Английский Этимологический словарь - ham (2)

- "overacting performer," 1882 Amer.Eng., apparently a shortening of hamfatter (1880) "actor of low grade," said to be from an old minstrel show song, "The Ham-fat Man," having to do with a second-rate actor. The allusion is to ham fat as a make-up remover. The notion of "amateurish" led to the sense of "amateur radio operator" (1922).