Eric Lawson, who portrayed the rugged Marlboro man in cigarette ads during the late 1970s, has died of a smoking-related disease. He was 72.
The Marlboro Man is the macho cowboy in the Old West. This is how Phillip Morris markets its Marlboro cigarattes.
The Marlboro Man was conceived by the advertising firm, Leo Burnett in 1954.
Lawson died Jan. 10 at his home in San Luis Obispo of respiratory failure, his wife, Susan Lawson said Sunday.
Lawson later appeared in an anti-smoking commercial that parodied the Marlboro man and an “Entertainment Tonight” segment to discuss the negative effects of smoking. Susan said her husband was proud of the interview, even though he was smoking at the time.
“He knew the cigarettes had a hold on him,” she said. “He knew, yet he still couldn’t stop.”
A few actors and models who pitched Marlboro brand cigarettes have died of smoking-related diseases. They include David Millar, who died of emphysema in 1987, as well as Dick Hammer and David McLean, who both died of lung cancer.
Wayne McLaren, an American actor who portrayed The Marlboro Man in Marlboro’s advertisements in the 1970s, also died of lung cancer in 1992.