Tom Palmer

Not everyone behind the scenes on the award-winning cable drama "Mad Men" came to the show from equally rarefied climes: writer and executive producer Tom Palmer's last job before beginning work on the stylish 1960s period piece was on the short-lived sitcom "Baby Bob," about a young married couple who realize that their infant son not only talks, but does so in the dudely voice of an overgrown frat boy. Palmer started his Hollywood career as a writer and producer on the Pam Dawber sitcom "My Sister Sam," a sweet-natured show about adult siblings that unfortunately is today remembered mostly for the fact that Dawber's younger co-star, Rebecca Schaeffer, was murdered by a crazed fan shortly after the series went off the air. That show's executive producer, Diane English, next went on to create the sometimes controversial workplace comedy "Murphy Brown"; Palmer worked on that show as a writer and producer for most of its 10-year run. Nearly a decade after "Murphy Brown" went off the air, Palmer served alongside series creator Matthew Weiner as executive producer of "Mad Men" for its first season, and also wrote two episodes of the series.