William Thourlby, the Marlboro Man, Spends His Time Alone – NYTimes.com August 3, 2012 Face of Marlboro Prefers to Be Alone By COREY KILGANNON IN the 1950s William Thourlby squinted at America from billboards and invited smokers to Marlboro Country. On Wednesday, he squinted at a visitor and reluctantly invited him up to Room 811