The Top 100 Mad Men Characters

90) Arthur Case

Played by: Gabriel Mann

First Appearance: “For Those Who Think Young” (Season 2, Episode 2)

The high-society horse rider Betty trotted around while considering a fling in Season 2, Arthur is the handsome heart of one of the dullest storylines the show ever did. As a tempting outlet for Betty’s frustration with Don, he serves his purpose just fine, but the show lost nothing for pitching Arthur as soon as it could.

89) Beth Dawes

Played by: Alexis Bledel

First Appearance: “Lady Lazarus” (Season 5, Episode 8)

As an object of yearning, Beth is perfect for Pete: flavorless, pretty, and most importantly, in need of rescue. As an individual, though, the most interesting thing Beth has going for her is the time travel fan fiction you’ll write in your head that explains how Rory Gilmore wound up in the 1960s.

88) Frank Gleason

Played by: Craig Anton

First Appearance: “For Immediate Release” (Season 6, Episode 6)

The art director of Cutler, Gleason and Chaough, we hardly knew Frank. That’s because the first time we met him was when he told Ted he had terminal cancer. He showed up once more to give Ted sage advice for dealing with Don after the SC&P merger, but his contribution to Mad Men was greater in death than in life.

87) Ed Baxter

Played by: Ray Wise

First Appearance: “Chinese Wall” (Season 4, Episode 11)

Con: Ed isn’t much of a character on his own, beyond his function as a potential business opportunity for his son-in-law, Ken Cosgrove. Pro: He’s played by Ray Wise, and loves Pop-Tarts, which count for something.

86) John Hooker

Played by: Ryan Cartwright

First Appearance: “Out of Town” (Season 3, Episode 1)

Lane’s sycophant secretary, John Hooker spent so much time puffing himself up that he seemed in constant danger of floating away. He’s a lackey of the lowest kind, the sort of spineless “yes” man who will grovel in front of superiors, yet swear he’s better than any of the women put in the same position. He’s so pathetic, even Lane knew he was worth ditching. Lane!

85) Morris Ginsberg

Played by: Stephen Mendel

First Appearance: “Tea Leaves” (Season 5, Episode 3)

Morris is a mensch for having adopted Michael, but as a father, his track record is a little spottier. Yes, he’s got sage advice when the world’s gone topsy-turvy, and he set Ginsberg up with that nice Jewish girl that one time. But he’s largely a burden in Michael’s eyes, and it’s hard to disagree, given his overbearing nature.

84) Brooks Hargrove

Played by: Derek Ray

First Appearance: “Three Sundays” (Season 2, Episode 4)

When you marry into the Sterling family, you need to be three things: handsome, witty, and lively. Brooks bats a low .333 on those requirements, as any time the would-be refrigeration magnate walked into a room, he was in danger of being outshined by one of the office plants. Put another way: the coolest thing Brooks ever did was windup in jail for getting in a bar fight, and even that was so dull it wasn’t worth showing. You’re not a bad guy, Brooks, just a boring one.

83) Gene Draper

Played by: Ryder and Evan Londo

First Appearance: “The Fog” (Season 3, Episode 5)

It’s hard to hold Gene’s status as a non-entity against him, considering he was literally a non-entity for two seasons of the show. We shouldn’t expect great things from a baby, but imagine if Gene had turned out half as interesting as back when Sally thought he was the reincarnated spirit for her recently passed grandpa Gene?

82) Francine Hanson

Played by: Anne Dudek

First Appearance: “Ladies Room” (Season 1, Episode 2)

You can kind of forgive Francine’s busybody attitude and need to constantly smack talk all the other Ossining ladies. She was trapped in the same suburban hell as Betty, and her husband was a cheater just like Don (unlike Don, he was blasé enough to not even make this list. Sorry, all you Carlton fans out there). Any points she gains for distraughtly contemplating poisoning his ass are deducted five-fold for bringing the kids and in-laws into the discussion.

81) Joey Baird

Played by: Matt Long

First Appearance: “Public Relations” (Season 4, Episode 1)

Listen, Joey. You could have just stuck to parroting Stan Freberg routines with Peggy (“John!” “Marsha!”), or overestimating just how into you Harry Crane was. But no. You had to go and be a misogynistic P.O.S. to Joan, and get yourself canned in such a way that made Peggy and Joan mad at each other. Tally ho, asshole!