I’ve thought about where Sal wound up. On Mad Men, what you think is going to happen doesn’t happen, but what does happen is wonderful in a sad way. It’s never really a happy ending. But I’d like to think that Sal had a happy ending, that he does realize who he is and moves on. Unfortunately he’d have to break little Kitty’s heart, but I think she had the clues by the end of the third season. I think his mother dies too. His Italian mother dies and it was an impetus to go, ‘You know what? I’m pretending for you, for all these other people. I’m going to be who I am.’ I imagine him walking through the West Village as Stonewall happens and getting swept up in it.”
— Bryan Batt writing in Esquire to close the book on his character, closeted art director Sal Romano, who was written out of Mad Men during the third season
Sweetie Pie
Sal liberated his inner bitch..became a drag-queen in the early 70’s and died of AIDS in the mid-80’s
End of the story
oilburner
@Sweetie Pie: I was thinking the exact same thing.
lykeitiz
And why exactly was his character written off? This show has jumped the shark in so many ways. It definitely had (maybe 3?) seasons of greatness, but then lost its way. Sad.
Milk
Yes, he became the fierce drag queen that fight back during Stonewall riot.
onthemark
@lykeitiz: Agree – I started to lose interest after Sal left, but that coincided with a lot of other weird stuff they were doing. It became something to watch just to check out the clothing.
bobbyjoe
@lykeitiz
I’ve heard that there was bad blood between Matthew Weiner and Bryan Batt, supposedly because Batt was leaking spoilers, which is Rule # 1 not to violate on Mad Men. So Weiner wrote him out. I don’t know for sure this is true, but I’ve heard it from posters on several different sites. It sure would explain why Sal, a popular character, never reappeared even in a brief callback, which Weiner often did for other recurring characters.
Sluggo2007
@bobbyjoe: I heard the same thing, bobbyjoe. It seems Big Mouth Batt dug his own grave.
Clark35
Of course the actor claimed his character would be at Stonewall, when everyone and their mother literally claims to have been there the nights of the riots and involved in them. When in reality he probably would have been one of many deeply closeted men who married a woman as was common decades ago when the show takes place.
stranded
Even though Sal was in the closet, he never came across as bitter or hateful. I get the feeling he wouldn’t leave Kitty but he constantly cheats on her with men. She leaves him, embraces his sexuality to a point. He dates men, but is still in the closet. He becomes a commercial director. He’s not going to be a Stonewall revolutionist, he’s too timid.
Clark35
@stranded: Exactly.