| 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) Archibald Whitman (father) |
| Sibling(s) | Dick Whitman (half-brother) |
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 and the late Archibald Whitman who impregnated Abigail just before his death. Adam, whose religious mother named him after Adam of the Bible, was apparently conceived by Archie Whitman very shortly before his death and the family being moved to Pennsylvania by Mack Johnson, 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 let him forget that Dick wasn't her child by always calling him "Whore Child", but Uncle Mac pointed out that they had the same father, meaning Archibald Whitman. ("Babylon")
From all appearances Adam had a happy childhood at least in regards to his relationship with his elder brother Dick, with several pictures depicting them posing with affection to each other including one with Adam on horseback and Dick standing next to him and another with him and Dick in his Khaki Army Uniform. ("5G")
In 1950 Dick left home to join the Army and later fought in the Korean War. Later 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. But "Don Draper" did not upon seeing his family at the station, including a 14 year old Adam, his younger brother. 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 thought the child was imagining things in his grief. 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 found Don after seeing his picture in the newspaper and tried to re-establish a relationship with him. 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. 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 suicide by hanging in "Commissions and Fees".