Prince Albert tobacco

Prince Albert is an American brand of tobacco, introduced by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in 1907. [cite web
url=http://www.answers.com/topic/r-j-reynolds-tobacco-holdings-inc?cat=biz-fin
title=International Directory of Company Histories
publisher=Thomson Gale
year=2006
accessdate=2007-08-28] It has been owned since 1987 by John Middleton Inc. [cite news
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE1DA1438F934A35754C0A961948260
title=R.J. Reynolds Sells 2 Tobacco Brands
author=Associated Press
date=July 7 1987
publisher=The New York Times
accessdate=2007-08-28]

Prince Albert is one of the more popular independent brands of pipe tobacco in the United States; in the 1930s, it was the "second largest money-maker" for Reynolds.cite news
url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,742679,00.html
title=Pipe Dream Girl
date=November 23 1931
publisher=TIME magazine
accessdate=2007-08-28] More recently, it has also become available in the form of pipe-tobacco cigars. (A 1960s experiment with filtered cigarettes was deemed a failure. [cite news
url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,828437,00.html
title=Where There's Smoke There's a Filter
date=November 18 1966
publisher=TIME magazine
accessdate=2007-08-28] ) The blend is burley-based and remains one of America's top-selling pipe tobaccos.

The career of Alice Joy began as the "Prince Albert Dream Girl" in radio broadcasts similar to Reynolds's Camel cigarette broadcasts that featured Morton Downey.

Though there have been several Prince Alberts in the monarchies of Europe, Prince Albert tobacco is not named for the best-known Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who was husband and Prince Consort to Queen Victoria. Albert and Victoria's eldest son was also known as Prince Albert before he took the throne as Edward VII. The brand of tobacco was introduced after the Prince Consort's death, and the image on the can shows a man with full beard, which the Prince Consort did not wear. Also, the wording on the package was changed somewhat once Prince Albert had become King Edward VII.

"Prince Albert in a can"

The brand is the basis of a practical joke, usually made in the form of a prank call. The prankster typically calls a store and asks if they have "Prince Albert in a can". When the unsuspecting clerk responds "yes", the caller follows up with, "Well, you'd better let him out!" [ [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0209/15/lklw.00.html Transcript of Interview with Prince Albert of Monacco] , CNN Larry King Weekend, September 15, 2002] [ [http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1994/vp941023/10210265.htm Penny Candy and Radio in the Good Old Days] , By Tony Stein, "The Virginian-Pilot", October 23, 1994]

There are also variants of the joke involving King Edward brand cigars (named for Edward VII) and Martha White brand flour. The prank caller inquires if the store has "King Edward in a box" or "Martha White in a bag".

Instances in Pop Culture

American animated television series "Family Guy" made use of the practical joke in the episode "Fifteen Minutes of Shame". Four of the Griffin family members are featured on a talk show while the remaining two, Brian and Stewie, call in asking, "Do you have Prince Albert in a can?" and allow the joke to play out. It is referenced in an episode (Love Bheits) of "Venture Brothers" when a member of the Underland Underground tells the joke on the phone, Cat-clops compliments him but tells him he "really needs to sell it!" It is also referenced in "Weird Al" Yankovic's song entitled "Phony Calls." The 15th episode of the first season of "Popular" entitled "Booty Camp" opened with a call from Sugardaddy calling Brooke and Sam's help-hotline asking for Prince Albert in a can.The joke is also used by the clown "Pennywise", in Stephen King's book, "IT". Also, in Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files, Sanya, a Knight of the Cross, wants to find some Prince Albert. As a joke, Molly Carpenter (Daughter of Michael Carpenter, a fellow Knight of the Cross) hands him a phone book, and he proceeds to call everyone in the phone book looking for Prince Albert in a can.

References