Charles Southwood, originally named Charles Allen Southwood, was born on August 30, 1937, in Los Angeles, California, and passed away on April 8, 2009, in Grants Pass, Oregon. He was an American actor who found success in Europe, as well as the innovator behind Death Cigarettes.
After relocating to Oregon with his family at the close of World War II, Southwood pursued a degree in philosophy at Oregon State University. His journey took him to Europe, where he held various jobs before landing a position as a stand-in for Lex Barker on the film *Woman Times Seven* in 1966. His talent caught the eye of an agent, leading him to star in several spaghetti westerns.
In 1991, upon returning to Oregon, Southwood conceived the concept of "Death Cigarettes." Having been a smoker from the age of 13 until 40, he sought to reveal the harsh realities of smoking. His products included stark packaging that resembled a coffin, complete with a skull and crossbones, alongside traditional health warnings. Southwood traveled through the Southern United States, only to encounter resistance from major tobacco companies, who deemed his ideas detrimental to their interests. He eventually found a small tobacco manufacturer in Holland to produce his cigarettes and even resumed smoking briefly to perfect the tobacco blend. Unfortunately, he faced challenges in securing a distributor willing to sell his product, fearing backlash from larger cigarette brands. The concept of Death Cigarettes was later appropriated by BJ Cunningham for sales in England from 1991 to 1999.
