Oscar Hammerstein I (left) was a businessman, theater manager and composer
in New York City. His passion for opera led him to open several opera houses,
and he rekindled opera’s popularity in America. In 1883 Oscar Hammerstein
patented the first cigar-rolling machine and began to make a fortune that he
promptly reinvested in theaters and concert halls. He was the grandfather
of lyricist Oscar Hammerstein ll.

A cigar ad from the 1940s featuring Ronald Reagan

Jim Backus was a radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most
remembered roles… the voice of Mr. Magoo,  Joan Davis’s husband on  
TV’s I married Joan, and Thurston Howell, lll on the CBS-TV hit sitcom 
Gilligan’s Island (1964 – 1967). Jim died on July 3, 1989. He was 76. 

Jim Backus with Joan Davis

Jim Backus as Thurston Howell, lll in Gilligan’s Island