Patrick Reynolds

Patrick Cleveland Reynolds (born December 2, 1948, in Miami Beach, Florida) is an American anti-smoking activist and former actor. He is the grandson of the tobacco company founder, R. J. Reynolds, and speaks of how he believes his family business has killed millions, including his own father (Richard Joshua Reynolds, Jr.) and brother (Michael Randolph Reynolds). He is a frequent speaker on the dangers of smoking, and founded a non-profit organization dedicated to anti-tobacco campaigning. In April 1986, Reynolds went with a friend to a meeting with Senator Robert Packwood, where the issue of a proposed cut in tobacco tax was raised. Outraged, Reynolds stood up and asked why tobacco taxes were so low. By June 1986, Reynolds had become an anti-smoking activist, appearing in adverts for the American Lung Association and testifying before a congressional subcommittee at the invitation of Packwood, to the dismay of his family. He had already sold his tobacco stock in 1979, and tried to get hired by RJR Nabisco Inc. from 1983–85, in an attempt to get the company to divest their tobacco holding. Reynolds was himself a smoker for 10 years until he quit in 1985 after five years of trying.

Actor