Dr. Zizmor, infamous subway advertiser and NYC icon, retires

We are but a mere four days into the New Year and the city has lost yet another one of its great icons: Dr. Jonathan Zizmor, the dermatologist of MTA advertisement fame. Zizmor has reportedly retired and shut down his New York City office, according to the New York Daily News.

Many New Yorkers would recognize Zizmor exclusively because of his cheesy advertisements for cosmetic procedures on the subway. The ads always featured a picture of a smiling Zizmor coupled with a rainbow and a before and after picture of a happy patient. The ads have been running on the trains since the 1980s.

“I got a lot of heat when I started,” Zizmor explained to Business Insider about his infamous ads and yet groundbreaking ads (he claims no other doctors were advertising on the train). “No one was on the subway. No one was even advertising.”

Zizmor is reportedly going to spend his retirement studying the Talmud, and diving into his “ next charitable project,” the couple’s realtor told the New York Daily News.

Matt Lee is a Web producer for Metro New York. He writes about almost everything and anything. Talk to him (or yell at him) on Twitter so he doesn’t feel lonely@mattlee2669.