R.I.P.: Henry Geller, FCC Lawyer Helped Ban Cigarette Ads On Radio, TV

Henry Geller - 1978

Henry Geller, a communications lawyer and government official who played pivotal roles in the elimination of cigarette advertising from radio and television and the televising of political campaign debates between major presidential candidates, died from bladder cancer April 7 at his home in Washington.

He was 96, according to The Washington Post.

Geller was general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission from 1964 to 1970 and was assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information from 1978 to 1980. In the second role, under President Carter, he was the first administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, where his work included developing a legal basis for the regulation of cable TV.

At the FCC in the 1960s, Geller persuaded the commission to rule that TV stations had to broadcast public service announcements warning of the health hazards of smoking to offset cigarette advertisements.

The messages said smoking was ‘‘the main cause of lung cancer and emphysema and a huge contributor to heart disease,’’ Geller recalled in a memoir. The FCC ruling was upheld in court appeals.

‘‘The industry desperately wanted to stop these counter ads and did so by eliminating its own ads, thus saving $250 million,’’ he added. ‘‘From April 1, 1970, forward, all cigarette advertising was eliminated from radio and television.’’

After leaving the FCC in 1973 as special assistant to the chairman, Mr. Geller became a communications fellow at the Aspen Institute, a nonprofit that conducts seminars and policy programs.