| Ken Cosgrove | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Portrayed by | Aaron Staton |
| First appearance | Smoke Gets in Your Eyes |
| Final appearance | Person to Person |
| Details | |
| Gender | Male |
| Employer | Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency McCann Erickson Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce |
| Occupation | Account Executive Freelance Writer Former United States Navy |
| Relations | |
| Other Relations | Cynthia Baxter (fiancee) |
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Biography
Kenneth "Ken" Cosgrove was an account executive at the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency. Ken is originally from Burlington, Vermont, was an active duty Navy Seamen and attended Columbia University.
Ken's short story "Tapping a Maple on a Cold Vermont Morning" was published in the "Atlantic Monthly", much to the chagrin of Paul Kinsey and Pete Campbell. Pete, in particular, feels extremely competitive with Cosgrove though Cosgrove doesn't really seem to notice. ("5G")
Harry Crane discovers that Ken makes significantly more than him, spurring Harry to become the head of the television department.
In 1963, Ken and Pete are pitted for the same role as accounts director. Ken shows himself to understand the clients better, and is promoted, upsetting Pete to such a degree that Pete considers quitting. When Don Draper, Bertram Cooper, Lane Pryce, and Roger Sterling left Sterling Cooper for Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, Ken was not asked to join them finding out upon return to work the Monday after they left the firm. ("Shut the Door. Have a Seat")
Ken made an appearance at the annual CLIO award ceremony. One of his party accidentally dropped a hint that he may be working with SCDP soon. Pete, distraught with the idea that Ken would be working for SCDP again, got confirmation from Lane Pryce that they indeed intended on bringing Ken to the firm. Pete eventually accepted, but made sure that Ken understood that things had changed. Ken jokingly acknowledged this, pointing out that Pete's character had not changed one iota since Sterling Cooper. ("Waldorf Stories")
Ken was out with his fiancee, Cynthia Baxter, and her parents, when he encountered John Flory an account executive from BBDO. John gave his condolences and moved along. Ken, slightly confused, excused himself from his guests and chased after John, finding out only then that Lucky Strike had gone over to BBDO. Ken immediately apologized to his guests, and went to see Pete at the hospital, where Trudy was awaiting childbirth. He is later seen at a meeting of the entire firm, where they say the company is fine, though all employees must stand firm and try to reach out to new customers. ("Chinese Wall")
Ken continued to write at SCDP under the alias Ben Hargrove, writing such stories as "The Punishment of X-4" for science-fiction magazines, before being unveiled at a dinner party at the Campbell household. This resulted in him having to quit, only to start writing again under a new alias Dave Algonquin. ("Signal 30")
He is eventually fired by Rodger and Ferguson following McCann Erickson's purchase of 51% of Sterling Cooper & Partners and its new status as an independent subsidiary of McCann. Following his dismissal he ends up taking over his father-in-law's position at Dow Chemicals, an important client of SC&P and promises to give his former employers a difficult time maintaining their account with Dow, out of spite. ("Severance")
He is seen having a dinner meeting with Pete Campbell and Don Draper, giving them a difficult time by placing their previous work for Dow Chemicals under harsh scrutiny. Eventually when McCann dissolved SC&P to absorb it into their own building, Pete and Sterling attempted to convince Ken to move Dow Chemicals to their new independent subsidiary branch at SC&P West in California. While Ken had no desire to work with McCann, he was also wary of compromising his new position at Dow Chemicals if he suggested to them the bold move of changing advertising agencies, preferring to remain compliant and refused to move Dow's account to SC&P West.("Time & Life")