Lane Pryce

Lore & Background

Born in London on 10 May 1916, Lane was raised by middle-class traveling salesman Robert Pryce in a strict and regimented home. He served in the British Army as a supply assistant in Rosyth and, although he never saw combat, was later thanked by a British veteran of World War II who said his resupply effort saved lives. After his military career, Lane attended accounting school and married a woman named Rebecca, with whom he had a son named Nigel.

He was hired by advertising agency Putnam Powell and Lowe, and eventually promoted to an executive position responsible for mergers and takeovers. PPL sends Lane to recent acquisition Sterling Cooper and tasks him with trimming costs. He begins by firing many employees, including long-time employee and head of accounts Burt Peterson. He names Pete Campbell and Ken Cosgrove as Burt's joint successors.

Lane angers Creative Director Don Draper and becomes isolated from the company when he expresses PPL's lack of interest in a potentially lucrative account with Madison Square Garden. Later, Don, Roger Sterling and Bertram Cooper convince him to join them in starting a new agency and make him a named partner in exchange for him "firing" the three of them in order to void their contracts' non-compete clauses.

Reader's Guide

Lane Pryce's professional journey is defined by his role as the agency's financial officer. He is shown to enjoy the newfound freedom that came with living in America, free from the rigidity of the social class structures of England. He says — with understated delight — "yes, I've been here 10 months and no one's ever asked me where I went to school." He struggles with the expectations placed upon him by the leadership of PPL to be subservient and eventually breaks free from them when he realises that, no matter how hard he works, he will never be considered equal to his upper-class superiors.

At Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, it becomes clear that Lane has a knack for managing company revenues and controlling costs. Lane and office manager Joan Harris are credited with keeping the company running and managing the day-to-day operations. Lane later gets Joan a 5-percent speaking partnership, making the suggestion to her as a means of covering up his embezzlement. His key relationships include Don Draper, who offers comfort after discovering the embezzlement and says that Lane can start again somewhere else. Being fired will not cancel Lane's share in the company but will lose him his visa, forcing him to return to the UK.

Did You Know?

• Lane embezzled $7,500 from the company by forging Don's signature on a Christmas bonus cheque.
• His wife Rebecca bought him a new Jaguar as a surprise, unaware of their financial troubles.