As the final episodes of Mad Men began to air on AMC this week, we expected that we might be forced witness the sad decline and fall of philandering ad man Don Draper.
We didn’t think the same could be said of the beloved actor who portrays him.
Just before a string of premiere events for Mad Men’s final half-season, Jon Hamm left rehab after quietly checking in to be treated for alcohol addiction.
The similarities between Hamm’s situation and the boozy tendencies of his 1960’s alter-ego did not go unnoticed by the press.
Now it seems Hamm may have more in common with Don Draper/Dick Whitman than we thought, as two recent tabloid reports may have revealed a dark past he’d prefer to forget, and a troubled relationship with the most important woman in his life.
We’ll get the uglier claim out of the way first:
Star magazine is reporting that Hamm was arrested in 1990 after allegedly taking part in a horrific fraternity hazing in which a pledge of Hamm’s Sigma Nu fraternity was brutally beaten and molested.
The report claims that the pledge was struck with a paddle more than 30 times and suffered "great pain" to his genitals as a result of several sickening actions.
The tabloid claims Hamm himself "hooked a claw hammer under the pledge’s genitals" and lit his pant leg on fire. When the pledge attempted to smother the fire with his hands, Hamm would not allow it and forced him to "blow it out."
Hamm was arrested, and three of his frat brothers were imprisoned, but the actor struck a plea deal and was able to avoid jail time.
Now onto Hamm’s comparatively not-so-bad relationship troubles.
The Daily Mail and other outlets are reporting that Hamm and his girlfriend of 18 years, Jennifer Westfeldt, have officially called it quits.
The news seems to be corroborated by the fact that Westfeldt did not attend any of the recent Mad Men premiere events with Hamm. It’s the first time that she’s skipped them since the show premiered in 2007.
Hamm has been accused of cheating on Westfeldt in the past, but sources say his recent relationship problems resulted from his drinking and his unwillingness to get married.
Yikes. Here’s hoping things turn around for Jon, at least in terms of the way he’s being depicted in the press.’
Watch Mad Men online at TV Fanatic to appreciate the many ways in which life imitates art.
