Don Draper

Don Draper
Mad Men character
Jon Hamm as Don Draper.
Portrayed by	Jon Hamm
First appearance	Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (1.01)
Created by	Matthew Weiner
In-universe information Other names "Don" (nickname) "Dick" (nickname) Richard Whitman (birth name) Occupation Founding Partner, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce Parents Archibald Whitman (father; deceased) Abigail Whitman (step-mother) Evangeline (mother; deceased) Siblings Adam Whitman (half-brother; deceased) Spouse Betty Draper (ex-wife) Children Sally Draper (daughter with Betty Draper) Bobby Draper (son with Betty Draper) Gene Draper (son with Betty Draper)

Donald Francis "Don" Draper is a fictional character and the protagonist of AMC's television series Mad Men. He is portrayed by 2008 Golden Globe winner Jon Hamm. Until the third season finale, Draper was Creative Director of Manhattan advertising firm Sterling Cooper. He became a founding partner at a new firm, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, after he and his superiors abandoned their old agency in advance of an unwanted acquisition.

Draper's character is partially based on Draper Daniels, the creative head of the Leo Burnett advertising agency in Chicago in the 1950s who created the Marlboro Man campaign.

In 2009, Don Draper was named the most influential man in the world by Ask Men ahead of such figures as Michael Phelps and Barack Obama.

Character biography

Most of the characters in the series know little, if anything, of Draper’s history and true identity; Harry Crane remarks in the third episode of the series, "Draper? Who knows anything about that guy? No one’s ever lifted that rock. He could be Batman for all we know." Clues are given through flashbacks, confessions, and clandestine visits to figures from his past.

The name "Don Draper" is an alias; his given name is Richard Whitman. Draper was born in Illinois, and his birth mother was a 22-year-old prostitute who died giving birth to him. He was subsequently taken in by his biological father Archibald "Archie" Whitman and his wife Abigail.

When Dick was ten years old, following an allotment act that slashed the price of Archibald's crops in half, Archie was killed by a spooked horse that kicked him in the face during an electrical storm; Dick was a witness to this. Subsequently, Abigail, Dick and his half-brother Adam moved to Pennsylvania (described by Draper as "coal country") and were raised by Abigail and a man referred to as "Uncle Mac."

Dick's relationship with his family was apparently contentious - he revealed to Betty that Archibald "beat the hell out of him" on a regular basis, and he "fantasized" about the day he could murder him. It is unclear if Abigail also abused him, but she made no effort to conceal Dick's past from him and referred to him as a "whore child." When told of her death from stomach cancer by Adam, he simply commented "Good." However, Don states during his confession to Betty regarding his past that Uncle Mac was "nice to him." He also appeared to be close to his half-brother Adam, who was eleven years younger than him. When Adam seeks Don out simply to meet him after all these years, Don rebuffs his attempt and walks away. Don later decides to speak and possibly reconcile with his younger brother, he discovers he is too late after Adam commits suicide by hanging.

Korean War

When Whitman was nineteen years old (his brother Adam mentions being 'only eight' when Dick left), he enlisted in the U.S. Army - he mentioned that he "ran away" to do so - and was sent to serve in the Korean War. Whitman was put under the command of Lt. Donald Draper, an engineer who was in charge of building a field hospital with only Whitman to assist him.

The two men are fired upon by the enemy, but they are unharmed, and after dusting themselves off soon begin to light cigarettes. When Lt. Draper tells Whitman that he has pissed himself, Whitman accidentally drops his lighter and ignites a pool of gasoline, which sets off a stockpile of explosives. Lt. Draper is killed in the explosion, his face burned beyond recognition. Upon seeing this, Whitman removes Lt. Draper's dog tags and switches them for his own.

Whitman, now believed to be Draper, awakens in the hospital, and is awarded the Purple Heart. He is then sent home with Lt. Draper's coffin (now believed to be Whitman's) to offer the Army's regrets to Whitman's survivors. He avoids meeting the Whitmans at the train station, but is spotted by Adam. Whitman makes his escape and begins his life as Don Draper.

Life as "Don Draper"

Draper was working as a used car salesman when he was tracked down by Anna Draper, the real Draper's widow. The two remained friends until Draper met and married Betty Hofstadt. After securing a legal divorce, he continued to support Anna, a piano teacher, financially. Their relationship evolved from confrontational at first to more supportive, with Don ultimately fleeing to her place for a few weeks in the later part of the second season to help clear his head. Anna, who was of great importance to Don, ultimately served as a confidant to him, and may have been the one who truly understood him. Anna died of cancer in Season 4.

Not many details have been provided as to how Don Draper became the creative director at Sterling Cooper. For some time, Draper was a used car salesman, and he was a salesman at a fur company and attended City College in New York City at night, though in Season 4 he reveals he did not finish high school. It was at this job that he met his future wife, Betty. Roger Sterling claims that he "discovered" Draper in this job, and brought him to work at Sterling Cooper. In actuality, Don convinced Roger to share drinks and Roger became very drunk. The next day, Don reported to work at Sterling Cooper, explaining to Roger that he was "Welcomed aboard" to have a job at Sterling Cooper. Roger, having been completely drunk has no recollection and does not dispute Don's word, thus Don really talked himself into the job. At some point Don and Betty marry, and move into a house at 42 Bullet Park Road, Ossining in Westchester County, New York.

Draper eventually became Creative Director, and then a junior partner, at Sterling Cooper. He is considered a great asset to the company as he has considerable talent for understanding the desires of others, and for effectively pitching and selling ideas. Because of this, he has occasionally been courted by other advertising firms. Although his true character remains mysterious and heavily guarded, almost everyone at the firm respects his talent. Among these is account executive Pete Campbell, who seems to view Draper as both a mentor and a hindrance to his advancement within the firm. When Campbell purposely takes a package addressed to Draper from his late, estranged brother Adam, Campbell discovers Draper’s true identity, subsequently attempting to blackmail Draper with this information. However, when Campbell confronts Draper in his office with what he's discovered, Don walks directly to senior partner Bert Cooper's office, with Campbell following behind incredulously. Once in Cooper's office, Campbell, getting in the first word, reveals Don's true identity to Cooper, who simply shrugs off the news, much to Campbell's astonishment. However, Cooper later uses the same information to compel Don to sign, under duress, a three-year employment contract.

Peggy Olson begins her career at Sterling Cooper as Draper's secretary, but with his support transitions into the role of copywriter. He carefully but firmly nurtures her talent as she learns the process, although in the first season he makes sure she continues with her secretarial duties until promoting her in the episode "The Wheel." The relationship between Peggy and Don gradually evolves into one of mutual dependency and understanding. In Season 2, Don visits Peggy in the hospital after she gives birth and encourages her to move forward and forget the entire episode, assuring her that the incident will be kept a secret and won't affect her standing at the firm. Peggy bails Don out of police custody after a drunk-driving accident and allows his female companion to recuperate at her apartment. Don generally does not show her any favoritism, and aggressively shuts down her request for a pay raise (which she argues she should be given under emerging "equal pay for equal work" statutes), which leads her to seriously consider taking a job at another agency. In Season 4, Peggy is given more demanding assignments and greater responsibility as a copywriter at Don's new firm, and they develop a greater level of trust and comfort with each other both professionally and personally. In the season 4 episode "The Suitcase" we see Don go through a drunken breakdown after receiving word to call California, which he took to mean his confident Anna Draper, who he knew was suffering from cancer at the time, had passed away. By the end of the episode's emotional journey he has confided in Peggy more about his past (being in Korea, having his father die in front of him) than anyone else at the agency to date.

Betty Draper was unaware of Don's past until she discovered a collection of photographs and other documents from his previous life which Don kept in a locked drawer in his desk. When Betty confronts Don and demands to know the truth, Don breaks down and reveals to her the secret of his true identity. Their marriage suffers another setback when Betty realizes, in the wake of John F. Kennedy's assassination, that she does not love or trust Don. She relocates to Nevada to file for divorce shortly thereafter. After being kicked out of the Draper family residence, Don moves into an apartment.

In December 1963, Don convinces Bert Cooper, Roger Sterling, and Lane Pryce, along with Peggy, Pete, Joan and Harry Crane, to leave Sterling Cooper rather than take their chances when they learn that their parent company is being purchased by rival firm McCann Erickson. They form the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce agency, working out of a hotel suite before moving to the Time-Life Building.

Within and without the office, Don's life is an entanglement of boozing and sex with a large group of women he has met in business and social settings, including at least one secretary (Allison), a stewardess (unnamed), an unemployed friend of a friend (Bethany), a teacher (Suzanne Farrell), a client (Rachel Menken), an artist (Midge Daniels), an actress (Eleanor Ames), a prostitute (unnamed), a business consultant (Dr. Faye Miller), a nurse, a Hedonist (Joy), and the wife of the lead performer in the Utz campaign (Bobbie Barrett).

Personality

In many respects, Draper is the stereotype of an American upper-middle class Post-World War II white male. It becomes clear during the second season that many of Draper's less admirable qualities (his infidelity, for example) are his way of dealing with internal conflicts. Draper appears to be one of the very few men at Sterling Cooper who does not engage in the sex-centered, locker-room style conversations that characterize its corporate culture. In fact, Draper keeps his extramarital affairs to himself and otherwise appears to be a decent and chivalrous man.

He warns Pete Campbell in the first episode ("Smoke Gets in Your Eyes") about his rude remarks to and about Peggy Olson, whom he has just met.

In the first episode of the second season (For Those Who Think Young), Draper is in an elevator listening to two younger men having a crude sexual conversation. Draper is disgusted and, when an older woman enters the elevator and they continue their graphic conversation, Draper tells one of the men to remove his hat. The man ignores Draper, who proceeds to remove the man's hat himself, thereby ending the men's conversation and sparing the woman further embarrassment.

During the episode "Six Month Leave," Draper admonishes several subordinates for mocking Freddy Rumsen's episode of urinary incontinence, a symptom of his alcoholism.

In "My Old Kentucky Home" (Season 3, Episode 3), Draper attends a festive Kentucky Derby party hosted by Roger Sterling, where he watches as Sterling serenades his young wife in blackface minstrel makeup. He and Pete Campbell seem to be the only guests who disapprove of or are uncomfortable with the spectacle.

In a fourth season episode Draper briefly scolds Ken Cosgrove in front of other employees for mocking a client with a severe stuttering problem.

Draper also adheres to a more strict code of business ethics than many of his colleagues. A second season arc has Draper upset about being told to drop the small local Mohawk Airlines client in favor of a chance at American Airlines. In Season 3, he is hesitant to sign a wealthy client eager to pour his fortune into promoting jai alai, a sport the client thinks will replace baseball as "America's game," Don knowing the client is about to squander his considerable fortune on a doomed enterprise.

He also keeps the secret of Art Director Sal Romano, a closeted and struggling homosexual, whom Don sees in a compromising position in a Baltimore hotel during a fire evacuation. Although Don continues to keep the secret, he nonetheless expresses his distaste for Sal's sexual orientation when he fires him in Season 3 because the son of a prominent client is irate at Sal's refusal to accept his sexual advances in the film editing room.

Don has demonstrated a bold streak, perhaps best displayed in his snap decision to get fired from Sterling Cooper in order to form a new advertising agency.

It is also shown throughout different episodes that Don regrets how he treats his family. In the season three episode where Betty gives birth to their third child, he has a conversation with another man in the waiting room who says that he's going to be a better man for his wife and child. It is clear that Don feels the exact same way.

Draper and women

Draper met his ex-wife Betty Draper (née Hofstadt) in her modeling days, surprising Betty by buying her the fur she wore on a photo shoot where he was in attendance; this gesture appears to be the start of their relationship. Betty and Don marry when she is in her early twenties, and she gave birth to their first child Sally soon after. A few years later, she gave birth to their first son, Bobby. In Season 3, Betty gave birth to a second son named Eugene after her recently-deceased father, with whom Don shared a mutually antagonistic relationship

Don cheats on Betty repeatedly throughout Seasons 1 and 2. In Season 1, Draper is involved with Midge, a pot-smoking beatnik and illustrator who works out of her small, dingy apartment. Midge's beatnik lifestyle and friends do not appeal to Don, but she offers him an escape from his high-pressure job. Don receives a bonus check of $2,500 from Sterling Cooper and asks her to run away with him to Paris. However, Don changes his mind, perhaps because he realizes Midge is in love with a fellow beatnik, or perhaps because the instinct to escape is fleeting, and instead stuffs the check into her blouse. He tells her to go buy a car with it and leaves.

Also during Season 1, Don pursues Rachel Menken. She is Jewish and the daughter of Abraham Menken, the elderly founder of upscale Menken's department store. Rachel, 28, is educated, sophisticated, and a savvy businesswoman, assisting her father in running the family business. Despite bickering with her during initial business meetings, Draper begins an affair with her. She ends their affair on November 8, 1960, the night the 1960 Presidential election results are being tabulated ("Nixon vs. Kennedy," Season 1, Episode 12). She leaves on a cruise for Europe and marries another man sometime before the beginning of season 2.

In Season 2, Draper turns to an older woman, Bobbie Barrett. She is the wife of Jimmy Barrett, an insult comic loosely based on Rat Packer Joey Bishop, filming a commercial for one Sterling Cooper's clients, Utz Potato Chips. Don does not like Bobbie's demanding and often unprofessional behavior, and at one point squeezes her crotch in a restaurant corridor to coerce her into making a business concession. However, she is very sexually aggressive and Don caves in to her during a severe hail storm in his car (Episode 3, "The Benefactor").

Draper and Bobbie continue their affair, taking a trip to the beach at "Stony Brook" on Long Island, but their plans are interrupted by a car accident followed by his arrest for drunken driving. Unable to post bond with the cash on his person, Don reaches out to Peggy Olson, who travels the great distance from Brooklyn to Long Island by car in the middle of the night, posts Don's bail of $110, and later boards Bobbie until her injuries from the accident heal. Bobbie and Don continue their affair until Episode 6 ("Maidenform"), when Bobbie lets slip that Draper's previous mistresses have been talking about his sexual skills. Don, who values his privacy highly, is aghast that his extra-marital escapades are being gossiped about, and immediately ends the affair. Don must continue his professional relationship with Bobbie and Jimmy, and the four of them (including Betty) meet at The Stork Club for a night out (Season 2, Episode 7, "The Gold Violin"). It is at the end of the evening that Jimmy reveals to Betty that their spouses are having an affair. Betty is shocked and sickened. Jimmy finishes the night by telling Draper off with Betty within earshot.

A distraught Betty confronts Don (Episode 8, "A Night to Remember), but he repeatedly denies the accusations, which infuriates Betty. Eventually, Betty appears willing to put the suspicion behind her, but when she coincidentally sees the commercial Jimmy made for Utz air on television, her anger is reignited. She calls her husband at work and tells him not to come home, whereafter Don moves into a hotel room and frequently sleeps in his office. Betty's father has another stroke (Episode 10, "The Inheritance"), necessitating a visit from Betty, and to keep up appearances, the two of them pretend to be a happily married couple while staying at her father's home. After witnessing the rapid decline of her father, Betty surprises Don with a sexual encounter in the middle of the night, leading Don to believe that she has now forgiven him. When they arrive home, however, Betty tells a confused Don not to move back in. Betty later discovers that she is pregnant.

Don impulsively decides to join Campbell on a business trip to Los Angeles (Episode 11, "The Jet Set"). In California, Don meets a mysterious European viscount with a 21-year-old daughter named Joy. Despite telling Campbell that the trip is strictly business, Don joins Joy and her "jet set" family of self-described nomads at their lavish vacation home in Palm Springs. Joy is topless in the pool one night, attempting to seduce Don again—despite being surrounded by other relatives and even small children, around their large pool. Draper realizes that this "sexual freedom" is excessive, even for him, and seeks out his confidante, Anna Draper (Episode 12, "The Mountain King.") Anna reassures Don, who tells her that he's "ruined everything," that his loving Betty doesn't mean he has to tell her everything. Don then bathes in the Pacific Ocean, in a symbolic baptismal gesture of new beginnings, and returns home to profess his love for Betty and ask her to take him back.

In Season 3, Don had an affair lasting several months with his daughter Sally's schoolteacher Suzanne Farrell. Their relationship builds slowly over several accidental meetings and conversations laden with innuendo. They finally consummate their attraction in September, 1963 (Episode 9, "Wee Small Hours").

Don ended the affair with Suzanne on October 30, 1963. Thinking Betty and his children are out of town, he plans a weekend get-away with Suzanne. With Suzanne waiting out in the car, and intending only to go into the house for a suitcase, Don is stunned to find Betty at home. Before he can make his escape, however, Betty reveals she has found the key to the locked drawer in Don's desk in which he keeps a box of photographs and other evidence of his past life, as well as several hundred dollars in emergency escape funds, and has discovered he has been lying to her. She coerces him into telling her the truth about his past, and he confesses his real name and the details of his deception. (Episode 11, "The Gypsy and the Hobo"). Don never returns to the car where Suzanne awaits him, apparently for hours, before giving up and returning home. He calls her the next day to break things off, even though they have not been discovered, in an attempt to save his marriage.

During season 4, Don again forgets the keys to his apartment and has Allison, his secretary bring them over and manages to seduce her that night (Episode 41, "Christmas Comes But Once a Year"). This later creates tension in their professional relationship when Don acts as if nothing happened. Confused and heartbroken over the affair, Allison decides she can no longer work for Don or the agency, she asks Don to write a letter of recommendation for her to another potential job. But when his insensitivity offends her, Allison becomes greatly upset. She throws a brass cigarette dispenser at Don and calls him "a bad person" before quitting her job and storming off in tears. Don is visibly shaken by the encounter, and Allison is replaced with an older secretary by Joan, who hints that she's aware of Don having seduced her. Don later tries to write a letter of apology to Allison but gives up on it (Episode 43, "The Rejected"). Allison is replaced by Ida Blankenship, an older woman with a blunt and cantankerous manner who may occasionally annoy Don, but proves to be the secretary he needs. Ida later dies at her desk, shocking Don and the staff.

During this time he becomes friendly with Dr. Faye Miller, a consumer psychologist he frequently works with. Faye is close to his age and resembles Anna Draper in many ways. After fending off his gentlemanly advances on several occasions she begins a romantic relationship with him. During one of his existential crises (Episode 49, "Hands and Knees") Don reveals his checkered past; she sympathizes with him and offers emotional support.

Draper and vehicles

Don worked as a used-car salesman at the time Anna Draper found him, and on at least one occasion enjoyed the company of motorcyclists and hot rod enthusiasts while he was visiting Anna in Southern California. At the outset of the series, Don drives a 1959 Buick Electra 225 convertible. Later, Don wrecks an unassuming and utilitarian Dodge model, after which he is goaded by Roger Sterling into purchasing an ice blue & white 1962 Cadillac Coupe de Ville. Sterling tells him that the Cadillac was a sign that Don had 'arrived.'

Draper and drinking

Don: (angrily waving an empty bottle of rye) "Why is this empty?"

Allison: (staring at him) "Because you drank it all?"

Don is frequently seen drinking, on the job and at home. Numerous mishaps have arisen from his drinking, including an auto accident. His drinking has become progressively more serious. Others have had to care for him in his drunkenness, and he has begun to experience blackouts. He eventually realizes his problem, and curbs it, however at times of stress is still tempted, and sometimes succumbs, to imbibing.

Pop culture references

Don Draper is imitated by the character Abed in the show Community in Season 1, Episode 17, "Physical Education" while trying to learn to pick up women at the encouragement of his Spanish study group. He practices on friend Annie, who is portrayed by actress Alison Brie - a cast member of both Community and Mad Men.

In Season 3 of the NBC sitcom 30 Rock (Episode 19, "The Ones"), page Kenneth Parcell shouts out, "My real name is Dick Whitman!" as he is succumbing to a strawberry allergy. Jon Hamm appears on 30 Rock as the recurring character Dr. Drew Baird.

The Don Draper character was also parodied in a skit on Saturday Night Live, in "Don Draper's Guide to Picking Up Women."

Don Draper was announced the "Number 1 Most Influential Man of 2009" in AskMen.com

In her Daily Beast article, Natasha Vargas-Cooper compared Don Draper's appeal as a combination of Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, and John Wayne.

College Humor has created several videos and articles about Don Draper, exaggerating his dark attitude and elaborate speeches by putting him in everyday situations. They have portrayed him at college orientation, explaining the pop-up ad to a salesman, and giving presents to his children at Christmas.

External links

• "The Secret of Don Draper's Sex Appeal" by Natasha Vargas-Cooper - Daily Beast - July 22, 2010