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.
