'Mad Men' star Jon Hamm was charged in brutal 1990 hazing incident at University of Texas at Austin

Jon Hamm, who portrays Don Draper on the hit AMC series "Mad Men," helped brutally initiate a male student in 1990 and was charged with hazing while he was a member of the subsequently-disbanded Sigma Nu fraternity at the University of Texas at Austin. Pictured, Jon Hamm in the university's Cactus Yearbook's 1990 edition. less Jon Hamm, who portrays Don Draper on the hit AMC series "Mad Men," helped brutally initiate a male student in 1990 and was charged with hazing while he was a member of the subsequently-disbanded Sigma Nu ... more Photo: Cactus Yearbook/Texas Student Media Photo: Cactus Yearbook/Texas Student Media Image 1 of / 78 Caption Close 'Mad Men' star Jon Hamm was charged in brutal 1990 hazing incident at University of Texas at Austin 1 / 78 Back to Gallery

Jon Hamm, who portrays Don Draper on the hit AMC series "Mad Men," helped brutally initiate a male student in 1990 and was charged with hazing while he was a member of the subsequently-disbanded Sigma Nu fraternity at the University of Texas at Austin.

Hamm, who was 20 at the time, and a group of other fraternity members forced pledge Mark Sanders to undergo heavy physical strain on Nov. 10, 1990, by forcing him to hold a heavy rock until he was exhausted, stomping on him and and making him perform calisthenics, according to San Antonio Light and Houston Chronicle archives.

And, that's the tip of the iceberg.

Star Magazine, citing Travis County court documents that were not immediately available on Thursday, reported that Hamm was involved in an incident where members "hooked the claw of a hammer underneath his [Sanders] genitals and led him by the hammer around the room."

The actor then was involved in setting Sanders' pants on fire and "and would not let [the pledge] extinguish the flame with his hand but made [him] blow it out," according to court documents obtained by Star. Hamm then allegedly broke into the house of another pledge and brought him back to the Sigma Nu house to engage in "similar hazing activity."

Travis County Sheriff’s spokesman Roger Wade confirmed in a phone interview Thursday that an arrest warrant for Hamm was issued on Aug. 24, 1993. Radar Online reported that Hamm reached a plea deal in 1995.

A publicist for Hamm did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

A 1991 story — which was published in the San Antonio Light and names Hamm — detailing the incident and criminal charges can be read here.

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The high-profile incident led to the fraternity chapter's dissolution, misdemeanor charges for Hamm and jail time for other members involved, news archives show.

Four cases in Travis County against Hamm were disposed of in 1995, according to criminal records.

Three members were sentenced to 30 days in jail, while Hamm reached a plea deal in 1995, according to Radar. News archives from the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Light do not detail the terms of the deal.

Efforts on Thursday by the San Antonio Express-News to immediately obtain the court documents were unsuccessful.

Ronald Morgan, chief deputy county clerk for the Travis County Clerk's Office, said his office is researching a series of requests related to the incident and ensuing court cases.

The Sigma Nu chapter at the university was disbanded after the incident, but the fraternity lists the chapter as active on their website. It's unclear when their charter was reinstated.

Hamm attended the University of Texas from 1989-90 before transferring to the University of Missouri, according to The Alcalde, UT's alumni magazine.

The second half of "Mad Men's" final season began airing on Sunday.

News researcher Julie Domel contributed to this report. Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Light archives were also used in this report.

jfechter@mySA.com

Twitter: @JFreports