Did you see the smallest star in Gran Torino? The First Calvary Division lighter was an accoutrement used by Eastwood’s character Walt Kowalski. It was a keepsake from his Korean War Days. The sample model shown here is one of thousands of different designs that Zippo has produced for the Armed Forces since WWII.

The Zippo lighter has appeared in thousands of films not only as a prop but in many cases as a device to move the plot forward. This is the case in Gran Torino. There have even been Zippo lighters custom made for a particular film, including the four-leaf clover model for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and the shark’s mouth of the X-men II. The X-men lighter is unique because it has wrap-around graphics and only two lighters of this design were created – one for the film set and one which is located in the Zippo/Case Museum in Bradford, PA.

Other lighter appearances in entertainment are in TV shows, stage plays, music videos and as a sound effect in rock tunes. Plus there is the classic “Zippo Encore Moment” at rock concerts where lighters are ignited in tribute to the band.

Why Zippo lighters in Hollywood? The reason in the beginning (1940s) was that the Zippo lighter is a reliable performer – it works and filmmakers counted on the consistent performance. In later years the Zippo lighter has been used primarily because they’re cool.

Hollywood-related Zippo lighters are also popular with collectors. The current line includes Elvis and John Wayne plus these legends of rock – Rolling Stones, Beatles, AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kiss, ZZ Top, Ozzy Osbourne, Meat Loaf and more.

Click here to see the list of films showing Zippo lighters.