Family Cheers on Emmy-Nominated St. Louis Actor
Source: KSDK
Date: September 2008
The Emmy awards were handed out Sunday night and one St. Louisan was up for an award. Jon Hamm was nominated for Best Actor in a Drama for his work in the series Mad Men. His family and friends threw a party to cheer him on.
“I’m really nervous, trying not to get my hopes up,” Hamm’s niece, Lindsay Sutton said. “We think he’s going to do well and we’re proud of him either way.”
“I’m excited. I’m not even nervous, just excited,” Julie Schulte, Hamm’s sister said.
Jon Hamm went to Burroughs for high school, and then on to Mizzou. But he couldn’t stay in Missouri, California was calling.
“350,000 miles on his Toyota Corrola and $250 in his pocket and there he went,” Schulte said. “And we were just like call us when you get there you know. And that’s really how it happened.”
The show Mad Men has received a total of 16 Emmy nominations. It’s been Hamm’s big break. But it didn’t come easy.
“He really had to try out hard for it, too.” Schulte said. “I think it took him seven tries, seven auditions to get the part.”
“It’s kind of unreal because I’m thinking, that’s my uncle but at the same time it’s fun,” Sutton said.
From in front of the big screen, family and friends cheered as if Hamm could hear them. The nominees were read and the winner announced. It was Bryan Cranston from Breaking Bad. Still Jon Hamm’s family says this isn’t a sad ending, rather it’s just the beginning of a great career.
“There will be many more to come, I’m sure,” Sutton said.
Hamm and the Mad Men cast and crew didn’t go away empty handed Sunday night. The series won the Emmy for Best Drama, the first basic-cable show to win the category.