The mad men at Sterling-Cooper: libido (and repressed libido) run amok

July 3, 5:55 PMMad Men ExaminerLindy King

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From left:  Harry Crane, Ken Cosgrove, Pete Campbell, Paul Kinsey (photo: AMC)

I've covered the main characters on Mad Men in anticipation of Season 3 and now will do a quick recap of the supporting characters at Sterling-Cooper.

Paul Kinsey
Paul Kinsey, the head copywriter at SC, clearly feels he is destined for greater things. Ashamed to be slugging away at an ad agency, he touts his unpublished one-act play, Death Is My Client, is jealous of Ken Cosgrove’s published writings, and spends his evenings with the happening crowd in the Village. He recently dated an African-American girl and went with her to march in Mississippi.

Pete Campbell
Born into a very wealthy family, Pete has kept his job mainly because of his family’s vast connections. Untrustworthy, he does things behind people’s backs, sometimes out of spite and sometimes to further his career. He marries Trudy despite serious misgivings and quickly regrets it. Unable to conceive (Trudy wants children, he is ambivalent), Peggy’s revelation that she had his baby hits him like a ton of bricks. Pete is jealous of Peggy’s rise and upset over her lack of attention toward him. He has an emotionally empty relationship with his father (Pete was never good enough), made worse when his father is abruptly killed in a plane crash.

Salvatore Romano
Sal is the Art Director and puts on a full-frontal assault promoting his heterosexual prowess. But regardless of his marriage, or the number of Playboys he thumbs, it is clear Sal is a repressed homosexual at a time when it is simply not accepted.

Ken Cosgrove
A good-natured account executive, Ken writes short stories (some published) and appears to have an energetic libido. Sal has a secret crush on him.

Harry Crane
Teddy bear and reigning nerd, Harry becomes the head of the newly minted (and not highly regarded) TV Department. Little do they know the power of television.

  Lindy King is a workaholic who works at the marketing firm Symbaco.com.

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NY Magazine article: “Pete Campbell is a creep. Pete Campbell is a dork…”

Video:  Pete Campbell and his secretary, Hildy

Vincent Kartheiser (Pete Campbell) with  female reporter (good for a laugh)