Don Draper
Don Draper | |
---|---|
Mad Men character | |
First appearance | "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" (2007) |
Last appearance | "Person to Person" (2015) |
Created by | Matthew Weiner |
Portrayed by |
|
Donald Francis Draper, born Richard “Dick” Whitman, is a fictional character and the
The character of Don Draper is partially inspired by Draper Daniels, a creative director at Leo Burnett advertising agency in Chicago in the 1950s, who worked on the Marlboro Man campaign; and by Bill Backer, an advertising executive at McCann Erickson who created the "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" ad in 1971.[1][2] Don Draper is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most iconic characters in television history and Jon Hamm received universal acclaim for his performance.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Character biography
Early life
Donald Francis Draper is revealed through flashbacks to be the assumed identity of Richard "Dick" Whitman,
Dick was raised primarily by a stepmother, Archie's wife Abigail (Brynn Horrocks), who treated him cruelly because she saw him as a reminder of her husband's infidelity. At the time of his father's death, she was pregnant and posthumously gave birth to Dick's half-brother, naming him Adam. The one person to show him any kindness as a child was his stepfather, "Uncle Mack" (Morgan Rusler), who taught him how to survive in the real world. Mack was "with" Abigail's sister Ernestine (Julie Alexander) and ran the brothel in Pennsylvania Coal Country where Dick and Adam grew up. When Dick was around 15 years old, his "aunt" died and Dick was a pallbearer for the first time at her funeral.
Many years later, one of the prostitutes at the brothel had Dick
During this period of his life, he began to suffer from croup and was left under the care of a prostitute named Aimée (Megan Ferguson). She took his virginity in a way that creator Matthew Weiner stated concerned "his relationship to sex and molestation",[13] and reviewer Abigail Rine described more directly as rape.[14]
Korean War and change in identity
Whitman never finished high school,[15] and in his early 20s he ran away to enlist in the United States Army during the Korean War in 1950.[16] Once deployed, he served under the command of Lieutenant Donald Francis Draper (Troy Ruptash),[17] a combat engineer[18] under orders to build a field hospital with only Whitman and shovels to assist him; all of Draper's previous subordinates either deserted, or were captured or killed.[19]
During an enemy artillery attack, Whitman caused an explosion by accident, killing Draper instantly. A seriously wounded Whitman switched Draper's dog tags with his own before passing out. He later awakened in a U.S. Army field hospital, presumed to be Draper, and was subsequently awarded the Purple Heart. He was sent home on a train with Draper's coffin (believed to be Whitman's) to offer the Army's regrets to Whitman's survivors. He avoided meeting the Whitmans at the train station but was spotted by Adam (Jay Paulson), whose parents failed to recognize him. Years later in 1960, Adam tracks his half-brother down in New York, but "Draper" insists on leaving the past behind and coldly rejects him, paying him off with $5,000 in cash to keep the identity theft secret. Months later, Dick learns Adam took this so hard he hanged himself.
Whitman began his life anew as Don Draper, working as a used-car salesman.
Life as "Don Draper"
The new Don Draper relocated to New York City, where he worked as a
He was considered a major asset to the company, as he had considerable talent for understanding the desires of others and for effectively pitching and selling ideas. Because of this, he was occasionally courted by other advertising firms. Although he kept his true character heavily guarded, almost everyone at the firm was portrayed as respecting his talent. At the same time, many in the firm were also troubled by Draper's erratic behavior.
Draper and Betty were married in May 1953 and eventually moved into a house with an address shown as 42 Bullet Park Road,
In December 1963, Draper persuaded Bert Cooper (
Draper worked as a freelancer for a year while still technically on SC&P's payroll. Megan had moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career and asked him for a divorce. Feeling guilty over his past infidelities, Draper gave her a generous divorce settlement. SC&P eventually allowed him to come back on the condition that he stop drinking on the job. He did his work well and eventually assumed his old position with the company. Following Bert Cooper's death, Roger Sterling, with Draper and other partners' support, sold SC&P to McCann as an independent and separate subsidiary. The arrangement lasted for a year before McCann decided to fully absorb SC&P. McCann's executives groomed Draper as management material, but he panicked at the thought of being tied down and left the company in the middle of a meeting.
Draper then embarked on a nomadic existence as a mechanic and in the series' final episode, "Person to Person", moved into a commune with Anna's niece Stephanie (
Personality
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This section is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. (April 2013) |
Despite his outward cynicism and egotism, the character of Don Draper demonstrates a strict code of personal
Draper adheres to a stricter code of
Draper briefly becomes a confidant to
In matters of
Draper is loyal to many of his coworkers, and is particularly close to Peggy Olson and Joan Harris; two women he has only had a completely platonic relationship with. Draper and Pete Campbell initially dislike one another, as Draper at first sees Pete as the spoiled son of a wealthy "old money" New York City family, who received his job because of his family connections rather than professional talent. They eventually grow to respect each other, however, and a work friendship develops. Draper watches Pete become a smart and driven advertising executive. Draper also has a close relationship with Roger Sterling. They are generally depicted as overlooking each other's personal failings and supporting one another at work. Roger saves a drunken Draper from drowning after the latter falls into a swimming pool while they are attending a party in Hollywood. Meanwhile, Draper inspires Roger to refocus his efforts at SCDP, causing Roger to engineer the firm's acquisition of the Chevrolet account. Roger fights to get Draper reinstated at SCDP after his forced leave of absence.
Draper is occasionally shown to regret how he treats his family. When Betty gives birth to their third child, he has a conversation with another man in the hospital waiting room who says he's going to be a better man for his wife and child.[33] Although it is implied that Draper has similar convictions, he later acknowledges to his second wife that he feels a general state of disconnect between himself and his children.[34] Draper's one consistent display of parental behavior is that he cannot tolerate Betty's often harsh treatment of Sally, and he has interceded on her behalf on those occasions.
Draper detests his father-in-law, Eugene "Gene" Hofstadt (Ryan Cutrona), but agrees to take him into their home when Gene is no longer able to live on his own. At multiple points, Draper shows more patience and understanding toward his father-in-law than his wife. After Gene's death, however, Draper tells Betty that he and her father hated each other.[35]
Like many other characters in the series Draper is a heavy drinker, with his cocktail of choice being an
Throughout the series, Draper displays signs of
Relationships with women
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Don Draper met his future wife, Betty Hofstadt, when she was working as a model, later surprising her when he purchased a fur she wore during a photo shoot. With that gesture being the start of their relationship, Betty and Don were soon married. The couple later has their first child, Sally, soon followed by a son, Bobby. In Season 3, the Drapers have another son, Gene, named after Betty's recently deceased father. However, Don cheats on his wife repeatedly throughout Seasons 1 and 2.
Season 1
In Season 1, he is involved with Midge Daniels (
During and after his affair with Midge, Don pursues Rachel Menken (Maggie Siff), the daughter of Abraham Menken, the elderly Jewish founder of the upscale Menken's Department Store. Rachel is educated, sophisticated, and a savvy businesswoman, assisting her father in running the family business. Despite bickering with her during their initial business meetings, Don and she become intimate, and they eventually begin an affair. Their relationship collapses after he professes a desire to run away with her, prompting Rachel to realize Draper simply wants an excuse to run away and forget his responsibilities. She leaves on a cruise to Europe and marries sometime before the beginning of Season 2.
Season 2
In Season 2, Draper has an affair with
The strain leads to Don and Betty's first separation, and he moves into a hotel room. His father-in-law has another stroke, necessitating a visit from Don at the Hofstadt home to keep up the appearance of a happy marriage. In his post-stroke confusion, Hofstadt openly expresses his disdain for his son-in-law, saying, "He's got no people. You can't trust a man like that." Don comforts Betty, who is distraught at her father's decline, and they have sex, leading Don to believe that Betty has forgiven him. When they arrive home, however, Betty tells him not to move back in, saying "We were only pretending."
His life in flux, Don impulsively decides to join
Season 3
In episode 1 of season 3, Don and colleague
During Season 3, Don has an affair lasting several months with his daughter's schoolteacher, Suzanne Farrell (Abigail Spencer). Their relationship builds slowly over several accidental meetings and conversations laden with innuendo. Don becomes infatuated by Suzanne's optimism and kindness and they finally consummate their relationship in September 1963. On October 30, 1963, he plans a weekend get-away with Suzanne, believing his wife and children are out of town. While Suzanne waits in the car, he enters his house to retrieve a suitcase and is stunned to find Betty at home. She reveals that she's found a key to the locked drawer in Draper's desk and discovered the box of photographs and other evidence of his past life, as well as several hundred dollars in emergency escape funds. Forced to reveal his true identity, Don never returns to the car and Suzanne eventually walks home. Even though they have not been discovered, he calls her the next day to break off the relationship. Draper begins an unsuccessful attempt to save his marriage, but Betty uses his lies about his life and past as an excuse to divorce him in order to marry Henry Francis, an aide to New York State governor Nelson Rockefeller.
Season 4
Following the dissolution of his marriage, Don's relationship with women reaches its nadir during Season 4, which takes place from 1964 to 1965. At the beginning of Season 4, set in 1964, he hires a prostitute named Candace (
When Draper goes home drunk after an office Christmas party, he forgets the keys to his apartment. He asks Allison (Alexa Alemanni), his secretary, to deliver the keys to him. Having had a crush on him all along, she retrieves his keys and brings them back to his apartment, where Draper is barely conscious. Instead of leaving his keys and going back to the party, Allison invites herself inside and offers to cook for him. He refuses and collapses onto his couch. As she begins to leave, Draper makes a pass at her; she returns the attention and has sex with him.[37] This later creates tension in their professional relationship when Draper tries to act as if nothing happened and gives her a large Christmas bonus to make up for her inadvertently hurt feelings. Confused and heartbroken, Allison decides she can no longer work for him or the agency and finds another job. She asks Don to write a letter of recommendation for her; he tells her that she can write it herself and that he will sign off on whatever she writes. Insulted and enraged, she throws a brass cigarette dispenser at him, calls him "a bad person", and storms out in tears. Visibly shaken by the encounter, Draper later attempts to write a letter of apology to her, but then decides to leave it be.
Later in Season 4, Draper becomes friendly with
As Season 4 progresses, Draper is no longer visiting prostitutes and seems to have settled down with Faye. Although he seems to be satisfied in his relationship with her, he begins to notice and grow close with his secretary, Megan. Draper is surprised when Megan reveals herself to be intelligent, liberal, and eager to learn from him and Peggy about advertising. His business faces a severe hardship that indirectly threatens his and Faye's relationship. Megan seeks to help relieve his tensions and the pair have sex in his office one night; he is ambivalent at first, but she assuredly tells him not to worry because she only wants to have sex with him and she won't make a scene about it. With Faye's consulting firm no longer working with SCDP, she is pleased because she and Draper can now be "out in the open" with their relationship.
During the Season 4 finale, "Tomorrowland," Faye believes their relationship is stronger than ever. However, when Betty suddenly fires her children's long-time nanny, Draper scrambles to find a nanny for his three children for their upcoming visit to California and, remembering how good Megan was with children previously, asks her to accompany them on the trip. He goes to Anna's house one last time, and Stephanie tells him that Anna left him the diamond solitaire engagement ring given to her by the real Don Draper upon their engagement. Draper ends up sleeping with Megan during the trip. On returning to New York, Don impulsively decides to propose to her with the engagement ring. He tells her the ring is very special to him and that he "finally feels like himself" with her. Megan accepts, and, subsequently, Draper telephones Faye, and breaks off their relationship by informing her of his engagement. Draper also informs Betty as she is packing up the last moving box from the home they shared together in Ossining.
Season 5
When the fifth season opens, in May 1966, it is revealed that Draper has told Megan all about his past and his real identity. It is also revealed that they married sometime between seasons four and five (between October 1965 and May 1966) and have moved into a penthouse apartment on Park Avenue and 73rd. Over the course of the first year of their marriage, Draper is besotted with Megan and her natural skill at her work. When Megan decides she wants to quit advertising to pursue her dream of being an actress, Draper is initially skeptical and his feelings hurt, but wanting to make her happy, he relents. He remains fearful of her acting career, and they begin to argue more frequently. One of these arguments is over his past relationships, when they encounter one of his former girlfriends, Andrea Rhodes (Mädchen Amick). After encountering Rhodes, Don develops a severe fever and leaves work early to lie down. While he is sleeping, he hallucinates that Rhodes enters his apartment and forces herself upon him sexually even as he tries to tell her "no". Rhodes describes a scene of the past of them having sex, while Betty is waiting for him around the corner. The fever dream climaxes with Draper "killing" her. When he wakes the next morning, fever broken, he is terrified before realizing that it was all just a dream and that Megan has been with him all night, nursing him back to health.
Season 6
In the sixth season, sometime before January 1968, Draper begins an affair with his married downstairs neighbor, Sylvia Rosen (Linda Cardellini). They both feel discontented with their respective marriages and enjoy the thrill and convenience of their secret affair, but struggle to balance feelings of guilt; Draper is friends with Sylvia's husband Arnold (Brian Markinson) and Sylvia is close with Megan. In June 1968, the two of them engage in a days-long BDSM sexual role-play game in a Manhattan hotel. After having a dream about the two of them that she saw as an omen, Sylvia ends their affair. When Draper later helps Sylvia's son avoid service in Vietnam, their affair temporarily resumes until Sally discovers them together.
Season 7
As the series ends in season seven, Draper, now divorced a second time, is reminded of Rachel while dealing with a conflict at work. He reaches out to her only to discover that she has died of cancer. Not long after, he runs into Diana Bauer (Elizabeth Reaser), a waitress who bears a resemblance to Rachel. The two begin an affair, but it comes crashing down when it's revealed Diana is dealing with her past. Draper encourages her to forget it and move on, but she insists that ignoring past hurts is the wrong way to deal with life, and the two go their separate ways. Don later on attempts to find Diane at her old home in the Midwest, only to be reprimanded by her ex-husband for falling for her drama.
Reception
Hamm's portrayal of Don Draper received acclaim from critics and audiences alike. Draper has been cited as one of the greatest and most iconic TV characters of all time.
Dan Fienberg of
In 2009,
In 2010, Entertainment Weekly included Draper on its list of The 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years,[42] and in 2015, they named Draper one of the 25 Best TV Characters of the Past 25 Years.[43]
Hamm received eight nominations for the
In addition to his Emmy, Hamm won the
References
- ^ Daniels, Myra Janco (August 2009). "I Married a Mad Man". Chicago. Chicago, Illinois: Tribune Publishing. Archived from the original on August 1, 2010. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
- ^ Reilly, Katie (May 17, 2016). "Man Who Inspired Mad Men and 'Taught the World to Sing' Dies". Time.
- ^ "25 Best TV Characters in the Past 25 Years". EW.com. 2015-10-12. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
- ^ Nededog, Jethro; Acuna, Kirsten; Renfro, Kim; Shamsian, Jacob; Oswald, Anjelica; Singh, Olivia (2018-03-28). "The 50 most memorable TV characters of all time". Insider. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
- ^ Riedel, David (2011-03-29). "50 greatest TV characters". CBS News. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
- ^ Gruttadaro, Andrew (2020-03-30). "The Best TV Character of the Century Bracket". The Ringer. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
- ^ Schultz, Cody (2015-02-23). "Ranking the 20 best TV characters of all-time". Hidden Remote. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
- ^ "The 99 Greatest TV Characters Since Tony Soprano: #9-1". Yahoo Entertainment. 2015-03-14. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
- ^ Ben Travers, Hanh Nguyen; Travers, Ben; Nguyen, Hanh (2017-06-27). "The Best TV Characters of the 2000s, Ranked". IndieWire. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
- ^ Sheffield, Rob (2015-05-11). "50 Best 'Mad Men' Characters". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
- The Color Blue". Mad Men. Season 3. Episode 10. October 18, 2009. AMC.
- ^ According to "A Little Kiss", the real Don Draper's birthday falls June 1st. In conversation with Megan Don admits he's "been 40 for half a year", to which Megan responds "When is that gonna stop? Only you know that. This is your birthday now." This would place Don/Dick's real date in roughly late 1925 or early 1926.
- ^ "Inside Episode 608 Mad Men: The Crash". AMC. May 19, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- ^ Rine, Abigail (March 28, 2012). "Don Draper Was Raped". The Atlantic. Boston, Massachusetts: Emerson Collective. Archived from the original on January 23, 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
- ^ "The Summer Man". Mad Men. Season 4. Episode 8. September 12, 2010. AMC.
- The Jet Set". Mad Men. Season 2. Episode 11. October 12, 2008. AMC.
- ^ "Mad Men: 7 Canadian things about the show". The Canadian Press. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: CBC News. April 3, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
- The Mountain King". Mad Men. Season 2. Episode 12. October 19, 2008. AMC.
- Nixon vs. Kennedy". Mad Men. Season 1. Episode 12. October 11, 2007. AMC.
- ^ "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword". Mad Men. Season 4. Episode 5. August 22, 2010. AMC.
In this episode, Don tells Dr. Faye Miller the ages of his children. Later in the episode, he writes a check dated March 23, 1965.
- New York Media. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ^ Nelson, Libby (April 14, 2015). "Megan was guilty of the worst sin a Mad Men character can commit — she was boring". Vox. New York CitY: Vox Media. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
- ^ "Public Relations". Mad Men. Season 4. Episode 1. July 25, 2010. AMC.
- ^ "In Care Of". Mad Men. Season 6. Episode 13. June 23, 2013. AMC.
- ^ "Person to Person". Mad Men. Season 7. Episode 14. May 17, 2015. AMC.
- ^ Lee, Ashley (May 20, 2015). "Don Draper Wrote That Coke Ad, After All". Time. New York City: Meredith Corporation. Archived from the original on January 23, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ^ Li, Shirley (May 15, 2015). "Here's what everyone wrote about the Mad Men finale". Entertainment Weekly. New York City: Meredith Corporation. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
- ^ "Six Month Leave". Mad Men. Season 2. Episode 09. September 28, 2008. AMC.
- ^ "The Other Woman". Mad Men. Season 5. Episode 11. May 27, 2012. AMC.
- ^ "Out of Town". Mad Men. Season 3. Episode 1. August 6, 2009. AMC.
- ^ a b "Wee Small Hours". Mad Men. Season 3. Episode 09. October 9, 2010. AMC.
- ^ "My Old Kentucky Home". Mad Men. Season 3. Episode 3. August 30, 2009. AMC.
- ^ "The Fog". Mad Men. Season 3. Episode 5. September 13, 2009. AMC.
- ^ "The Flood". Mad Men. Season 6. Episode 5. April 28, 2013. AMC.
- ^ "The Grown-Ups". Mad Men. Season 3. Episode 12. November 1, 2009. AMC.
- ^ "Field Trip". Mad Men. Season 7. Episode 2. April 27, 2014. AMC.
- ^ Talked About Scene Episode 402 Mad Men: Don's Secretary Does Him a Favor Season 4, Episode 2. AMC. August 1, 2010.
- ^ Fienberg, Dan (December 29, 2009). "TV's Best of the Decade: No. 3 – 'Mad Men'". Uproxx. Archived from the original on January 23, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ^ Wilson, Bee (May 16, 2015). "My highlight: Mad Men by Bee Wilson". The Guardian. London, England. Archived from the original on January 23, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ^ "2009 Top 49 Most Influential Men". Askmen.com. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
- ^ "TV's Most Intriguing Characters". Comcast. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
- ^ Vary, Adam (June 1, 2010). "The 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years: Here's our full list!". Entertainment Weekly. New York City: Meredith Corporation. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
- ^ "25 Best TV Characters in the Past 25 Years". Entertainment Weekly. New York City: Meredith Corporation. October 12, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
Further reading
- Lewis, Jordan Gaines (2014-04-11). "A Mad Man, Indeed: The Psychology of Don Draper". Psychology Today.
- Vargas-Cooper, Natasha (July 22, 2010). "The Secret of Don Draper's Sex Appeal". The Daily Beast.
- Watkins, Gwynne (2013-04-10). "Mad Men on the Couch: A Psychiatrist Analyzes Don and Roger". Vulture.
External links
- Don Draper at AMCtv.com