# Tom Mullica's cigarette trick **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 6, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379 "2011-09-06T13:29:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379/1 "2011-09-06T13:29:45Z")
[As seen here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4DLpBG4gR8). Is this an illusion, or is he really doing this? I am not asking for any secrets, just want to know if it’s a trick or skill. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379/2 "2011-09-06T13:41:57Z")
Of course it’s skill. I meant, an illusion or is he really putting lit cigarettes in his mouth and swallowing them. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379/3 "2011-09-06T13:44:58Z")
I’m no professional magician or anything, but I’m leaning towards “trick”. Mullica is a friend of Penn and Teller’s, and Teller does a well-known trick where he pretends to smoke a cigarette. I’m thinking that something similar is going on here. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379/4 "2011-09-06T15:48:39Z")
Tom is basically doing exactly what he says he’s doing - putting lots and lots of lit cigarettes in his mouth at the same time. **Duke** referred to a routine that Penn & Teller sometimes performs that features a cigarette. That routine is intended as a demonstration of a chain of deceptive techniques. It has nothing to do with the Tom Mullica routine. There is trickery involved at one point towards the end of the Tom Mullica routine, insofar as he at no point actually ingests or swallows a lit cigarette. I won’t go into any more detail about that. But the main business of putting lots of lit cigs in his mouth at the same time does not involve any trickery as such. He just does it. Does he get burned? Yes, sometimes. He just puts up with it. After performing this routine for many, many years, Tom became quite rightly concerned about the cumulative effects on his health. He got himself checked out and fortunately there was no medical evidence of any damage to tissue, cancer etc. He stopped performing the routine, and has never performed it since. I can’t give you exact dates, but to the best of my knowledge he stopped over 5-6 years ago. (Ianzin - professional magician among other things / member of the Inner Magic Circle / past lecturer at both the Magic Castle in Hollywood and the Magic Live convention in Vegas / friend of Penn & Teller / and I’ve performed my close-up magic show for an audience including moderator Dex and Ed Zotti, no less) (this is an ego trip, I’m just presenting credentials) ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379/5 "2011-09-06T16:45:08Z")
I was kind of hoping you’d show up to set me straight, **ianzin**. Sorry for misrepresenting P&T’s trick–and I’ve seen the routine twice in person, even. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379/6 "2011-09-06T21:43:44Z")
I have seen Penn & Teller in person, and saw the cigarette routine. Although there is a lot going on there, he is actually smoking it. I would think Mullica could do the same trick without lighting the cigarettes although it wouldn’t have nearly the same impact. Just the way he flips them into his mouth is a trick in itself. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379/7 "2011-09-06T22:30:13Z")
_ **Awesome** _ trick! (illusion? skill?) WHATEVER, it looks cool and is quite funny, to boot! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379/8 "2011-09-06T22:51:28Z")
Holy smokes! _Neutron Dance_! ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379/9 "2011-09-07T00:09:54Z")
I should mention that I once saw an even better version of Mullica’s on TV in the UK. After eating what seemed like an entire carton of cigarettes, he asked the audience, “Mind if I smoke?” Brought down the house. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379/10 "2011-09-07T01:41:50Z")
Wow, that takes me back. I remember that clip from a long time ago. Thanks. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379/11 "2011-09-07T16:03:28Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > Tom is basically doing exactly what he says he’s doing - putting lots and lots of lit cigarettes in his mouth at the same time. > > **Duke** referred to a routine that Penn & Teller sometimes performs that features a cigarette. That routine is intended as a demonstration of a chain of deceptive techniques. It has nothing to do with the Tom Mullica routine. > > There is trickery involved at one point towards the end of the Tom Mullica routine, insofar as he at no point actually ingests or swallows a lit cigarette. I won’t go into any more detail about that. > > But the main business of putting lots of lit cigs in his mouth at the same time does not involve any trickery as such. He just does it. > > Does he get burned? Yes, sometimes. He just puts up with it. > > After performing this routine for many, many years, Tom became quite rightly concerned about the cumulative effects on his health. He got himself checked out and fortunately there was no medical evidence of any damage to tissue, cancer etc. He stopped performing the routine, and has never performed it since. I can’t give you exact dates, but to the best of my knowledge he stopped over 5-6 years ago. > > (Ianzin - professional magician among other things / member of the Inner Magic Circle / past lecturer at both the Magic Castle in Hollywood and the Magic Live convention in Vegas / friend of Penn & Teller / and I’ve performed my close-up magic show for an audience including moderator Dex and Ed Zotti, no less) (this is an ego trip, I’m just presenting credentials) Cool! Thanks for the info! 🆒 (Impressive credentials, IMHO.) ---
**Author:** ![osme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/df788c/32.png) [@osme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/osme)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379/12 "2011-09-07T16:12:16Z")
I thought I recognized the name and , sure enough, Tom Mullica has been doing a Red Skelton tribute show in Branson, MO for the last few years. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379/13 "2011-09-08T00:22:42Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > friend of Penn & Teller I am currently reading Penn’s _God No!_ I don’t suppose you were at his party where the Elvis impersonator with an undersized penis got naked and pissed on the willing audience? ---
**Author:** ![borz666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@borz666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borz666)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379/14 "2017-05-07T15:30:22Z")
when he shove the napkins in his mouth, somewhere he palms the"cigarettes in napkins" while shoving more napkins - gives a final illusion that the whole thing is still in his mouth. only someone like David Blane might actually decided to eat a lit cigarettes and pretended it was a magic effect. This does fool people by the way- but eating a whole pack can kill you from nicotine poisoning ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379/15 "2017-05-07T18:18:10Z")
> [@borz666](#): > > […]eating a whole pack [of cigarettes] can kill you from nicotine poisoning And \*smoking \*them won’t? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379/16 "2017-05-08T12:28:06Z")
The link in the OP is dead. [Here’s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCm4r0F0tts) an example of his standard stuff. There’s another [version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU3O3Fsj-WQ) that has some comments by Tom spliced in. He seems to have stopped doing the bit/gave up smoking over 20 years ago. He does admit that he burned his mouth doing this trick. I think part of it involves using fakish cigarettes. Designed to easily go out after a few seconds. At times, not a lot of smoke seems to come from the tips, generally from his mouth. (As noted, there are ways to fake smoke.) And he keeps relighting them. The “cigarettes” might also be flexible for easier stashing in his mouth. He does move his hand down below the table when he throws the cigarettes into his mouth. He could be dousing the end or something. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379/17 "2017-05-08T13:41:55Z")
He does put actual burning cigarettes into his mouth. Not as many of them are really lit as appears, I don’t know if they’re all real cigs, I don’t know if he douses them with his tongue or other ways, but the guy was really good at it. And the smokes did kill him in the end, or something did anyway, he passed away over a year ago. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379/18 "2017-05-08T16:48:36Z")
Didn’t think to check if was still alive. According to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Mullica) he got Leukemia in 2010 but what did him in was the complications from a hernia operation. Age 67. Hernias _are_ a risk factor from smoking. Cough … cough. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2017, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-mullicas-cigarette-trick/595379/19 "2017-05-09T18:14:28Z")
Sad to hear he has died. A very humorous and to me, original act. I’ve not seen anyone do this kind of routing to the level he did. We laughed and laughed at his act when I was a kid. I think we saw him on Letterman.