David McLean was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 and television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

, best-known for appearing in many Marlboro television and print advertisements, starting in the early 1960s.

McLean was born as Eugene Joseph Huth in Akron, Ohio

Akron, Ohio

Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...

. In addition to his work for Marlboro, McLean also starred as the title character in the short-lived 1960 television series, Tate

Tate (TV series)

Tate was a Western television series that aired on the NBC television network from June 8, 1960 until September 14, 1960. It was created by Harry Julian Fink and produced by Perry Como's company, Roncom Video Films, Inc...

, and appeared in numerous television series and feature films in the 1960s and '70s. In 1966 he appeared in an episode of the long running western The Virginian

The Virginian (TV series)

The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...

.

A lifelong smoker, McLean started suffering from emphysema

Emphysema

Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...

 in 1985, and had a tumor removed in 1994. After he learned he had cancer

Lung cancer

Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...

, he became an anti-smoking advocate. At a meeting of stockholders of Philip Morris

Philip Morris USA

Philip Morris USA is the United States tobacco division of Altria Group, Inc. Philip Morris USA brands include Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Benson and Hedges, Merit, Parliament, Alpine, Basic, Cambridge, Bucks, Dave's, Chesterfield, Collector's Choice, Commander, English Ovals, Lark, L&M, Players and...

, maker of Marlboro, McLean requested they limit their advertising.

Posthumous

In 1996, McLean's widow and son filed suit for wrongful death against Philip Morris

Philip Morris USA

Philip Morris USA is the United States tobacco division of Altria Group, Inc. Philip Morris USA brands include Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Benson and Hedges, Merit, Parliament, Alpine, Basic, Cambridge, Bucks, Dave's, Chesterfield, Collector's Choice, Commander, English Ovals, Lark, L&M, Players and...

, maker of Marlboro, claiming that they encouraged or even required cigarette smoking which caused his lung cancer. A fictitious version of these purported events were featured in the comic novel Thank You for Smoking.