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Kevin Godbee
- Dec 21, 2009
- 0 min read
Michael Gladis plays the pipe smoking copywriter, "Paul Kinsey" on AMC TV’s Mad Men. Not only does his character Paul smoke a pipe, but Mr. Gladis smokes a pipe in real life.
PipesMagazine.com Editor & Publisher, Kevin Godbee sat down with Michael Gladis in the private smoking lounge at Davidoff of Geneva in midtown Manhattan on November 14, 2009. They talked about pipe smoking, his role on Mad Men, and his acting career in general. Michael is charming, friendly, and witty while he enjoys smoking his pipe and giving us the inside scoop on Mad Men and telling us how he is similar to Paul Kinsey. See Part I of our video interview with Michael Gladis here and see if you can get the trivia question right at the end.
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See Part II of the Michael Gladis Interview Here
See Part III of the Michael Gladis Interview Here
Written by Kevin Godbee

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Bigger. Better. More Pipe. This year’s Chicago Pipe Show was a larger event with an expanded smoking tent and the addition of the special events section at the back of it, and the show boasted way more attendees than previous years. While we didn’t have the most interesting man of the year at the show this year, there was an actor sighting at our hotel of Brian O’Halloran (better known as Dante from Clerks). It is unknown if he came into the show itself or was just there at the hotel, and sadly, I didn’t find any pictures of him there, just the rumors. Stay tuned on that one. Tim Garrity (Chicago Pipe Club President) shared with me some numbers this year; there were over 950ish in attendance. For those of you playing the home game, they reported to me that in 2024, a little over 400 attended (after checking with Tim this was just the attendees not including vendors it was around 800 with everyone). That’s more than double for 2025. “We had an increase in carvers and tobacianna makers. A large international presence with vendors coming from China, Brazil, Italy, France, Denmark, the UK, Austria, Germany, Turkey, Cuba, Cyprus, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Canada, and a few others as well…. I really want to highlight two pieces that stick out to me. As mentioned before, the international showing. Our guests came from all around the world. While it rained outdoors, only friendship and fellowship reigned in our tent. Our community continues to bring me joy, for in divisive times, we are coming together. Pipes over politics, personalities, and persuasions,” said Tim. The line to enter stretched almost outside this year. Below are a handful of pictures to give you a general idea. Upon first entry into the ballroom, vendors and carvers were stacked in with more tables than in the past couple of years, as Tim discussed. 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Per: Every summer, the King and Queen travel around Denmark visiting the different cities. This was a tradition that goes back to the Vikings because at that time they didn’t have any facebook or Instagram so a lot of people didn’t know how the king looked. So they had to travel around to all the cities to show his face. He didn’t have a castle. This tradition is taken over by the present kings as well. Per: The crew onboard the yacht are selected from the regular navy, and conscripts are hand-picked and sent onboard the royal ship to work for the summer. Officers were always assigned to the ship, but every summer a different crew. The ship he started on was the paddle boat steamer, and then in 1932, a new ship was built, and that is the same ship we use today, almost a hundred years old. When are we going to see these blends come out? Per: If everything goes as we would like, it will be the beginning of July. I’ve got two blends ready, and I’m smoking the new ones now. They are: 100% Virginia (Red and Bright) Virginia Dark Fired Kentucky Burley Dominant Blend One more Virginia blend. (Red and Bright) For all of them, they are going to be so natural, that means a little bit casing, no top note (with the exception of the burley). The goal, Per says, is to have balance in the flavors and no tongue bite. Kings Watch is a 50/50 blend of red and bright virginias. Interesting note: Per said, each tobacco company calls variations of Virginia something different. MacBaren, for instance, would call it bright Virginia because it had a higher sugar content. The red Virginia has all the flavor, so the more red, the more intense the taste. When sampling this, the flavor profiles are citrus fruit, mellow cream, and a slight floral note. Tasting the Burley heavy blend, which is ready to go as well, is smooth, nutty, and cocoa-flavored. With that nougat taste, I’m reminded of a Toblerone candy bar, but don’t go assuming it’s full-on aromatic. It’s subtle. Another commented that it was like a truffle. The Burley forward blend does have a hint of Virginia in it as well, but just a hint. The Dark-Fired Kentucky and Virginia blend has that expected BBQ smell/note. The room note is more mellow. Per says they are still tweaking the two other blends, and they don’t have names for them yet, other than being under the Legacy Collection banner. Stay tuned! Battle of the Briar This year’s Battle of the Briar featured Ping Zhan, Silver Gray, and Nathan Davis as the carver competitors. Once again, our Master of Ceremonies was Steve “Pipestud” Fallon, with Jeff Gracik providing the play-by-play. Missouri Meerschaum was a sponsor this year and also did a live stream of the event; you can go back and watch here. I’ll expand a bit on that video with things you didn’t know, with a couple of comments from the carvers and Judges, so strap in. I chatted with Jeff […]
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Great start for the interview!
I can’t wait to see the rest of it!
Great Interview,
My favorite show! I love the way they have worked to make that show time period correct.
Dan
Great interview! Michael is awesome!
I only watch 2 shows on TV – Mad Men and Two and a Half Men.
What a great interview. I always enjoy seeing the next generation of pipe smokers being profiled and its even better to see movie/tv stars who are proud to be pipe men as well.
Great interview! Looking forward to the rest of the interview.
Kevin, that was a very professional interview. You really kept it rolling. Do I see a talk show in the future?
“Do I see a talk show in the future?”
Ha ha ha! No effin way. That’s way too much work … well, maybe if I can smoke the whole time like I did here.
My oldest son was very impressed that you two were smoking pipes in an interview. I grew up watching Carson smoking while interviewing, but my son is 20 and he has only seen PC bullshirt.
Yes, I felt it was mandatory that we smoke pipes during the interview. That is what this site is all about, and we are all about promoting a wonderful hobby that so many evil, misguided people are trying to kill.
I want it to be obvious that we are for real here at PipesMagazine.com, and that the guy that owns the company (me) is a real pipe smoker.
If we are talking about pipes, we are going to smoke pipes. The interview was originally going to take place in LA and I was scouting a location there and having a little trouble with it.
Then it got moved to NY when Michael scored a couple of roles on two different TV shows that film there. You’ll hear more about that in Part III.
Davidoff came through nicely for us by letting us use their private lounge.
Hey, great interview..when can we expect part II ?
Thanks
We are editing Part II now. Don’t hold me to it, but I think it should be up for New Years Eve.
Thank you Kevin. I hope everyone knows how much work you have invested in this site. I, for one really appreciate it mate.
Thanks Mick. That makes it all worthwhile.
Great interview Kevin. I vote Orson Wells. I also suggest that your pipe should be cleaned with Courvoisier. Your pipe should have the very best.
Tom Soles
I just ordered the first season of Mad Men on Netflix. They have season 1 and 2 available.
Very nice, professional interview, Kevin. Good questions, and good answers.
I’ve never seen the show (I haven’t watched TV in years), but I’ve heard good things about it. Mr. Gladis sounds like he takes his craft seriously and with intelligence, which makes him an actor worth watching and speaks well for the show. Maybe I’ll check it out on disk.
Oh, and thanks for mentioning Chuck Woolery’s clothier — seems he has a new one.
Thanks Garrett!
The show is great. It is only 1 of 2 shows I watch. From the little bit I am getting to know you here, I think you would enjoy the show.
I really appreciate your attention to detail. You seem to be the first person that read the credits.
If my girlfriend Laura could get a hold of Chuck Woolery, she would fix him up with the right clothes.
Thanks for the great work on this site. Keep the interviews coming; much appreciated.
My wife and I love this show. The actors and writers are very true to the time period portrayed. Mad Men is spot on with the fashion, attitude, and sets. Plus, the story line and plots are great. This is the only American show we watch.