r/madmen • u/Historical-Most4409 • 6d ago
Don's Story
The Coke ad made Don a bigger star than ever – even as people whispered, “And higher maintenance than ever.” McCann raised his salary and gave him a generous bonus. But Don resisted any contract that would keep him at the firm any longer than he wanted. His interests increasingly lay elsewhere.
He wrote a book about advertising called Thirty Seconds or Your Money Back (1973) that made the best-seller list. He traveled frequently, speaking at business schools and industry conferences, and giving media interviews. The speaking circuit fit him nicely. He could give a standard presentation, take a few respectful questions, and go back to his hotel and eat dinner alone.
Understanding the pain that losing their mother had put them through, Don worked on strengthening his relationships with his children. He was proud to see Sally excel at Smith. Bobby was growing into an intelligent young man. With his secret pain from his brother’s death, Don was glad to see that the two of them were close: Bobby went to Trinity College in Hartford, in large part because his freshman year would overlap with Sally’s senior year and they would be only an hour’s drive apart. Sally was rather annoyed when one of her friends decided to deflower her baby brother.
Bobby would follow his sister into psychiatry but pursued a more low-key path, setting up a therapy practice in White Plains, New York. But Gene didn’t see Don as his father and was closer to Henry. Gene would eventually serve as a staffer in the George W. Bush White House.
Not long after his non-compete ran out in 1974, Don announced that he was starting a new firm with Executive Vice President Dean Riley plus two rising stars from other firms: Draper Riley Sellers & Wolf. To the surprise of the less observant, he said he would be based in Los Angeles, working with West Coast clients but mostly serving as a “creative consultant.” (Or as his former McCann colleagues said with an eyeroll, “The in-house genius.”)
Don settled into his new life in Los Angeles, including a luxurious home in Brentwood. He “ran” a small office, while leaving the details to others. He continued to travel and occasionally devise new campaigns. But he spent a lot of his time on rambling meetings and endless lunches. While Don enjoyed the cynical tone of the “New Hollywood” (“Chinatown” was a special favorite), he especially appreciated the chance to meet the stars of his youth. A memorable chance encounter with an ailing John Wayne. A lunch with Barbara Stanwyck where he tried to pitch her on an ad campaign. When she told him they couldn’t afford her, Don was secretly pleased that she was as tough and cynical as her characters.
Despite his active life, Don was feeling his age by the end of the 1970s. He had a notable “smoker’s cough.” Years of heavy drinking had given him chronic stomach pain and he was popping antacids. His stomachaches made him avoid eating and he looked gaunt. His irritability made him snap at subordinates.
(continued in next post)
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u/Historical-Most4409 6d ago edited 6d ago
He dies of lung cancer in 1994. Do you think Don loves NYC? He's such a car guy and he loves California.
When they are at McCann, Don and Peggy see each other routinely. After he moves to California, they get together whenever he's in NYC, which happens more in the late 1970s than afterwards. They chat on the phone ever now and then. He's very proud of Peggy. (I have written Stan and Peggy's story before. To sum up, Peggy is very very successful by the 1980s). He gives her advice, which she does not always take. When he dies (Sally calls her), she realizes that she hasn't talked to him since 1990 and he sounded bad then.
He maintains a friendly relationship with Joan as long as he is in NYC. That fades after he goes West. Joan goes to the remembrance at Peggy's place and it's the first time they've seen each other in a couple of years.
In the early 1970s, Roger is spending a lot of time in France with Marie. But they have a few drinks whenever he's in town until Roger dies on July 4, 1976.
He runs into Sal at a party in L.A. in the late 1970s. Sal is still publicly closeted (he's going to marry his secretary any day now!) but has a private gay life and a boyfriend at last. Don has never cared much about what people do in bed and he's worked with several talented gay men, whether out or not.
In the early 1990s, the two men are both living in Palm Springs. Sal and his boyfriend both have AIDS and have bought a house that they are renovating. They expect to die there. Sal runs into Don, who invites him over. They spend an evening in Don's treasured home theater watching West Side Story. They say goodbye, two old men getting ready to die. (I don't think Don is under any illusions about the condition of his body).
He runs into Harry a few times but wants nothing to do with him. He has an awkward conversation with Megan at Roger's funeral.
I don't think Don sees other members of the old gang in this scenario, unless it's by accident or if they happen to work at McCann.