| Roger Sterling Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Gender | Male |
| Employer | Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency |
| Occupation | Senior Partner (until death) |
| Relations | |
| Child(ren) | Roger Sterling |
| Other Relations | Margaret Sterling (granddaughter) |
Biography[]
Roger Sterling Sr. was one of the founders of Sterling Cooper in 1923 along with Bertram Cooper. Having passed away prior to the beginning of the show's timeline, Sterling Sr. has never appeared in Mad Men, though he can be seen in photographs in Cooper's office. A brief biography of his life can be pieced out during Season 1, Season 2, and Season 3. Largely through the recollections of his son and successor Roger Sterling Jr. Roger Sterling Sr. was a veteran of World War 1, where he fought in the trenches and killed a man with a bayonet. Following the war he, along with Bert Cooper, founded the ad agency which bears their names upon receiving a substantial investment from Cooper's sister Alice. Sometime in the early years of the company he cultivated a close relationship with representatives from Lucky Strike tobacco, eventually landing a lucrative account from their business.
Sterling Sr.'s hard living became legendary in the advertising business. Freddy Rumsen, himself hired by Sterling Sr. after World War 2, ruminates in the second season that Sterling Sr. drank more alcohol than both Don Draper and Roger Sterling Jr. combined. This lifestyle appears to have caught up with Sterling Sr. and he died after suffering a heart attack and crashing his car.