Dry Manhattan:

I agree totally. Wonderful insight. You should be in casting!

I totally agree. At first I was aghast at the nose on Midge....but she is so self assurred that she radiates her own unique beauty. Betty is the the quintissential beauty of the times....she has the "Grace Kelly" look. Rachael was the jewish beauty and Bobbi's expensive attire cannot hide her ugly and cunning personality. I sure hope that the writers read these blogs because Sela Ward would be a perfect choice. Aside from the casting of John Slattery (who we know from "Desperate Housewives"), most of these actors are unknown. But Sela Ward has not been at the forefront of anything these days. Let's keep our fingers crossed the writers see this. But I sure wish Rachael would come back!!!!

She has done a few features recently (see below), and is the current voice of the Crest television advertising campaign.

What bugs me about the features is the roles. Always someone's wife or mother, albeit a doctor. Always a trite, secondary part. She was tremendous as alcoholic Teddy in Sisters and as Stacy in House, and is an original tour de force. Sela is is the real deal and deserves a voice in the industry.

From imdb:

The Guardian (2006/I) .... Helen Randall
"House M.D." .... Stacy Warner (9 episodes, 2005-2006)
... aka House (South Africa: English title) (USA: short title)
- Need to Know (2006) TV episode .... Stacy Warner
- Failure to Communicate (2006) TV episode .... Stacy Warner
- The Mistake (2005) TV episode .... Stacy Warner
- Hunting (2005) TV episode .... Stacy Warner
- Spin (2005) TV episode .... Stacy Warner
(4 more)
Suburban Madness (2004) (TV) .... Bobbi Bacha
The Day After Tomorrow (2004) .... Dr. Lucy Hall
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004) .... Jeannie Miller
... aka Dirty Dancing 2 (Australia) (Singapore: English title)

Thanks for the post, Dry Manhattan! I love the idea of Sela Ward joining the cast as Don's next amour. I, too, loved Rachel but I doubt she's returning in any significant way. I think Don seriously needs some major passion. Betty, while she's grown somewhat, is still not passionate (even in their lovemaking at the beginning of "Three Sundays" she was just sort of lying there). While I don't mind Bobbie, it's clear that Don just tolerates her. She does all the chasing, he just complies. Sela Ward as a strong female character (new client, perhaps?) would give him something to work for.

I was thinking a powerful business rival, from a larger company, would be exciting.

Sterling Cooper isn't the biggest firm in Manhattan. At one point in Season One, Draper (or someone) said something about being a big fish in a small pond (by staying with SC).

The dynamic of a fish as big or bigger than Draper, from THE company, would be interesting. For some reason, in the back of my mind, I see Don Draper being courted by that larger company.

Draper's a heavy guy, carrying a heavy load. Sela could definitely give him a run for his money.

There is an age difference there, but I think that would only add to the chemistry. Draper seems to prefer grown ups.

John Hamm and Sela Ward both make whoever they are sharing the camera with look good.

MAYBE they should create a female Don Draper!

Can you say "Freud!!"

She (Sela) could be the HBIC of Revlon or Coty or Helena Rubenstien or Yardley (USA) or Clairol or??? They need another "makeup" client besides Belle Jolie lipsticks.

Or even Tussy...remember them? Are they even still around now?

I like your idea, scfan. A huge cosmetics company with Sela in charge would be really fun.

Draper's already been courted by a bigger agency (Season One, Shoot), so I doubt they'll revisit that story line.

I'm sure with the increased popularity and awards being won by Mad Men, there will be more stars making appearances on the show. I like the fact that most of the cast of MM are relatively new actors and actresses, it's refreshing.

Hi scfan! Tussy!! The first deodorant I used was the Tussy cream type in a jar! I also wonder if the brand is still out there?

Yeah, and boy did it have a strong fragrance! I will never forget that smell...almost as bad as if one didn't even bother to put on deodorant! LOL It was such a spicy/sweet smell and reminded one of Old Spice (which smells good however) only more sickeningly sweet than that.

Anybody remember Dana's "Tabu" and "Ambush"?? Whew strong strong strong...but we thought we smelled great at the time! ha I think I recall "Tabu" in a lipstick even. Wierd!

You know, Mark Moses ( Duck ) John Slattery (Roger) and Melinda McGraw ( Bobbi ) were all on "Desperate Housewives." I wonder if there is some sort of connection between the two productions? DH is jumping ahead 5 years this season. "Bobbi" was Annabel Foster during the 2005 season of DH.

Sidenote: John Ham is currently shooting the remake of the 50s movie classic "The Day The Earth Stood Still." Keanu Reeves is playing Klaatu, Jennifer Connelly is Helen and John Hamm is Doctor Granier. John Cleese is Dr. Barnhardt (which should be a hoot.) Jaden Smith is the little boy.

i've really analyzed this and it looks like, even going as far back as the 50s, that the talent pool of the decade (more like five years) was drawn from for ALL the shows of their time.

there is a LOT of crossover in the top shows today. The first time i saw Anne Dudek was on six feet under, and did SHE look different. i've seen her over and over in different parts on my favorite shows, so am not really surprised that any of these people pop up. in fact, i'm beginning to expect it!

these are all really talented, very working actors, and you are going to see them all over tv, and also feature films.

just one instance is the actor who played lois sadler - she is in the new film "Disaster Movie."

Actually, I prefer this show stick with almost unknown actors. It makes it that more new and intriguing. With a known actor, it takes away the mystery. I think that's one reason MM is so addictive. Matt W. could of cast all well known actors, but he didn't and I think it was planned that way. These actors are new and fresh to us and we don't really have much to compare their acting with. It happens all the time when an actor is type cast and if they try and play a different part, it's just not the same because people are used to seeing them in a previous role.