Don Draper, Maverick Ad Man, Dead at 88

by John Immesoete , Op-Ed Contributor, May 5, 2015

Don Draper, a copywriter and creative director whose ideas were some of the most thought-provoking and talked-about of the decades between the Sixties and Nineties, died Tuesday at his son’s home in Hudson, N.Y. He was 88.

The cause was cardiac arrest, according to his son, Robert Draper, who was …

commentary, mad men, obituary

20 comments about "Don Draper, Maverick Ad Man, Dead at 88".

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Jonathan Hutter from Northern Light Health, May 5, 2015 at 10:04 a.m.
And they all lived happily ever after.
Reply

Barbara Lippert from mediapost.com, May 5, 2015 at 1:40 p.m.

Just great!!

James Hering from The Richards Group, May 5, 2015 at 2:15 p.m.

We need to start a petition for - "Mad Men TNG"

Patrick Scullin from Ames Scullin O'Haire, inc., May 5, 2015 at 4:58 p.m.

Terrific, John.
Don, we hardly knew ye...

Chuck Lantz from 2007ac.com, 2017ac.com network, May 5, 2015 at 5 p.m.

Excellent obit. I almost called a florist.

Steve Sternberg from The Sternberg Report, May 5, 2015 at 7:57 p.m.

Love this.

Walter Sabo from SABO media, May 5, 2015 at 8:31 p.m.

yes but as is usually the case, we needed more about sally.

Dorothea Marcus from Weichert Realtors, May 5, 2015 at 9:51 p.m.

well done!

Dee Leone from Dee Leone Ink, May 6, 2015 at 12:02 a.m.

John, this piece thrilled me. THRILLED me. Hoping the finale is as poignant and spot-on.

Chuck Hildebrandt from Self, May 6, 2015 at 9:25 a.m.

First rate writeup.

Cynthia Amorese from JAL Enterprises NY, May 6, 2015 at 10:08 a.m.

And Joan?

Ann Cannon from SDI Media, May 6, 2015 at 1:18 p.m.

This is great! I think Sally deserves a little more than to become a socialite though...

Michael Adler from Looking, May 6, 2015 at 2:47 p.m.

I stopped watching the show a few years ago, I know boo me, but my life has been too busy to watch much TV. I'll finish the show bing watching one of these days. Anyway the Don Draper / Dick Whitman I know from the seasons I watched would never have made it to the ripe old age of 88. This is the same guy that used scotch as aftershave right? His heart would not have lasted that long. That said loved the obit and the quotes from Don were spot on.

Shari anne Brill from Shari Anne Brill Media Consulting, May 6, 2015 at 9:36 p.m.

BRILLiantly written. R.I.P. Don Draper.

Ari Rosenberg from Performance Pricing Holdings, LLC, May 7, 2015 at 7:14 a.m.

John, I have been writing regularly for Mediapost since 2004. I have a column due next week that I have been struggling to start, because I am lacking inspiration. Not anymore :) -- what a fantastic piece of writing you just gave us. Thank you.

Nan Turner from University of California, Davis, May 7, 2015 at 5:01 p.m.

When is the movie coming out? Loved the article but only one point was missing......Dick Whitman..........I think when his obit is written it will be for Dick Whitman....

any takers?

Stephen Fechtor from Fechtor Advertising LLC, May 9, 2015 at 1:49 p.m.

Great ad guys don't fade away. They just die.

Kevin Heney from Pivot Point Brands, May 12, 2015 at 6:38 p.m.

How ever did his lungs and liver last that long?

John Immesoete from Epsilon, May 18, 2015 at 12:54 p.m.

I’d like to thank everyone for reading my imagined Don Draper obituary and for the kind comments. I wanted Don to at least live a long and fascinating life, with many ups and downs and twists and turns. Maybe that’s why I allowed him to live to 88; like all of us who stick with advertising as a career, Don was, to me, a survivor. I hope he enjoyed the journey. To read an unabridged version of Don's obitutary follow this link: http://ow.ly/N6cd2

Don Montgomery from WinGreen Marketing Systems, May 20, 2015 at 4:56 p.m.

John, I really enjoyed this! I wonder if you'll update it a little bit to reflect what we now know from the finale.