did. He used to be an avid cigar smoker; it was a habit he had since given up. In fact it was a hobby he started in order to copy the antics of Groucho Marx, one of his idols. And many of us did believe that Bill Cosby only smoked good pudding pops. Milton Berle went on to become television's first major star, and he took care to maintain a magnetic charisma at all times.

During the golden period of television, he came to be known as ‘Uncle Miltie', a nickname that can be attributed to the endearment American people felt towards him. Though he was not a drinker, he used to be an avid cigar smoker as well as an avid gambler. He would spend days smoking cigars at the horse race venues. Ernest Kovacs was a pioneer of television ad-lib routines and off-the-wall antics. Actually, he was the person who helped turn comedy into the form we see today. The television series such as ‘Laugh-in' was modelled after his creative talent and genius. So talented was he that he virtually knocked down the walls or barriers between audience and performer; in fact, Kovac was nothing short of innovative.

While he appeared to be a spokesman for Master cigars, he only lit up other cigars off camera. Nonetheless, the commercial or ad that features him smoking a particular cigar is still regarded as one of the funniest of all time. From the ancient days of silent movies to the present day stage acts, if there is one single piece of luxury custom made for comedic performers, it is the tobacco cigars. This, of course, is not to say that only these people should smoke cigars.