| Adam Whitman | |
|---|---|
| |
| Portrayed by | Jay Paulson |
| First appearance | 5G |
| Final appearance | The Phantom |
| Details | |
| Gender | Male |
| DOB | Late 1936 or Early 1937 |
| Employer | American Calculator |
| Occupation | Janitor |
| Relations | |
| Parent(s) | Abigail Whitman (mother) Archie Whitman (father) |
| Sibling(s) | Dick Whitman (half-brother) |
| Other Relations | Anna Draper (sister-in-law) Betty Hofstadt (sister-in-law) Megan Calvet (sister-in-law) Sally Draper (niece) Bobby Draper (nephew) Gene Draper (nephew) |
Biography[]
Adam Whitman was Dick Whitman's younger half brother, sharing a common father, Archibald Whitman.
Childhood[]
Adam was born sometime in late 1936 or early 1937 when Dick Whitman was 10 or 11 years old to Abigail Whitman. His parents were Archibald and Abigail Whitman. Archibald Whitman had been a posthumous father, as he died before Adam's birth. Adam, whose religious mother named him after Adam of the Bible, moved with him and Dick to live with Mack Johnson in Pennsylvania, likely because the farm failed without Archie being there to work it. ("Babylon")
Dick rejected his brother when he saw him when he was just minutes old saying he wasn't his brother. It is possibly due to Abigail never letting him forget that Dick wasn't her child by always calling him "Whore Child", but Uncle Mac pointed out that they shared the same father. ("Babylon")
Despite the rocky start, Dick eventually warmed up to Adam in his life, with several pictures depicting them posing with affection to each other including one with Adam on horseback. Another picture was shown with Dick returning home in his Army uniform after graduating from advanced school, where he and Adam were posing together. ("5G")
Shortly into his military career Dick was sent to fight in the Korean War. In 1950 Dick came home under his alias "Don Draper", escorting the body of "Dick Whitman", in truth the real Lt. Donald Draper, back "home" to "his family". He got as far as the train reaching the station of the Pennsylvania town his family lived in with the casket of "Dick Whitman" the real Don Draper-being taken off the train. While "Don Draper" thought he avoided his blood family, this was not entirely so. Adam saw him and insisted to his family that he saw Dick on the train, but his family disregarded his pleas. As the train started to pull away from the station Adam saw Dick again in the passenger car and once again tried to bring it to the attention of his disbelieving family who chalked it up to being with such grief over the tragedy that he imagined a stranger to be his brother. He chased after the train but the man he correctly believed to be his brother didn't acknowledge him. ("Nixon vs. Kennedy")
Later life[]
Adam grew up to get a job working as a janitor for American Calculator. He saw a picture of Dick in a newspaper and tracked him down. Initially unwilling to associate with him, Don agreed to meet him at lunch and later visited him at the place where he was staying. Adam related that all the family had died of various causes: Abigail, his mother, died of stomach cancer (to which a bitter Dick Whitman said "Good"); Uncle Mack Johnson, their father figure, was also dead. Adam said that he himself has not married. Desperate to maintain his break with his past, and fearing that Adam would bring him down, Don gave Adam 5,000 dollars and asked him never to contact him again. ("5G")
Eventually, Adam mailed a package to Don that contained old family photos. Don's rejection and attempt to bribe him to go away, following so hard on the deaths of the rest of his family, sent Adam into a depression. Not long after sending Don the old family photos, Adam hanged himself. ("Indian Summer") After a change of heart, Don tried to reach Adam and discovered that he had committed suicide. Don was devastated to lose the only member of his family that he cared about and for whom he had affection. He then began his re-evaluation of the meaning and possible value of his past.
He appears twice briefly in "The Phantom" as a manifestation of Don's guilt following Lane Pryce's death in "Commissions and Fees". Adam's posthumous appearance was likely stimulated by the fact that Don had treated Lane in a similar manner, and both men reacted to this by committing suicide by hanging themselves.
Gallery[]
