Patricia Henley 1946-2009
Jump to full article: Santa Barbara (CA) Independent, 2009-09-27
Author: Trixie Geyer
Intro: Patricia’s gumption, and her desire to do the right thing, would carry her into battle against a huge corporation she knew had lied to her—and which was lying to and recklessly endangering all of our children. When her legal battle ended, she directed a portion of the monetary gain to the Patricia Henley Foundation supporting opportunities for children in the performing arts.
When Patricia was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer in 1997, and given four months to live, she researched and discovered thousands of documents from the tobacco industry indicating that they lied about the additives in cigarettes, and the dangers of these ingredients to their customers. Her response to those who had trouble reconciling her righteous wrath with her lifetime of smoking was to point out the unethical marketing to teens. . ..
successfully sued Phillip Morris and the jury awarded her $51 million. It was, at that time, the first award in an anti-tobacco case in California, and the first case in the United States where punitive damages were upheld against a tobacco company. Appeals, over seven years, reduced the award to $10.5 million.
The Patricia Henley Foundation was finally funded in Santa Barbara in 2005 after the State Supreme Court refused to lower the judgment another time. Patricia, defying the medical professionals’ estimates of her longevity, focused the foundation on the mission on “inspiring the voice of youth through creative arts.”
The result was the Theatre of Life for Children (TLC), whose production of “A Tribute to the Musical” sold out three shows at The Marjorie Luke Theatre. . . .
Patricia never told anyone to stop smoking but only to make informed decisions. She described for performing cast members how her voice descended from soprano to lower-than-alto as a result of smoking. She was scheduled to cut a country western CD called Hard Lovin’ Lady (a title she gave herself after three marriages). But her voice had become so raspy that her guitarist joked, “I don’t think they make music in your key.”
In her opening statement during the trial, Patricia’s attorney Madelyn Chamber held up a pack of cigarettes and told the jury, “This is a case about a pack of lies.” . . .
Their high-powered attorneys’ attempts to confuse the issues didn’t sway one juror from finding the Phillip Morris executives guilty. . . .
It sent shock waves around the world when Patricia won this historic lawsuit. “HENLEY IS A HERO,” shouted a headline in a French newspaper. Patricia appeared on 20/20 and was featured in People and Forbes magazines. After her victory, she didn’t stop; she diligently wrote letters to corporations such as Disney to ask them to make Disneyland and Disney World smoke-free.
Fall of 2008 brought an end to the remission of the cancer that was supposed to have taken Patricia a decade earlier. She held on, with her usual courage, until July 31, 2009.
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