Cigarette Smoking Man

The Cigarette Smoking Man (sometimes called CSM or Cancerman), is a fictional character played by William B. Davis on the 1993-2002 television series The X-Files. The Cigarette Smoking Man oversaw Scully's debriefing and disposed of her evidence in the show's Pilot episode, and eventually developed into the series' primary antagonist. The character is known initially only by this nickname because he is almost always seen chain-smoking Morley cigarettes, and is usually surrounded by clouds of smoke.

Related Topics:
Fictional character - William B. Davis - Television series - The X-Files - Pilot - Morley cigarettes

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His silent presence in Skinner's office is always a warning that the shadowy government attempting to discredit Mulder is again keeping an eye on the nonconformist agent. When not in Skinner's office, he can be found in the basement of the Pentagon, secreting evidence in a vast storehouse of classified materials.

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The name "Cancerman" is first used by Mulder in "One Breath." ("Black-lunged son-of-a-bitch" is his other favourite name for him, and Mulder calls him "Old Smoky" in "The End".) Later, Scully and even Skinner have come to use it.

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On the surface, it may seem that CSM merely tries to antagonize Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, but there is much more to him. He is involved in the Syndicate, a shadow organization within the United States government that exists to hide from the public the fact that aliens are visiting Earth. The CSM is the one who knows the truth, and Mulder is the one trying to find it out. However, CSM's reasons are much more complex than simply the desire to hide the truth. Therefore, the character can not be described as purely 'good' or 'bad'.

Related Topics:
Fox Mulder - Dana Scully

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In the sixth season episode "Two Fathers", his real name is revealed to be C. G. B. Spender but this could just be another alias. He was formerly married to Cassandra Spender, with whom he had a son, Jeffrey. He was a colleague of Fox Mulder's father William and a close friend of the Mulder family.

Related Topics:
Jeffrey - Fox Mulder

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According to his fictionalized memoirs, depicted in the episode "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man", he assassinated both John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. He also fixed the Super Bowl to ensure that the Buffalo Bills would never win a championship.

Related Topics:
Memoir - Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man - John F. Kennedy - Martin Luther King - Super Bowl - Buffalo Bills

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