196X - Marlboro Man

1960s color Marlboro Country television commercial

David McLean, who appeared in many Marlboro television and print advertisements starting in the early 1960s, also died of cancer at age 73 on 12 October 1995. McLean starred in the short-lived 1960 television Western Tate, and he played roles in numerous television series and feature films during the 1960s and 1970s. McLean took up smoking at age 12, began to suffer from emphysema in 1985, and had a cancerous tumor removed from his right lung in 1993. Despite the surgery, the cancer remained and spread to his brain and spine, and McLean succumbed in 1995. In August 1996 McLean's widow and son filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Philip Morris, Inc., claiming that McLean was unable to stop smoking because of his nicotine addiction, and that his smoking habit was the cause of his lung cancer. (The lawsuit contended, among other issues, that McLean had been obligated to smoke up to five packs per take in order to get the right look while posing for advertisements, and that he received cartons of Marlboro cigarettes as gifts from Philip Morris.) At last report (in 1999) the lawsuit was still pending, having outlasted all attempts by defendant Philip Morris to have it dismissed.

http://www.smokefreesociety.org/InMemory/David%20McLean-1.asp

David McLean (May 19, 1922 – October 12, 1995) was an American film and television actor, best-known for appearing in many Marlboro television and print advertisements, starting in the early 1960s.

David McLean was born as Eugene Joseph Huth in Akron, Ohio^[1]. In addition to his work for Marlboro, McLean also starred as the title character in the short-lived 1960 television series, Tate, and appeared in numerous television series and feature films in the '60s and '70s.

A lifelong smoker, McLean started suffering from emphysema in 1985, and had a tumor removed in 1994. After he found out that he had cancer, he became an anti-smoking advocate. At a meeting of stockholders of Philip Morris, maker of Marlboro, McLean requested they limit their advertising. He died of lung cancer at the age of 73, on October 12, 1995.

In 1996, McLean's widow and son filed suit for wrongful death against Philip Morris, maker of Marlboro, claiming that they encouraged or even required cigarette smoking which caused his lung cancer. A fictitious version of this ironic situation was featured in the comic novel Thank You for Smoking.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_McLean_(actor)