Biography

Mr. McLean appeared for years on television commercials as the Marlboro Man. After he learned he had cancer, he became an anti-smoking crusader. At a meeting of stockholders of Philip Morris, maker of Marlboro, Mr. McLean asked them to limit their advertising. In addition to his movie credits, Mr. McLean also appeared on the television programs 'Tate', 'Bonanza', 'The Westerner', 'The High Chaparral', 'The Virginian', and 'Gunsmoke'.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous

In the early to mid 1960s he played "The Marlboro Man" in a series of commercials for Marlboro cigarettes. Part of his compensation was a free supply of the cigarettes. In 1994 McLean learned he had developed lung cancer, which he was told by his physicians was due to his heavy smoking. He then joined a campaign to end the airing of ads for cigarettes on TV, which was eventually successful. The character in the novel "Thank You for Smoking" and the subsequent film Thank You for Smoking (2005)) was based on McLean.

Before becoming an actor, he had been an architect and a cartoonist.