Nat Sherman; New York City Tobacconist

Nat Sherman, 86, the New York City tobacconist who became famous for his cigars and then developed an exclusive line of cigarettes after a friend complained that he could no longer smoke cigars on airplanes. Sherman, who became known as much for his celebrity clientele as for his product, ran a tobacco shop and mail-order business on 5th Avenue for many years and smoked his own cigars until his doctor persuaded him to stop when he was about 80. He was an immigrant from Hungary who came to New York as a small boy and he began selling candy and newspapers to help his family. He ran a pool hall before opening his first tobacco shop on Broadway, moving it to 5th Avenue 48 years later in a rent dispute. In Miami Beach on Mondayof colon cancer.