Lane Pryce
| Lane Pryce | |||||||||
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 Jared Harris as Lane Pryce. | |||||||||
| Mad Men character | |||||||||
| Portrayed by | Jared Harris | ||||||||
| First appearance | "Out of Town" (3.01) | ||||||||
| Last appearance | "Commissions and Fees" (5.12) | ||||||||
| Created by | Matthew Weiner | ||||||||
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Lane Pryce is a fictional character in AMC's television series Mad Men, portrayed by Jared Harris. A newcomer to the United States as well at Sterling Cooper, he initially acts as financial officer and eventually leaves, along with a handful of his co-workers, to form a new agency, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.
Biography
Born circa 1916, Lane was raised in upper-class London society, under the roof of a strict and abusive father, himself a middle-class traveling salesman. In his adulthood, Lane entered into the War service, where he was a supply assistant at the Rosyth Royal Navy Dockyard. After returning from the war, he dated and eventually married a woman named Rebecca, with whom he had a son named Nigel. At this same time, he earned a degree in advertising and managed to get employment with a hometown ad agency named Putnam Powell and Lowe, where he was given the task of handling mergers and takeovers.
Lane often appeared stiff and reserved but was known to let his hair down on occasion, usually after enjoying a drink. He wasn't particularly keen on football, though he successfully used an outing to the pub for the 1966 World Cup Final to set up a potential SCDP account with Jaguar.
Sterling Cooper
Lane's job when he arrived at the company was to trim operating expenses, most noticeably accomplished by firing long-time employee Burt Peterson, who was the head of accounts, and naming Pete Campbell and Ken Cosgrove as his joint successors. He became isolated from Cooper, Sterling, and Draper when he expressed PPL's lack of interest in a potentially lucrative account with Madison Square Garden. Although he was initially unaware of PPL's plans for Sterling Cooper, Pryce later learned that he had been instructed to cut overhead so that SC could be sold to another advertising agency for a profit. Pryce did not seem to be highly regarded by his superiors in London, who decided to transfer him to the firm's office in India -- a plan that was aborted after Pryce's would-be replacement was injured in a freak accident. Sterling, Cooper, and Draper convinced Lane to join them in starting a new agency, making him a named partner in exchange for "firing" the three of them in order to void their contracts.
Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce
It soon becomes apparent that Lane has a knack for managing company revenues and controlling costs, a talent the other partners lack and which is needed at the new firm. Lane, along with Joan, is credited with keeping the company running and managing the day-to-day operations.
In Season 4, Lane's marriage falls apart, as Rebecca, who genuinely loves him, finds the strains of homesickness and culture shock too much to bear and returns to London indefinitely. Lane and Don end up meeting at work, where they get drunk and go for a night out on the town. Lane ends up sleeping with a friend of a girl Don saw, who was previously revealed to be a hooker/call-girl. Lane pays Don for her services the following morning, and thanks him for the "welcome distraction". When Lane's family is supposed to go to New York to see him, he is instead visited by his elderly father, who intends to take Lane home to England to sort out his affairs. Around the same time, Lane begins an interracial relationship with a young African-American Playboy Bunny named Toni, and later introduces her to his father. However, his father assaults Lane with his cane, ordering him to return to England to reunite with his family. Lane later takes a short leave-of-absence from the agency and later returns to New York with his family.
In Season 5, Lane faces severe financial troubles and struggles to keep his balance at work. He also becomes attracted to Joan, who turns him down although they develop a friendship later on.
To cover a large tax bill, incurred when he cashes in investments to cover his partnership fee, Lane embezzles $7,500 from the company by forging Don's signature on a supposed Christmas bonus payment. Bertram Cooper discovers the cancelled check when looking through unopened account statements. Cooper confronts Draper about his approving a bonus payment to Pryce when the firm decided to not pay bonuses. Draper tells Cooper he will handle it, but does not inform Cooper that he did not sign the check.
Draper meets with Pryce who admits to the embezzlement. Feeling he could never trust Pryce, Draper orders him to resign. Upon returning home after this encounter, Lane discovers that his wife, unaware of their financial situation, has bought him a new Jaguar (paid by check). Pryce puts his affairs in order and attempts to take his life via carbon monoxide poisoning; however, the car is unable to start. He then goes to SCDP, types a resignation letter, and hangs himself in his office. Upon finding his body, the partners also find his resignation letter.
References
External links
- Lane Pryce at the Internet Movie Database
- Lane Pryce official AMC biography
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