Roger Sterling

Roger Sterling

If you watch “Mad Men,” which I know you do, then I’m sure you can relate to how painful it was to watch Roger Sterling being walked all over last Sunday. This is how I decided to cope.

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Former New York resident Roger Sterling, 54, was theoretically murdered by Matthew Weiner on Sunday, March 25 at approximately 10 p.m. EST.

Mr. Sterling was born the only son to Roger Sterling Sr., a founding father of the once prestigious advertising agency, Sterling Cooper. After being raised under the burden of extreme wealth and overwhelming luxury, Mr. Sterling protected his country by serving in the armed forces during World War II. After presumably marauding socially around the bulk of the Pacific Rim and appearing triumphant on the other side of a mountain of sexual conquests, he returned to the States to work for his father. Mr. Sterling climbed the corporate ladder with a martini in one hand and a cigarette in the other, always spring loaded with a self-satisfying and otherwise degrading quip that left a trail of sarcastic and condescending dust.

Mr. Sterling lived a life of unadulterated extravagance that was sponsored by a dalliance for liquor, three-piece suits and loose women. His colleagues respected him, his clients adored him, but most importantly, he always found a way to make light of a dark situation. Although at times he found his rather voluptuous ego leading him astray, he always found a way to see the glass (or in his case, the bottle) half full. He was a man that always got what he wanted, and even when a sexcapade-induced heart attack made him reconsider the importance of life and happiness, he still had the strength and courage to divorce his wife of over 25 years for an aesthetically pleasing 23-year-old secretary. He never let the sanctity of marriage impede his persistently unsatisfied libido, and for this we will always cherish his time in the spotlight. Whether it was a young vixen trying to secure a spot in a commercial, or the scintillating red-headed office manager, Mr. Sterling always had the will and testicular fortitude to fight through moral barriers and make the world a better place for himself.

Some might say his death was a necessary evil, a tribute to the end of the old-boys club 1960s. But I enjoyed the nostalgia of his misogyny and self-centered approach to life, and it was never to end like this. He deserved a more dignified ride into the sunset, one riddled with one-liners and vodka rocks. So let’s all raise our glasses to the only man Don Draper ever willingly had a drink with, Mr. Roger Sterling.

He is survived by wife, Jane, and his one legitimate child, Margaret.