I Married a Mad Man
A Chicago ad legend inspired countless memorable campaigns, my own unbelievable love story, and, decades later, a hit leading man
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On Monday, Dan called a meeting at the office. Nobody in our company knew of the engagement—or had any idea that we were seeing each other. Dan called all the employees together—there were about 65—and announced that there had been another merger. Then he said, “Myra and I were married this weekend.”
Our staff was a little shell-shocked. A headline in the newspaper the next day read: “Another Merger at Draper Daniels.”
About two weeks later, we honeymooned in the Bahamas, which was where Dan taught me how to fish and I caught my first big wahoo. Looking back now, I realize I never regretted marrying him, even though I resisted pretty strongly at first. I think it shows that sometimes we don’t know what’s best for ourselves. I had been so work-oriented and had resisted so strongly that Dan saw no choice but to come after me. I’m grateful that he did.
We lived a good life. We had a nice apartment in Chicago and bought a farm 97 miles away, near Ronald Reagan’s hometown of Dixon. If you walked around the square back then, everybody, it seemed, looked like Ronald Reagan.
Years later, in Florida, after Dan lost his battle with cancer, I was cleaning out his old highboy chest and I found two rolls of nickels in a drawer. I had no idea what they were doing there—but I thought immediately of Vivian Hill, the woman who had introduced us back in 1965. I remembered how Vivian used to keep these rolls of nickels lined up in the crevices of her desk drawer and would often make bets with people. She’d say things like, “I’ll bet you two rolls of nickels that Procter & Gamble is going to move from this agency to that agency.” I was still in touch with her so I rang her up and said, “Vivian, the strangest thing happened. I opened up the drawer to Dan’s old highboy and I found two rolls of nickels, like the kind I would sometimes win from you.” And she started laughing.
I said, “Why are you laughing?”
“Didn’t he ever tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
So Vivian told me a little story about Dan, a story that I didn’t know: The morning after I had met Dan in 1965—the night we talked for five hours, then went out for hamburgers at the Wrigley Building—he had gone to visit Vivian and said that he wanted to buy the company. I knew that part, but I didn’t know the rest of it. He also told her, “Vivian, just for your information, within two years that woman is going to be Mrs. Daniels.” She bet him two rolls of nickels that he was wrong. The day after we were married, in 1967, she paid off the bet.
Dan kept the nickels.
This article appears in the August 2009 issue of Chicago magazine.
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I am moved and mad thoughtful by the account of this marriage, since
Dan Daniels was my parents' closest friend for many years, in his
first marriage. To me personally, he was incredibly important, for
just those reasons of conceptual daring, vision, and mischief which
deeply corresponded with my own intellectual tendencies. I am now
a professor of literature, my life's career, but I will never forget
the founding importance of his recognition of me. Thank you, Myra.
Would love to know more about the Naples years.
Nancy Leonard
xxx
I love this story!! Thank you so much for sharing.
Am I the only one who feels bad about how Len got treated?
well "reader", it is one of those moments where a certain kind of connection trumps reality (in this case, Len just didn't have what it took, but no one knew it yet!)...
but what a lovely story. as a diehard madmen fan it was even more interesting... I am pretty sure I would read the book if you, Myra Janco Daniels, were to write one about this relationship.
Am I the only one who feels bad about the way Louise Cort Daniels, the gentlest of souls who was Dan's exquisite first wife, was treated by Dan and Myra?
A good rule is not to trust Myra Daniels.
According to her obituary, Cort Daniels was divorced in 1968. Very romantic indeed...
http://images.acswebnetworks.com/1/56/RedDoorDec12006.pdf
I'm the biggest Mad Man fan in London and I just found out that Don Draper was based on this man Draper Daniels. I think Don Draper is a great character but i'm quite happy that Draper Daniels didn't have the same adulterous trait. To hear that Draper or "Dan" was very innovative and creative makes me happy as it reflects the same way I think. I wish I could have had the opportunity to meet him,he kind of reminds me of David Ogilvy.
As for marrying Myra Janco in that fashion, I think that it is a great portrayal of the love struck alpha male.
Draper Daniels I salute you!
'Chicago, what a joke. Small time. Sorry, maybe you're from there.'
That picture is photoshopped - look at the woman's face - it was placed from another photo onto the original. Not sure why, but no doubt about it.
What a lovely story -- you're very fortunate! Thank you for sharing.
That picture qualifies as a 100% genuine Photoshop disaster.
@HOLMERICA - this thread is now about how blatantly bad that photoshop hack job at the top of the article is.
It's so bad it automatically calls bull on the whole story.
@ERIELHONAN - The author likely had nothing to do with the title or the image.
Everyone who worked at Leo Burnett claims credit for either the Marlboro Man or Tony the Tiger -- and almost never is it true. There is nothing in this story that reminds me of Don Draper, nothing, other than he wears a suit and tie. This story is rather ridiculous.
Myra dumped her fiance for a married quasi-Quaker? She "went along" with a blood test at a dinner party? She agreed to a marriage license while under the assumption that she was at the courthouse getting a fishing license on the way to an art show?
Am I the only one who feels bad for everyone in this story?
Judging from the comments here, Dan still had a wife while he was seeing Myra. And he elbowed Myra and her fiance apart as well. That leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I wonder too, how well the relationship would have gone had she been on the creative side, a copywriter too or an artist with her own ideas and vision? Let me guess --- not well.
I worked as a copywriter for years, bullied and sexually harassed by our creative director. Though the agency prospered and the clients loved our work, he was consumed with jealousy over my writing. He also came onto me all the time, a nuisance and a little scary too.
He would wave around the resumes and portfolios of people who were after my job, just to worry me. Others told me he had a giant crush on me, but I never thought of him "that way" --- which was probably the core of the problem. I left the agency after four years to become a fiction writer and screenwriter. I used him rather harshly as a comic character in a short story that was published in a New York magazine --- fortunately not many people in California read it. I'm sure he didn't. When he finally started his own agency, he drove me crazy asking for copy and never compensated me properly. He had the idea that we had been "great friends" and I would work for less. I finally told him I was too busy to work on one of his campaigns and never heard from him again going on four years now. What a relief!
According to this interview with Draper's son Curtis the divorce was in 1966, not '68:
"Cort moved to Sanibel Island just before the Daniels’ divorce was finalized in 1966, Curtis said."
http://gazebonews.com/2010/12/01/mad-men-character-has-roots-in-lb/