David McLean was an American film and televisionactor, best known for appearing in many Marlboro television and print advertisements beginning in the early 1960s.
McLean's acting career began on stage with work in little theater plays. Following military service in World War II, he acted in productions in Los Angeles in addition to drawing sketches and cartoons. In addition to his commercial work for Marlboro cigarettes, McLean starred as the title character in the NBCwesterntelevision series, Tate, which was a summer replacement for half of Perry Como's program in 1960. He also appeared in numerous television programs and feature films of the 1960s and 1970s, including a leading role in the 1961 movie X-15, the directorial debut of Richard Donner, and films such as The Strangler, Nevada Smith, , Kingdom of the Spiders and Deathsport. He guest-starred three times in the NBC television series Laramie: in the 1962 episodes "Beyond Justice", in the role of Steve Collier, a corrupt territorial politician, and in "A Grave For Cully Brown" as Cully Brown, and as Marshal Branch McGary in the 1963 episode, "The Marshals." In 1966, he appeared in an episode of the NBC western The Virginian. He guest-starred in the NBC western series Bonanza as well as on Daniel Boone. In 1963, McLean was cast as the gangster Frank MacErlane in the episode "Open Season" of the CBSanthology series, GE True, hosted by Jack Webb. In the story line, James Best portrays the courageous Wisconsingame warden Ernie Swift who faces the reprisal of the mob after he tickets MacErlane for illegal fishing. That year he also appeared on Perry Mason as the title character and defendant Trevor Harris in "The Case of the Lawful Lazarus." As Lazarus in the Bible had been raised by Jesus from the dead, Harris reappeared from a ten-year absence after being declared legally dead. McLean appeared as Stephen F. Austin in the 1964 episode, "A Book of Spanish Grammar," on the anthology series, Death Valley Days. In the story line, Austin travels to Mexico City to purchase land in colonial Texas to sell to future settlers. His traveling companion, Valdez, wonders why he risks so much to help strangers. Aside from his commercial appearances for Marlboro, McLean was the spokesperson for Great Western Savings & Loan in its television commercials. He was also an woodworker and artist.
Personal life
McLean was married to Lilo Diane Haig, who is also known as Liselotte Herlinger. They had a son, Mark.
Health problems
A lifelong smoker, McLean started suffering in 1985 from emphysema and had a tumor removed from a lung in 1994. His libertarian bent prevented him from pursuing a direct suit against Philip Morris, but he did become an anti-smoking advocate. At a meeting of stockholders of Philip Morris, the manufacturer of Marlboro, McLean requested that the company limit its advertising. McLean was one of two Marlboro Man actors to suffer from cancer. Wayne McLaren, who acted the part for print advertising, died of lung cancer in 1992.
"In 1996, McLean's widow and son filed suit for wrongful death against Philip Morris... that the firm encouraged or even required cigarette smoking, which caused McLean's lung cancer." A fictitious version of these purported events were featured in the comic novelThank You for Smoking. The suit was eventually dismissed. A January 27, 2014, article in the Los Angeles Times reported that "a federal judge ruled that California law -- in those days, more protective of tobacco companies -- protected Phillip Morris from Lilo McLean's claims. McLean was billed for the costs of the lawsuit."
