‘Winston Man’ Became a Critic of Big Tobacco
March 5th, 2009
Alan Landers, 68, a model who posed for Winston cigarette ads in the 1960s and 1970s and later sued the tobacco industry over his health claims, died Feb. 27 at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., while undergoing treatment for throat cancer.
Mr. Landers, whose legal name was Allan Levine, started smoking as a child and wrote on his Web site that he was required to smoke on the sets for advertisements, posing for billboards and magazine ads as the self-proclaimed “Winston Man.”
Later in life, he became an outspoken critic of the tobacco industry. Florida lawyer Norwood “Woody” Wilner sued four of the nation’s top cigarette makers on Mr. Landers’ behalf in December 1995. His individual case was scheduled to go to trial in April, said one of Mr. Landers’ attorneys, Tim Howard.