View source for David McLean (actor)

{{For|a fictional character from [[Power Book II: Ghost|Book II]]|Davis MacLean}} 
{{short description|American film and television actor}}
{{use mdy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = David McLean
| birth_name    = Eugene Joseph Huth
| birth_place   = [[Akron, Ohio]]. U.S.
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1922|5|19}}
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1995|10|12|1922|5|19}}
| death_place   = [[Culver City, California]], U.S.
| yearsactive   = 1955&ndash;1978
| resting_place =
| occupation    = [[Actor]]
| spouse        = Lilo Diane Haig (?-1995) (his death) (1 child)
| children      = 1<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/20/obituaries/david-mclean-the-marlboro-man-73.html|title=David McLean The Marlboro Man, 73|date=October 20, 1995|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>
}}

'''David McLean''' (May 19, 1922 in [[Akron, Ohio]]  – October 12, 1995 in [[Culver City, California]]) was an American film and television actor, best known for appearing in many [[Marlboro (cigarette)|Marlboro]] television and print advertisements beginning in the early 1960s.

==Early years==
McLean was born as Eugene Joseph Huth in [[Akron, Ohio]].<ref name="twp">{{cite book|last1=Aaker|first1=Everett|title=Television Western Players, 1960–1975: A Biographical Dictionary|date=2017|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9781476628561|pages=291–292|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yXAkDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Eugene+Joseph+Huth%22&pg=RA1-PA1979|access-date=19 July 2017|language=en}}</ref>

==Career==
McLean's acting career began on stage with work in [[Little Theatre Movement|little theater]] plays. Following military service in World War II, he acted in productions in Los Angeles in addition to drawing sketches and cartoons.<ref name=twp/>

In addition to his commercial work for Marlboro cigarettes, McLean starred as the title character in the [[NBC]] [[Western (genre)|western]] [[television series]], ''[[Tate (TV series)|Tate]]'', which was a summer replacement for half of Perry Como's program in 1960.<ref name="tvw">{{cite book|last1=West|first1=Richard|title=Television Westerns: Major and Minor Series, 1946-1978.|date=1987|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, N.C.|isbn=0-7864-0579-1|pages=97–98}}</ref> He also appeared in numerous television programs and feature films of the 1960s and '70s, including a leading role in the 1961 movie ''[[X-15 (film)|X-15]]'', the directorial debut of [[Richard Donner]], and films such as ''[[The Strangler]]'' (1964), ''[[Nevada Smith]]'' (1966), ''[[Hughes and Harlow: Angels in Hell]]'' (1977), ''[[Kingdom of the Spiders]]'' (1977), and ''[[Deathsport]]'' (1978).

He guest-starred three times in the NBC television series ''[[Laramie (TV series)|Laramie]]'', in the 1962 episodes "Beyond Justice", in the role of Steve Collier, a corrupt territorial politician; in "A Grave For Cully Brown" as Cully Brown; and as Marshal Branch McGary in the 1963 episode, "The Marshals."{{Citation needed |date=January 2021}} In 1966, he appeared in an episode of the NBC Western ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|The Virginian]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://movies.aol.com/celebrity/david-mclean/47820/biography|title=Yahoo|website=movies.aol.com}}</ref>  He guest-starred in the NBC Western series ''[[Bonanza]]'', and on ''[[Daniel Boone (1964 TV series)|Daniel Boone]]''.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120717152235/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/47820/David-McLean/biography Biography], nytimes.com; accessed March 16, 2020.</ref>

In 1963, McLean was cast as the gangster Frank MacErlane in the episode "Open Season" of the [[CBS]] [[anthology series]], ''[[GE True]]'', hosted by [[Jack Webb]]. In the story line, [[James Best]] portrays the courageous Wisconsin game warden Ernie Swift, who faces the reprisal of the mob after he tickets MacErlane for [[illegal fishing]].{{Citation needed |date=January 2021}} That year, he also appeared on ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|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 10-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 ([[Rodolfo Acosta]]), wonders why he risks so much to help strangers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0556531/?ref_=ttep_ep11|title=A Book of Spanish Grammar on ''Death Valley Days''|publisher=Internet Movie Database|access-date=September 18, 2018}}</ref>

Aside from his commercial appearances for Marlboro, McLean was the spokesperson for [[Great Western Bank (1919–97)|Great Western Savings and Loan]] in its television commercials.<ref name=twp/> He was also an woodworker and artist.{{cn|date=March 2020}}

==Personal life==
McLean was married to Lilo Diane Haig, who is also known as Liselotte Herlinger. They had a son, Mark.<ref name=twp/>

==Health problems==
A lifelong smoker, McLean started suffering in 1985 from [[emphysema]] and had a tumor removed from a lung in 1994.<ref name=twp/> His [[Libertarianism|libertarian]] bent prevented him from pursuing a direct suit against [[Philip Morris USA|Philip Morris]], but he did become an antismoking advocate. At a meeting of stockholders of Philip Morris, the manufacturer of Marlboro, McLean requested that the company limit its advertising.{{Citation needed|date=November 2011}}

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.<ref name="ct">{{cite news|title='Marlboro Man' Widow Suing Tobacco Companies|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-09-15/news/9609150266_1_marlboro-man-marlboro-cigarettes-david-mclean|access-date=19 July 2017|work=Chicago Tribune|agency=Houston Chronicle|date=September 15, 1996|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719043206/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-09-15/news/9609150266_1_marlboro-man-marlboro-cigarettes-david-mclean|archive-date=19 July 2017}}</ref>

==Death==
On October 12, 1995, McLean died of [[lung cancer]] at the age of 73 in Los Angeles, California. His burial was at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.<ref name=twp/>

==Posthumous==
"In 1996, McLean's widow and son filed suit for wrongful death against Philip Morris ... [claiming] that the firm encouraged or even required cigarette smoking, which caused McLean's lung cancer."<ref name=twp/> A fictitious version of these purported events was featured in the comic novel ''[[Thank You for Smoking (novel)|Thank You for Smoking]]''. {{Citation needed|date=November 2011}}

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."<ref name="lat">{{cite news|last1=Pearce|first1=Matt|title=At least four Marlboro Men have died of smoking-related diseases|url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-marlboro-men-20140127-story.html|access-date=19 July 2017|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719044525/http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-marlboro-men-20140127-story.html|archive-date=19 July 2017}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1960|| ''Tate'' || Tate || 13 episodes
|-
|1961|| ''[[The Right Approach]]'' || Bill Sikulovic ||
|-
|1961|| ''[[The Silent Call]]'' || Joe Brancato ||
|-
|1961|| ''[[Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea]]'' || Ned Thompson || Uncredited
|-
|1961|| ''[[X-15 (film)|X-15]]'' || Matt Powell ||
|-
|1964|| ''[[The Strangler]]'' || Lt. Frank Benson ||
|-
|1966|| ''[[Nevada Smith]]'' || Romero ||
|-
|1971|| ''[[The Andromeda Strain (film)|The Andromeda Strain]]'' || Senator McKenzie (New Mexico) || Uncredited
|-
|1977|| ''[[Hughes and Harlow: Angels in Hell]]'' || Billy ||
|-
|1977|| ''[[Kingdom of the Spiders]]'' || Gene Smith ||
|-
|1978|| ''[[Deathsport]]'' || Lord Zirpola || (final film role)
|}

==See also==
<!-- already cited  * [[Marlboro Man]]
* [[Wayne McLaren]] -->
{{Portal|Biography|Ohio|California|Film|Television}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=0572522|name=David McLean}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, David}}
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Akron, Ohio]]
[[Category:Male actors from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in California]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer]]
[[Category:Tobacco advertising]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]