Don Draper

Donald Francis Draper, born Richard “Dick” Whitman, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the AMC television series Mad Men (2007–2015), portrayed by Jon Hamm. At the beginning of the series, Draper is the charismatic yet enigmatic creative director at the fictional Manhattan advertising firm Sterling Cooper. In spite of his success, he is plagued by several personal problems, including the issues of identity and social alienation, in part due to his difficult past. His personal and professional developments in the show are frequently situated against the larger social, political, and economic events of the 1960s. 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. 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. Character biography Early life Donald Francis Draper is revealed through flashbacks to be the assumed identity of Richard "Dick" Whitman, born in Bunbury, Illinois, at some point between late 1925 and early 1926 to Evangeline (Kelly Huddleston), a prostitute, and an abusive, alcoholic farmer, Archibald "Archie" Whitman (Joseph Culp). His mother died in labor, and his father was kicked to death by a spooked horse, which the 10-year-old Dick witnessed.