History Characters / MadMenSterlingCooper

* FiftiesHair: Has the StandardFiftiesFather look, [[SixtiesHair then close cuts his hair]], and then ends the series with [[SeventiesHair slightly looser hair]].

* StandardFiftiesFather: Divorced though he may be, this is clearly an image he's cultivated for himself.

* MultiethnicName: "Kurt Smith" definitely counts. Presumably, he's anglicised it from "Schmidt".

* TheBeard: His wife, Kitty, whom he marries between Seasons 1 and 2. Unfortunately, she is not aware that this is her role until months after they are married, and is quite hurt at the realization. She thought they had a legitimate ChildhoodFriendRomance.

* ShellShockedVeteran: Implied, and potentially a major contributing factor to his alcoholism. He served in the European theatre in WW2, and Roger makes reference to his time in the service revolving around Freddy being in charge of "killing Germans", and him having personally killed at least 15 people. Any time this is brought up, he attempts to dodge the subject, and takes no pride in his war record.

->'''Played By''': Alexa Alemanni

->'''Played By''': Crista Flanagan

->'''Played By''': Patrick Cavanaugh and Edin Gali

->'''Played By''': Ryan Cartwright

* HaveIMentionedIAmGay: Kurt has no problem with telling everyone he is gay, although we never see him in a relationship with a man. Smitty's sexual orientation is left unsaid, although Duck refers to the pair of them as "homos".

* IKnowKungFu: He can handle himself in a fight, as [[spoiler:Don]] learns in "The Suitcase".

* FiftiesHair: Starts off with a groomed look of the era, adds a goatee, and then ends up with no hair.

* HiddenDepths: Was a talented a capella singer at Princeton, and sung in their choir.

* ArmoredClosetGay: Sal's entire LatinLover, ladies man persona is put on to cover up the fact that he's gay. When approached by a client who can recognize him for who he is because he too is ClosetedGay, Sal shuts down the entire proposition saying he simply can't.

[[folder:Harry Crane]]
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Harry-001_6954.png]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/RichSommer
->''"Oooh, a Negro homosexual, Canadian sexpot, and unaccompanied redhead. This may be my key demographic."''
A media buyer at Sterling Cooper notable chiefly because everyone tends to overlook his existence, he eventually gets the agency into the television game, becoming Head of Television. He skips to SCDP to do the same job, where he finally has the resources to be effective ... and somehow manages to end up even more of a schlemiel and a milquetoast (despite his good work).
* FiftiesHair: Starts off looking like a nerd from that era with slicked hair.
* SixtiesHair: Season 4 shows him with hair with a lack of grease, he then grows it more to keep up with the fashions of the times.
* SeventiesHair: Throughout the 60s he starts experimenting with the Peacock and Mod fashions of the era, even growing out his hair and ends the series with a very full hairdo with long side burns.
* AmbiguouslyBi: Harry gives off vibes of this. On at least two separate occasions, he's talked about how a different character is "queer". His crass jokes about what he'd do to Megan reek of HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday, and in "Tea Leaves" he talks about how good Charlton Heston looks naked. On the other hand, he's definitely had drunken one-night stands with women (his wife exiles him to the couch for it), so it's fairly likely he has ''some'' natural inclination towards women.
** And then there's Joey's reaction to Harry's attempts to befriend him by telling him he could get him on ''Peyton Place'':
-->'''Joey:''' "Everyplace I've worked, there's always some old fairy who comes on to me, but that was the weirdest by far."
* ButtMonkey: Very often.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: By the later seasons, the partners have had enough of Harry's behavior to a point where Roger half-seriously considers firing him. The only reason that they keep him around is because Harry and his television department are invaluable to the agency.
* CasanovaWannabe: '''SO''' hard. In a series where EverybodyHasLotsOfSex, he's the guy who never, ever, manages it on his own merits. After his drunken, regretted one-night-stand in season 1, the only time we see him get any, [[spoiler:it was being used on him as a bargaining chip by Lakshmi to get him to back off from helping Paul.]]
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In the first two seasons, he was completely devoted to his wife, being legitimately repentant that he had a drunken one-night stand and cheated on her. In the more recent seasons, he TookALevelInJerkass and is an outright braggart over how often he cheats on his wife.
* TheChewToy: To the point where [[spoiler:Harry missing his chance at becoming a partner at the moment where being one would have made him a millionaire is played for laughs.]]
** [[HumiliationConga And then]] in the following episode, [[spoiler:he loses even more money in a messy divorce.]]
* DemotedToExtra: Despite still being technically a regular character in the second half of Season 7, his role is reduced to the point where he gets barely any more focus than the various secretaries. Even in the series finale, the only thing he gets to do is go to a farewell lunch with Pete.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Harry constantly complains that he's passed over for a partnership, despite being indispensable to the firm. Heavily {{Lampshade}}d in the episode ''A Tale of Two Cities'', where he understands exactly how Hollywood works while Don and Roger are fish out of water -- but Don and Roger are convinced that all their errors are the fault of the people in California, not their unwillingness to listen to Harry.
** By season seven, he has given up on trying to earn respect and becomes a DeadpanSnarker who has no problem with calling out his bosses for ignoring the media department until it bites them in the behind.
* FaceHeelTurn: In the earlier seasons, he's one of the more likeable characters, and is clearly remorseful when he cheats on his wife. In the later seasons, however, he becomes SCDP's resident {{Jerkass}}, and is only tolerated due to the importance of his department.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Even Pete and Cutler can barely stand Harry and his smarminess.
* HappilyMarried: For the longest time, he fits this trope best out of the married men in the office -- he did cheat on his wife once, but it was a drunken one-night stand, he clearly regretted it immediately, and he must have told her, because it's doubtful she could have found out any other way. He was temporarily ExiledToTheCouch for it and then forgiven (between seasons). She also has a job of her own and he often takes her advice on work matters. Subverted in Season 4, where he is seen flirting with a model, and in Season 5 it is revealed that he has become unhappy with his marriage and cheats on his wife once more. In "Waterloo", he mentions that his wife is considering divorcing him.
* HiddenDepths: He's clearly succeeded despite having fewer advantages than Pete or Ken -- he didn't go to an Ivy League school, for instance, and doesn't seem to have their connections. He is ahead of his time on the importance of television -- SC's television department was created on his initiative. He was also a photographer in college.
* InadequateInheritor: In the later seasons, Harry is constantly looking to nose his way into the partners' inner circle. Despite Harry (or at least the department that he runs) being essential to the company's survival, he receives nothing but resistance from the higher-ups, mainly on the grounds that they don't like him.
-->'''Harry:''' Bert, you know how important I am to this company. You were me.
-->'''Bert Cooper (visibly disgusted):''' I was different from you, Mr. Crane, ''in every way''.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Despite his many faults, Harry's not exactly wrong in his assertions that his television department is invaluable to the agency. This is something that even the higher-ups can acknowledge, much to their chagrin and NEVER in Harry's presence.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Helps Kinsey out when Kinsey is at his lowest.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Harry spends the latter seasons trying desperately to assert himself as a pivotal member company, eventually chasing after a position as Partner. When he finally gets an offer, he dicks around trying to play hardball with the negotiations. [[spoiler:Naturally, at the halfway point of Season 7, he waits too long to sign the contract and misses an opportunity to make millions.]]
* NerdGlasses: Transitions in style from rounded browlines in the first half of the 1960s to a black and angular thick-framed variety post-Season 4.
* SkewedPriorities: He is upset at learning of Martin Luther King Jr.'s death not because a great man who brought hope to millions died, but because the media coverage of his death is preempting programs in which SCDP's commercials were supposed to air, costing the agency money. Pete, of all people, calls Harry out on his insensitive behavior.
** It's hinted that he had this as early as Season 3. Following JFK's death, Pete notes to Trudy that Harry was, of all things, checking his data to see what programs wouldn't be aired as a result.
* TookALevelInJerkass: At the beginning of the show he was one of the nicest guys in the office, but after his Television department takes off at SCDP, he starts to suffer from a massively inflated ego, not to mention becoming far more overtly sexist. By series' end, seemingly every major character openly loathes him.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Helped Kinsey out even though no one, not even Kinsey, would ever know the full extent of the help.

[[folder:Ken Cosgrove]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kencosgrove_3125.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"I wanna stand and salute that."'']]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mad_men_ken_cosgrove_eye_patch.jpg[[/labelnote]] Ken's appearance starting from "The Quality of Mercy".]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/AaronStaton
->''"Title"? I'm Ken!...Cosgrove...[[SatelliteCharacter Accounts.]]''
[[UsefulNotes/IvyLeague Columbia]]-educated WASP from Vermont and a major rival of Pete's, coming in as an account executive at about the same time as him. They eventually come to a truce.
* FiftiesHair: This is especially noticeable in the first three seasons, looking parted and slick, like a model young executive.
* SixtiesHair: His slicked hair looses more grease and he models the popular "Dry Look" hairdos, even growing his hair out.
* TheAce: He can dance and write, in addition to being a good salesman.
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: In response to Roger's pirate crack when wearing the eye patch [[spoiler:after being accidentally shot by a couple of GM executives]], he says he'd laugh if he didn't hurt so much.
* AlmightyJanitor: Roger offers to promote Ken to partner in exchange for Ken getting his father-in-law to sign on as an account. Ken turns him down because he does not want to get involved with any of the office politics.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: He's the target of envy from Pete, Harry, and Paul.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: After taking a position at Dow Chemical, Ken gleefully makes Pete and Roger's lives miserable, but is quite friendly with Don. This is because, unlike Pete and Roger, Don was actually willing to go to bat for Ken to keep his job when he was fired, and took the time to empathize with Ken and try to help him when he was despairing over it.
* BreakTheCutie: The Chevy execs drive him crazy, involving him in a car crash and later shooting him on a hunting trip -- enough to make him give the Chevy account to Pete.
* ButtMonkey: In Season 6, courtesy of some rowdy executives of General Motors. A car accident leaves him walking with a cane and shortly after he needs an eyepatch thanks to a hunting accident. Then he [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere calls it quits]] and hands the account to Pete.
* CharacterDevelopment: Actually done rather subtly, but Ken's has steadily changed over the course of the series. In the early series, he was a bit of a {{Jerkass}} Womanizer who had no problem taking advantage of the office politics. However, he's shown a bit of a softer side when he starts honestly and vocally appreciating Peggy's creative work. After settling down and getting married, Ken mellowed out, becoming faithful to his wife and transitioned to being an all around nice guy. By latter seasons, Ken is the only member of the office able to balance his work and personal life.
* ChivalrousPervert: In the early seasons, he's every bit the womanizer that his peers are, but unlike them, Ken is never shown to be manipulative or condescending towards the females he's hitting on. He treats Peggy with respect and tries ([[HopelessSuitor unsuccessfully]]) to court Jane before he finally gets engaged and remains faithful to his wife.
* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Oh, poor Sal.
* EyeScream: He loses an eye to [[RecklessGunUsage a hunting accident]] in Season 6.
** EyepatchOfPower: His attempt to cover it up does make Ken look more distinctive.
* TheGenericGuy[=/=]SatelliteCharacter: Ken seems to exist primarily to act as a foil for other characters. Paul Kinsey and Pete Campbell are jealous of Ken's literary ability, Sal Romano is attracted to him, and Ken's refusal to mix SCDP business with his personal life in Season 4 serves to contrast with most of the other account men at SCDP. Early in season 1, Ken was also a Charismatic Womanizer while Harry was a stiff who kowtowed to his wife. In later seasons, Ken is now HappilyMarried while Harry callously cheats on his wife.
* HappilyMarried: To [[Series/TheSecretWorldOfAlexMack Alex Mack]].
* HiddenDepths: For all his bluster and inappropriate behavior, he respects Peggy and treats her relatively equally much faster than any of the other characters in his generation. They later develop into a very effective team when going after clients.
** It was already known that Ken had written and published one story, but Season 5 reveals he's published over 20 science fiction and fantasy stories under a pseudonym, something he's mildly embarrassed about but that both his wife and Peggy seem genuinely impressed by. When Roger finds out, he's less impressed, giving Ken a tongue lashing for dividing his focus.
* MostWritersAreWriters: During season one, he fiddled around with getting some of his writings published, much to the jealous fury of Pete. When it turns out he's succeeding, it's Roger's turn to be jealous.
* NiceGuy: Ken has a few obnoxious moments in early seasons, but eventually becomes the most decent, likable, and honest person in the office.
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: In season 4, Ken quits his position at [=McCann=] when he's approached by the Partners to start working for SCDP. This ultimately comes back to bite him in Season 7 where [[spoiler:after [=McCann=] buys out SC&P, [=McCann=] makes it his first priority to fire Ken for previously quitting. The real kicker is [[WhatHaveYouDoneForMeLately Roger doesn't even try to fight for his job.]]]]
* OnlySaneEmployee: So far, Ken seems to be the only character whose work has never been affected by a secret personal life, blatant narcissism, excessive drinking, the inability to keep his pants on, spinelessness, or any of the other deep character flaws everyone else seems to have.
* PlatonicLifePartners: With Peggy in Season 5.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: In the first season, he spends a whole scene fat-shaming Peggy. His rather old school prejudice against the Irish is what [[spoiler: gets him fired after the [=McCann=]-Erickson takeover]]. And that doesn't even stop him making more remarks.
* TheReliableOne: Throughout the early seasons, the senior staff actually favored Ken over Pete Campbell. He doesn't advance like others because of his refusal to get involved in any of the office politics. Illustrated when he isn't deemed essential enough to be worth being immediately brought to the newly-formed SCDP, but the partners ''do'' think enough of him to eventually hire him when the company is on a more stable financial footing.
* TookALevelInJerkass: In "Time Zones", the stress from managing virtually every account in SC&P's New York office has done a number on Ken's temper.
** Though these are mostly restricted to times when he is under extreme duress. He seems more apologetic to Joan for his irritability later, and he's genuinely pleased to see Don in "Field Trips". He specifically notes how much the carousel in Central Park reminds him of Don, serving as a heartwarming CallBack to Don's speech way back in Season 1's "The Wheel" (which would've occurred almost a decade a go, in-universe).
* TranquilFury: In Season 7's "Severance," [[spoiler:in response to getting fired by Roger and [=McCann=], Ken takes over his father-in-law's position at Dow Chemicals and then tells Roger and Pete calmly that they will be needing to please ''him'' now.]]
** [[spoiler:After stringing them along for a few months, Ken gleefully fired them when doing so would kibosh SC&P's attempt to move to California and maintain autonomy from [=McCann=].]]

[[folder:Paul Kinsey]]
[[quoteright:163:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Paul-Kinsey-001_5907.png]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/MichaelGladis
A wannabe Bohemian copywriter. [[PutOnABus He doesn't transfer to SCDP with the rest of the cast]].
* FiftiesHair: Starts off with a groomed look of the era, adds a goatee, and then ends up with no hair.
* BourgeoisBohemian: Grows a beard to put on the facade that he's "with it" among the righteous youth.
* ButtMonkey: More and more as Peggy rises through the ranks.
* CelebrityResemblance: He indicates in Season 1 that Joan used to mock him for looking like Creator/OrsonWelles. Come Season 2, he's embraced the resemblance somewhat, with the help of his new beard.
* TheChewToy: Is the butt of a lot of demeaning jokes. Even Lois, one of the more incompetent employees, tells him he's likely not going to get rehired post-merger due to redundancy.
* DeadpanSnarker: He has no problem making fun of things that annoy him.
* GiftedlyBad: Fancies himself a talented writer. The show is constantly providing evidence to the contrary.
** Compared to Peggy, his work as a copywriter is mediocre at best. Some episodes indicate that he has good ideas, but no follow-through.
** His coworkers discover a play he has written and act it out. No one is impressed.
** His return, after being PutOnABus, reveals that he has been fired from a number of copywriter jobs at other agencies.
** He presents Harry with a spec script he has written for a ''Franchise/StarTrek'' episode. He is very proud of his work, calling it the best thing he has ever written. Harry, Peggy, and even Paul's girlfriend agree that it's terrible.
-->'''Harry:''' I think it was really hard for him.
-->'''Peggy:''' Then he shouldn't be doing it.
* GreenEyedMonster: He's jealous of Peggy's success (not that he does anything about it).
* HiddenDepths: Was a talented a capella singer at Princeton, and sung in their choir.
* {{Hipster}}: Of the period's definition of the word, although to be frank he'd fit right in with today's hipsters, too.
* HumiliationConga: After he is not invited to join SCDP, he works for [=McCann=] Erickson but is fired. He then goes through a series of jobs at other agencies until he is reduced to work as an in-house copywriter for A&P. Then he loses that job as well.
* {{Joisey}}: He apparently had a ''really'' thick accent before he went to Princeton. He still lives in New Jersey through the early seasons (Season 2 opens at a party at his apartment in Montclair).
* KnowNothingKnowItAll: He's very pretentious and arrogant, though it's repeatedly made clear that he's something of a dunce and everyone eventually comes to see that Peggy and Smitty are more talented copywriters.
* MoralityPet: In "Christmas Waltz", he becomes Harry's.
* MostWritersAreWriters: He tries, anyway.
* OldShame: It's revealed that he went to Princeton on a scholarship in season 3, implying he's from lower-class roots and he doesn't want anyone else to know.
* {{Pride}}: His inflated, sensitive ego makes him hard to get along with and contributes to his ButtMonkey status, but the really fatal example of this can be inferred from offscreen. When Crane asks Peggy why Kinsey was never brought on at SCDP, she responds that he never applied, suggesting that his pride was too bruised to consider that they might have given him a second shot. Contrast to Cosgrove, who was also left behind initially but made his way back to SCDP in short order.
* PutOnABus: He isn't hired by SCDP and thus leaves the cast after Season 3.
** TheBusCameBack: After being absent for the entirety of Season 4, he shows up once more in Season 5's "Christmas Waltz," where it is revealed that he has joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. At the end of that episode, he is put more literally and permanently on a bus, to Hollywood by Harry Crane.
* ShockValueRelationship: He dates a black woman to show how "progressive" he is. It doesn't take her long to figure it out.
* SmallNameBigEgo: A fairly frail ego at that.
* SoapboxSadie: Against the destruction of Penn Station.
* SomeOfMyBestFriendsAreX: In an attempt to show how progressive he is to his black girlfriend, Paul pretends he's on a first name basis with the African American elevator attendant.
* TheUnfavorite: Has very clearly become this compared to Peggy by mid-late Season 3, with Don considering him a spent force creatively and being thoroughly sick of his politics. Harry even admits privately to Pete in Season 5 that even if the [=McCann-Erickson=] buyout hadn't gone ahead, then sooner or later Don would probably have fired him anyway.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sal Romano]]
[[quoteright:169:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Sal-001_8317.png]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/BryanBatt
Head art director at Sterling Cooper, and a closeted gay man. He leaves just before the end of Season 3 for reasons that have to do with Sterling Cooper's main client being a huge dick.
* FiftiesHair: Has a stylized, but slick and masculine look from that era.
* TheBeard: His wife, Kitty, whom he marries between Seasons 1 and 2. Unfortunately, she is not aware that this is her role until months after they are married, and is quite hurt at the realization. She thought they had a legitimate ChildhoodFriendRomance.
* ButNotTooGay: Justified given the time period, and the fact that Sal is extremely careful and conscientious. He's had his opportunities, but has turned (most of) them down.
* CampGay: A downplayed variant, but compared to the toxic masculinity of the other men in the office, the gay Sal stands out as being a bit more feminine. The downplayed part is at least partially due to him staying in the closet. There's one time he goes full camp when running his ''Theatre/ByeByeBirdie'' commercial through to his wife Kitty which causes her to realize his sexuality.
* DeadpanSnarker: Starts off this way. The majority of his contributions in Season 1 are snarky.
* DespairEventHorizon: Lee Garner Jr., SC's largest client, tries to sexually extort him. When he refuses, and Garner demands Roger fire him, which he does, and Don refuses to come to his aid ''and'' makes a pointedly homophobic jab. Sal, jobless, calls his wife in despair, lies to her that everything is fine, then goes to drown his sorrows with anonymous sex in Central Park.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: In a rare case of it, he's not killed off, but once Sal is outed, he gets sent his walking papers, and was never seen or mentioned again.
* {{Gayngst}}: Justified, given the period setting.
* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: In his early appearances especially, he is frequently loudly asserting his womanizing ways and attractiveness to women in a manner that, to modern audiences, comes off as more than a little suspect and unconvincing. It mostly sails right over the heads of the other characters however. It helps that he's less transparent about it than Harry.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: He's in his 40s, but tends to socialize mainly with his mid-20s colleagues, and tends to emulate their behavior, at least vocally. It's implied that his is part of his attempts to keep up appearances regarding his orientation.
* LatinLover: He plays this trope for maximum cover, with his [=WASPy=] colleagues likely seeing this as an explanation for his slight flamboyance. His Italian heritage makes him automatically attractive to at least one doe-eyed secretary that we know of. He's also in the process of becoming a SilverFox, with grey at his temples.
* NiceGuy: Develops into this. Although not without his sneakiness, Sal is one of the better natured men at Sterling Cooper, often showing a friendly, charming side. However, he often feels forced to play the jerkass womanizer to fit in.
* PutOnABus: In Season 3, when he's fired by SC.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Infamously never appeared again after the third season, although according to WordOfGod he was originally supposed to.
[[/folder]]

The secondary cast of Sterling Cooper (Seasons 1-3) in ''Series/MadMen''. Beware of spoilers.

* TheReliableOne: Throughout the early seasons, the senior staff actually favored Ken over Pete Campbell. He doesn't advance like others because of his refusal to get involved in any of the office politics.

* [[GossipyHens Gossipy Hen]]: Uses her position as a switchboard operator to provide confidential information for Paul, Harry and Ken.

* IronicNickname: Everyone at the office calls him [[Characters/JamesBondMoneypenny "Moneypenny"]].

* ChewToy: Pretty much exists to be the butt of Roger's (and Don, to a lesser extent) jokes.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Has one with Peggy. He isn't expressly portrayed as a stand-in father figure, but his [[AffectionateNickname Affectionate Nickname]] for her, Ballerina, is quite fatherly.

* KickTheDog: When he lets his dog Chauncey go on the streets of New York because he's bothered by it looking at him while drinking. After the conversation with Pete earlier in the episode (where Pete says he loves having Chauncey around and wants a dog "for the office"), it's clearly done to show that Duck is not a nice person.

* OffTheWagon: As we later discover.

* WeUsedToBeFriends: "Friends" is stretching it a bit, but he and Don were initially on much better terms. After all, it was Don who hired Duck in the first place.

* CharacterDevelopment: Actually done rather subtly, but Ken's has steadily changed over the course of the series. In the early series, he was a bit of a {{Jerkass}} Womanizer who had no problem taking advantage of the office politics. After settling down and getting married, Ken mellowed out, becoming faithful to his wife and transitioned to being an all around nice guy. By latter seasons, Ken is the only member of the office able to balance his work and personal life.

* HiddenDepths: For all his bluster and inappropriate behavior, he respects Peggy and treats her relatively equally much faster than any of the other characters in his generation.

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: His rather old school prejudice against the Irish is what [[spoiler: gets him fired after the [=McCann=]-Erickson takeover]]. And that doesn't even stop him making more remarks.

* TheBeard: His wife, Kitty.

* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: In his early appearances especially, he is frequently loudly asserting his womanising ways and attractiveness to women in a manner that, to modern audiences, comes off as more than a little suspect and unconvincing. It mostly sails right over the heads of the other characters however.
* LatinLover: He plays this trope for maximum cover, with his [=WASPy=] colleagues likely seeing this as an explanation for his slight flamboyance. His Italian heritage makes him automatically attractive to at least one doe-eyed secretary that we know of.
* NiceGuy: Although not without his sneakiness, Sal is one of the better natured men at Sterling Cooper, often showing a friendly, charming side.

* TookALevelInJerkass: At the beginning of the show he was one of the nicest guys in the office, but after his Television department takes off at SCDP, he starts to suffer from a massively inflated ego, not to mention becoming far more overtly sexist. By series' end, nearly ever major character seems to openly loathe him.

"Smitty" Smith and Kurt Smith are a copywriter/art director team hired by Don in Season 2. Smitty is American and often has to explain aspects of American culture to Kurt, who is European. Neither of them is asked to join SCDP at the end of Season 3.

* HaveIMentionedIAmGay: Kurt has no problem with telling everyone he is gay, although we never see him in a relationship with a man. Smitty's sexual orientation is left unsaid.

* ImportantHaircut: Kurt provides this for Peggy by cutting off her ponytail.

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* LatinLover: His Italian heritage makes him automatically attractive to at least one doe-eyed secretary that we know of, and he plays this trope up for maximum cover. It probably also provides an explanation in the minds of his [=WASPy=] colleagues for his slight flamboyance.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Infamously never appeared again after the third season, even though he was originally supposed to.

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[[folder:Jane Siegel]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mv5bmtq5odmynje5ml5bml5banbnxkftztgwnzcwndgzmje_v1.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/PeytonList

Jane is a college graduate hired as Don's secretary in Season 2. She quickly gains Joan's mistrust with her attention-grabbing wardrobe choices and the rather unsubtle flirting with the male colleagues. The relationship with Joan quickly sours and Joan would have fired her if not for Roger's intervention. Roger then starts an affair with her and divorces Mona to get with Jane, despite the embarrassing fact that she's not much older than Roger's daughter.

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* SixtiesHair: She often wears her hair in French twists, high buns, beehives, or an elaborate braid, all popular in the Sixties.
* AmicableExes: [[spoiler: Retains an amicable relationship with Roger after their marriage ends in Season 5, and attends his mother's funeral in Season 6.]]
* AwfulWeddedLife: Her marriage with Roger quickly sours as their are too much apart in age and Roger is simply unable to be faithful.
* ConspicuousConsumption: After her marriage with Roger her outfits get really flashy, and she goes visiting her former office exactly to flaunt them.
* DudeMagnet: Several male characters hit on her when she joins the office, most of all Ken and Roger.
* TheFashionista: She spots some of the trademark 60s trends, and she's notably one of the first White female characters to get a tan.
* {{Foil}}:
** Initially serves as one to Joan, although Joan starts quickly to dislike her because she finds her flirty attitude utterly unprofessional.
** To Megan. Jane is a secretary with artistic interests and writes poetry as an hobby, while Megan herself is an aspiring actress. Also they are young, twenty-somethings who have an affair with their married bosses and then marry them. Roger even {{lampshades}} their similarities to Don.
* GoldDigger: It's easy to establish her as one, as she initially was set in pursuing Don and let down Ken because she clearly thought he wasn't enough for her. It's clear that she had her eyes set on a partner, although it seems she did have feelings for Roger after all. [[spoiler: For example, when high on drugs she confessed of kissing another man - but it never went beyond that, while Roger cheated on her plenty of times.]]
* TheMissusAndTheEx:
** Much drama is made for Roger's daughter's wedding because Margaret is embarrassed that her stepmother would look like her older sister and wants to give her advice on men. Mona wins the round mediating between the member of this family displaying much more tact.
** Although she doesn't know, Joan was Roger's other woman. Roger would call Joan to complain about his current matter of states, even cracking a joke at Jane's expenses. [[spoiler:And eventually cheats on Jane with Joan.]]
* InformedJudaism: Siegel may be a Jewish last name, but not always. Latter seasons inform us that she's Jewish (and she can speak Yiddish).
* PeerStepparent: Margaret Sterling is utterly distressed by the fact that people will notice her stepmother is young enough to be her older sister. Jane tries to play the CoolBigSis card to gain her affection but it creeps Margaret even more.
* TrophyWife: Quite a stereotypical example, although Jane is more a pitiable character than anything. Roger does not take her seriously [[spoiler: and eventually cheats on her with multiple women]], her stepdaughter and in-laws barely acknowledged her and she's rather lonely.
* YiddishAsASecondLanguage: She speaks Yiddish while high on drugs. Roger mistakes it for German.

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* TheDitz: She's incompetent and unprofessional, although it's usually played for laughs. When she's Don's secretary, she doesn't even try to cover for him when he's done a disappearing act, which ultimately results in her being sent back to the switchboard.

One of the least able of Sterling Cooper's secretaries. Best known for being the one who got drunk and ran over the British guy's foot with a lawnmower.

* SighOfLove: Does this in the presence of Sal, for whom she develops affections after eavesdropping on his conversation with his mother on the phone.
* UltimateJobSecurity: You would think that running over the new boss's foot with a lawnmower would result in instant dismissal. Not Lois, who is shown to be still working at Sterling Cooper several episodes later.

* PutOnABus: Along with all of the other Sterling Cooper employees who are left behind when Don, Roger, Bert, Lane, Peggy, Joan and Harry depart to form SCDP, with him being the one who has to deal with the irate PPL executives in London.