Thomas L. (Tom) Cochran, born in Walters, Oklahoma, was a watercolor painter, a sculptor, woodcarver, and a designer. He was best known for his realistic style of painting with water colors. Cochran had several one-man art shows at various venues in Jackson, Mississippi.
He sculpted the bronze busts of Lt. Gov. Carroll Gartin of Mississippi and Senator Robert Kerr of Oklahoma., Presidents Ford, Reagan, and G.H.W. Bush were recipients of his commissioned carvings of hiking staffs.
Cochran worked fro Phillip Morris Tobacco Company and created the Marlboro Man image.
In 1959, following a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, Cochran made Jackson, Mississippi his home for the rest of his life. Cochran died in 2006.