--- description: Actor Eric Lawson, once the face of Marlboro cigarettes, has died from respiratory failure due to lung disease. Lawson appeared in print ads as rugged cowboy for the brand from 1978 to 1981 title: Marlboro Man Eric Lawson Dies of Lung Disease image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Smoking](/tag/smoking/) ## Smoking Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Marlboro Man Eric Lawson Dies of Lung Disease by [Megan Gibson](/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 27, 2014 1:11 PM CUT by [Megan Gibson](/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 27, 2014 1:11 PM CUT Actor Eric Lawson, once the face of Marlboro cigarettes, has[ died from respiratory failure](http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/ex-marlboro-man-eric-lawson-dies-at-72-1201072279/ "undefined") due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), at the age of 72. From 1978 to 1981, Lawson appeared in print ads as “The Marlboro Man,” a rugged cowboy synonymous with the cigarette brand. Throughout his acting career, Lawson also had parts in TV shows _The Streets of San Francisco_, _Charlie’s Angels_, _Dynasty_ and _Baywatch_. Lawson’s wife, Susan, [told](http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/ex-marlboro-man-eric-lawson-dies-at-72-1201072279/ "undefined") _Variety_ that the actor had been a smoker through much of his life, starting at the age of 14, though he quit when he was diagnosed with COPD. “He knew the cigarettes had a hold on him,” [she said in an interview with _Variety_](http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/ex-marlboro-man-eric-lawson-dies-at-72-1201072279/ "undefined"). “He knew, yet he still couldn’t stop.” Lawson isn’t the only former face of Marlboro to die from smoking-related diseases. Wayne McLaren, who appeared in [Marlboro print ads](http://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/25/obituaries/wayne-mclaren-51-rodeo-rider-and-model.html "undefined"), died of lung cancer in 1992, and David McLean, who appeared in print and television spots, died of lung cancer in 1995. \[[_Variety_](http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/ex-marlboro-man-eric-lawson-dies-at-72-1201072279/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/1935/marlboro-man-eric-lawson-dies-of-lung-disease/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/1935/marlboro-man-eric-lawson-dies-of-lung-disease/"},"headline":"Marlboro Man Eric Lawson Dies of Lung Disease","datePublished":"2014-01-27T13:11:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:14:32.203Z","description":"Actor Eric Lawson, once the face of Marlboro cigarettes, has died from respiratory failure due to lung disease. Lawson appeared in print ads as rugged cowboy for the brand from 1978 to 1981","url":"https://time.com/1935/marlboro-man-eric-lawson-dies-of-lung-disease/","keywords":["Smoking"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Gibson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/megan-gibson/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/smoking/","name":"Smoking"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/1935/marlboro-man-eric-lawson-dies-of-lung-disease/","name":"Marlboro Man Eric Lawson Dies of Lung Disease"}}]}] ```