Eli Lilly and Company September 18, 1970, rock guitarist legend Jimi Hendrix died from a secobarbital overdose. On June 22, 1969, secobarbital overdose was the cause of death of actress Judy Garland. The drug was a central part of the plot of the hugely popular novel "Valley of the Dolls" (1966) by Jacqueline Susann in which three highly successful Hollywood women each fall victim, in various ways, to the drug. The novel was later released as a film by the same name. Eli Lilly has developed the vaccine preservative thiomersal (also called merthiolate and thimerosal). Thiomersal is effective by causing susceptible bacteria to autolyze.
Yargo (novel) had enjoyed a huge success five years earlier when it published Susann's original novella, "Dolores". "Yargo" was published on February 28, 1979. Critical notices were negative: one critic wrote, "It's awful, as usual, and it will sell, as usual." "The Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Review" stated that "Yargo" is "mildly entertaining," but "has no lasting value... except perhaps as a curiosity." "Yargo" was, nonetheless, a best seller, spending several weeks on the "New York Times" Mass Market Paperback list. Yargo (novel) Yargo is a romantic science fiction novel by Jacqueline Susann. It was written during the 1950s, but not