William Thourlby, the Marlboro Man, Spends His Time Alone – NYTimes.com
William Thourlby, the Marlboro Man, Spends His Time Alone – NYTimes.com
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 in the New York Athletic Club, where he has lived for decades.
“I’m the original Marlboro Man,” said Mr. Thourlby, 88, a former actor and model whose rugged looks helped the cigarette company rebrand itself as a macho smoke. “But I never smoked or drank, and I was no cowboy.”
