Hasty Pudding Theatricals Crowns their 58th Man of the Year, Jon Hamm

In one of the longest-running traditions, a few days ago, veteran actor Jon Hamm joined the elusive family, which is Hasty Pudding’s Man of the Year award. And it’s been a long time coming for Hamm, an actor and producer who has seemingly worked with everyone in Hollywood. The festivities went down last Friday night, kicking off the 176th season of Hasty Pudding, the longest-running theatrical organization in the country. As always, Hamm was put through the legendary roast before catching a final dress rehearsal performance of this year’s production, 101 Damnations .
Highlights from the Roast included shout-outs to multiple works in Hamm’s history, including his 2017 turn in Baby Driver opposite Ansel Elgort and his work in Top Gun: Maverick, amongst many other odes, to his boundless catalog of work. When roaster Bernardo Sequiera ‘26, asked how he felt about his billing on the aforementioned Top Gun, Maverick Hamm comically responded, “I didn’t have to train in planes; I just had to get spray-tanned.” Later on in the roast, when the duo of Sequiera and Cathy Stanton ‘25 talked about how he had plenty of time to still have kids because of his 20 years junior wife, he corrected them swiftly, saying, “17. 17 years.”
Hamm expressed on stage at the beginning that he had been looking forward to the roast and was a great participant in the planned activities. According to the roasters, they engaged in a series of games, giving Hamm the chance to prove that he was still relevant. Highlights here included him guessing if the quotes provided to him were from an actual piece of ham or him himself. Also, he engaged in a “height” competition to prove he was 6’ 2” and cold read and delivered lines from some iconic moments, including a reference to Mad Men, which turns a wild twenty years old this year.
Since Hamm took on Don Draper in the iconic Mad Men, Hamm has continued to roll with smashes like his most recent show, Landman, which broke the record as the most-watched original show on Paramount+ within its first few weeks. While it’s a program not for the faint of heart, Hamm most certainly cannot be put in a box, with a career spanning everything from Bridesmaids, a turn as Coach Carr in the Mean Girls reboot and as the iconic Sherriff Roy Tillman in Fargo.
While speaking to the press, it was clear that Hamm was happy to be there. It definitely didn’t seem to be something he was just treating as just another thing in his schedule. When asked about his wife being from Cambridge, he touched on it by saying,
“Well, her family all actually moved out to Southern California, and I got to see a lot of the family as they unfortunately had to evacuate from their home due to the fire. They lived with us for a few weeks, but yes, she grew up in Cambridgeport and went to middle school here. In fact, her older sister went to Harvard and graduated in the early 2000s. So yes, there’s a lot of hometown pride here in the Hamm house, for sure.”
Hamm continued to make sure everyone had plenty of chances to get a photo of him doing both him giving his Pudding Cup a little kiss as well as having a double cheek kiss from two cast members. When asked if he had gotten any advice from past Men of The Year, he said, “No, I did not. I sort of entered it like most things, eyes wide open, knowing that it’s all in good fun, and I’m glad I did it. I did notice that four or five of the ones the years before me are all people in my phone, so I could have certainly hit them up, but I’m glad I didn’t. I’m glad I let it be a pleasant surprise.”
The year is still early for Hamm, as he kicked off the year with a bang with this honor. Next up, this April, he will be taking on yet another streaming service with Your Friends and Neighbors, on Apple +. Hamm will be the show’s executive producer alongside the series’ creator, Jonathan Topper. Olivia Munn and Amanda Peet will join Hamm for this one. He will also revisit his character in American Hostage for a live television series adaptation later this year.
Next up on this upcoming Wednesday will be the chance for the one and only Cynthia Erivo to accept her Pudding Cup as this year’s Woman of the Year. For Erivo, her parade will begin at 1:45 in Harvard Square, and she will have her own roast later that evening before she takes in a performance of the show. You can also catch “101 Damnations” starting February 7th and going through March 9th at Farkas Hall. Shows will happen Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 4 p.m. and 8.pm, and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. That full schedule can be found here, and you can buy tickets here or email tickets@hastypudding.org. The show will also make a bit of a road trip to New York City for two days of shows on March 14th-15th at Morris W. and Fannie B. Haft Theater.