LOS ANGELES (AP) — Eric Lawson, a working actor who portrayed the Marlboro
Man in cigarette ads during the late 1970s, has died. He was 72.
Lawson’s wife, Susan Lawson, said
Sunday that her husband died Jan. 10 at his California home. The cause was
respiratory failure due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.
The ruggedly handsome Lawson
portrayed the smoking cowboy in Marlboro print ads from 1978 to 1981. He also
had bit parts in such TV shows as “Baretta” and “Charlie’s Angels” before
injuries sustained on the set of a Western film ended his acting career.
A smoker since age 14, 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.
He is also survived by six
children.
