Blogamole › Jon Hamm

By Michael Lopez

Ever wanted to know how much money your favorite stars made way back when? It seems Parade has gotten the inside scoop. In their annual "What People Earn" issue, the weekly mag added a special section showing the drastic salary increases many celebs have gone through since their early days in the biz.

One lady who's earning power skyrocketed this year is Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins. Back in 1991, she was taking home $31,000 a year as a television writer for Nickelodeon. Now as the creator of Katniss Everdeen, her annual profits net her a cool $10 million!

We all know that Albert Pujols scored a humongous payday when he signed on to the Angels’ roster. But did you know how much made back in 2000 as a third baseman for the Peoria Chiefs? Just $2,750 a year, a sliver of his earning potential today.

Everybody knows that Ryan Seacrest rakes it in hosting American Idol (to the tune of $15 million a year). But when he was a local L.A. DJ back in 1995, his annual salary was less than $11,000!

Curious about what Chilean-born Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi made when she first signed on for Jersey Shore? Just $45,000, a far cry from the $1.6 million she earns today. But judging by the massive exposure she brings to MTV, we imagine she's worth the extra pocket change.

Struggling actors take note. Long before Jon Hamm nabbed his $2.3 million Mad Men salary, he was waiting tables in L.A. to the tune of $14,000 a year. Carrie Underwood (who now makes $20 million annually) also served food during her early 20's, taking home roughly $16,000 in tips.

Even the Commander-in-Chief couldn't escape the Parade list. Yes Barack Obama got a mention too, comparing his 1997 $46,000 salary as a Chicago Senator to his current $400,000 net as Mr. Prez. Quite interesting when you consider he makes less than most reality stars.

The Parade list goes on and on and actually delves even deeper into average U.S. salaries. It's certainly an interesting snapshot of the economy at large and may be a useful tool in helping decide which field you may want to pursue.

What's your dream salary? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Albert Pujols, Barack Obama, Blogger: Michael Lopez, Carrie Underwood, Celebrities, Hot Stuff, Jon Hamm, Parade, President Barack Obama, Ryan Seacrest, Snooki, Suzanne Collins, What People Earn

By Ikam Acosta

Fans of Mad Men have been eagerly awaiting the series return, and it shows. The two hour premiere or the show's fifth season was watched by 3.5 million people, topping the fourth season's premiere by a whopping 21 percent.

The season premiere scored a record high on US ratings, after fans waited 17 months for the series to return after "lengthy contract negotiations with creator Matt Weiner." The show's creator must have been right to stand his ground, since apparently people believe the show is worth it.

Actor Edith Bowman said,

"What Matthew [Weiner] does very well is he never lets the characters stagnate. All the characters are constantly in motion, but it's all happening in the swirl of the business that's constantly changing."

Mad Men takes place in the 1960's cutthroat advertising world of New York City. Jon Hamm stars as Don Draper, the charismatic ad executive. Jessica Para played the role of Megan, Drapers wife, who performed the 1960's French pop song, 'Zou Bisou Bisou,' for Don's birthday party in the season premiere.

Are you a fan of 'Mad Men'?

Tags Blogger: Ikam Acosta, Edith Bowman, Jessica Para, Jon Hamm, Mad Men, Matt Weiner, Television

By Astrid Rivera

Hollywood is never short of celebrity feuds and scandals. The latest feud comes courtesy of a very unlikely pair, Mad Men actor Jon Hamm and reality star Kim Kardashian. The controversy all began when Hamm was interviewed by Elle UK magazine and was quoted as saying:

"Whether it's Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian or whoever, stupidity is certainly celebrated. Being a f***ing idiot is a valuable commodity in this culture because you're rewarded significantly."

The actor definitely makes a valid point, if we look around it seems the dumber the personality the more successful they are. Yet, Ms. Kim K did not take lightly to these comments. She immediately fired back on her Twitter account,

"We're all working hard and we all have to respect one another. Calling someone who runs their own businesses, is a part of a successful TV show, produces, writes, designs and creates, 'stupid', is in my opinion careless."

Kim Kardashian may not be a Harvard graduate but her ability to create a multi-million dollar empire out of thin air is far from dumb. The most interesting thing about this feud is that Hamm didn't realize that the so-called "feud" even existed. The actor was recently made aware of Kim's Twitter comments at a Mad Men Q & A session and told Access Hollywood that the matter had been blown out of proportion.

Hamm went on to say,

"It's surprising to me that this has become remotely a story... My quote was simply about that version of television and that version of American culture being celebrated." "The quote was obviously taken out of context, but I said what I said. I just wish it had been reported correctly."

Instead of just taking this for what it is, a misreported comment, many are noting that nowhere in there did Jon actually apologize to Kim. Oh well, you can't win em' all Kim!

I doubt Jon actually meant to offend Kim and it's hard to imagine this feud going any further than this (unless Paris Hilton decides to Tweet something as well).

What do you think about Jon Hamm's comments? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Access Hollywood, Astrid Rivera, Celebrity Feuds, Elle UK magazine, Jon Hamm, Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton

By Sharmaine Jones

30 Rock” fans are in for a real treat. Not only is “30 Rock” going live tonight (Thursday, October 14) but Matt Damon and Mad Men's Jon Hamm is also set to appear on the show!

In 30 Rock's first live telecast, as usual we can expect three story lines:

"One story is that no-one has remembered Liz's birthday, another is that Jack Donaghy (played by Alec Badwin) has tried to give up drinking while his fiancee is pregnant -- and he's not enjoying that -- and there's another story with Tracy Morgan making some discoveries about how fun it is to act up on live TV," said Tina Fey.

Although the prospect of goofs and blunders are influence enough to tune in, we're more psyched about the A-lost guest appearances. Damon is scheduled to reprise his role as “Carol”, Liz Lemon's (Tina Fey) emotionally out of control pilot and Hamm will make a return appearance as “Dr. Drew Baird” – both of which are Lemon's ex-beaus. Could it be that Don Draper and Jason Bourne will be competing for Lemon's attention? If so, Lemon may have her hands full – in a good way. That's a problem any woman would be willing to have! Also set to appear in the episode is the super-sexy Cheyenne Jackson as “Danny”, a “TGS” cast member.

30 Rock is set to broadcast from NBC's Saturday Night Live stage at 30 Rockefeller Plaza (hence the shows title) at 8:30 p.m. ET, then the cast will return at 11:30 p.m. ET to do it all over again for a live show for the West coast. We're eager to see the differences and how SNL improv vets Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan recover from any mishaps.

Will you tune in to the live broadcast of “30 Rock”?

Tags 30 Rock, Alec Baldwin, Jon Hamm, MAtt Damon, SNL, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan