Who were the Marlboro Man models?
Cue Marlboro Man from mythical Marlboro Country. Cue Turk Robinson, a Choctaw Chief descendant and lifelong wrangler with an Oklahoma drawl as long as his 6’6″ frame.
“The Marlboro Man” is carved into the gravestone of Max Bryan “Turk” Robinson, underneath a facsimile of his certification as a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. But Turk is not dead yet. We are assured by the caretaker that Turk was the first Marlboro Man, and contrary to the urban legends, is still very much alive.
Cue Turk Robinson, a Choctaw Chief descendant and lifelong wrangler with an Oklahoma drawl as long as his 6’6″ frame. Turk knows exactly why he was chosen by the tobacco titan: “The Philip Morris tobacco company got where they didn’t like using the professional models and the stunt men in movies, and stuff like that.
At a time when cigarettes were still considered safe, they were cheap and widely popular — costing just 25 cents a pack on average in the 1950s. In 1965, 42% of adults smoked….Powered by.
Philip Morris opened a New York subsidiary in 1902 to sell many of its cigarette brands. The mark “Marlboro” was registered in the United States in 1908 although no cigarette was marketed under this name until 1923. In 1924, the brand was launched.
Robert C. Norris, a rancher who took the role of the Marlboro Man in television commercials for the cigarette brand but who abandoned the campaign because, as a nonsmoker, he felt he was setting a bad example for his children, died on Nov. 3 in Colorado Springs. He was 90.
Deceased (1922–1995)
David McLean/Living or Deceased
David McLean
At least four other men who appeared in Marlboro advertisements have met a similar fate. The second man, David McLean, died of lung cancer in 1995. His widow sued Philip Morris a year later. “During the taping of the commercials, David McLean was obligated to smoke Marlboro cigarettes,” her lawsuit reads.
rancher Bob Norris
Philanthropist and rancher Bob Norris, best known as the original “Marlboro Man,” died earlier this week. He was 90.
Eric Lawson
Eric Lawson, who portrayed the rugged Marlboro man in cigarette ads during the late 1970s, died Jan. 10 at his home in San Luis Obispo, Calif. He was 72. The cause was respiratory failure because of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, said his wife, Susan Lawson.
Five men who appeared in Marlboro-related advertisements — Wayne McLaren, David McLean, Dick Hammer, Eric Lawson and Jerome Edward Jackson, aka Tobin Jackson — died of smoking-related diseases, thus earning Marlboro cigarettes, specifically Marlboro Reds, the nickname “cowboy killers”.
