A study on whether news about suicides of prominent persons evokes an imitative effect is reported in this article. Daily overall suicide frequencies of a German federal state were examined for the period 1968 to 1980 & related to prominent suicides that were publicized in major newspapers. Data were analyzed quasi-experimentally & by means of a time series regression analysis. The results are on the whole, consistent with the assumption of an imitative effect. (23 Refs.)