Robert “Bob” Frank Norris, the “ruggedly handsome” cowboy who rose to fame as the “Marlboro Man”, has died. He was 90. Norris passed away on Nov. 3 in his town of the city, Colorado beneath the care of Pikes Peak Hospice.
The Colorado native is best well-known for being one among the primary to portray the “Marlboro Man” within the cigarette company’s commercials.
Born in 1929, Frank Norris grew up in Illinois, attending Elgin Academy in St. Charles, before heading south to attend the University of Kentucky and play for the football team.
In June 1950, Norris married Jane Wright.
That same year, Norris, United Nations agency primarily came from a family of financiers and lawyers, went into the horse and cattle business when learning the agriculture business from an uncle.
By 1953, Frank Norris and Wright had moved to Colorado and purchased the Rist Canyon ranch. They remained there till 1957 once the couple set to begin having children.
They eventually moved to the Black Forest, settling down in the Broadmoor area, and also established roots in Paradise Valley, Arizona for a winter home.
While in Colorado, Frank Norris purchased the T-Cross whole, which is currently the oldest registered whole within the state, and eventually bought a 20,000-acre land that became the T-Cross Ranch.
The ranches before long became the place wherever Marlboro meant to shoot their terribly initial commercials and photograph horses.
However, after showing up and meeting Frank Norris, the tobacco company decided to replace their professional model with him, as Norris seemed incredibly authentic to the role and “already dirty.”
“Bob was a man of unassuming manner that belied his vast accomplishments,” the obituary states. “A devoted husband and father, he doted on his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and cherished the homes he and his wife created, not just for their expansive beauty and exquisite taste, however as a result of they were the guts of activity for family and friends.”