Yahoo Lifestyle Jon Hamm Graciously Gets Roasted While Accepting Harvard's Hasty Pudding Man of the Year Award
“Did you all seriously think I was dead," Hamm joked with a crowd at the school's Farkas Hall on Friday, Jan. 31
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Jon Hamm, pictured, as he's named Hasty Pudding's Man of the Year on Jan. 31, 2025Jon Hamm was happily the butt of the joke as he received his latest career accolade!
On Friday, Jan. 31, the Mad Men alum paid a visit to Harvard University's Farkas Hall as he was recognized as Hasty Pudding’s 2025 Man of the Year — an annual honor that the school's longtime theater group, Hasty Pudding Theatricals, bestows upon an actor alongside a light-hearted roast.
During the roast itself, and before Hamm took home his Pudding Pot award, Hasty Pudding president Catherine Stanton and cast vice president Bernardo de Moura Sequeira joked that they "thought that guy was dead" when referring to the actor, 53, according to The Boston Globe.
“I can’t believe there are so many people here,” Hamm said while later accepting his new trophy, per the Associated Press. “Did you all seriously think I was dead? This is such a wonderful honor.”
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Jon Hamm holds his Pudding Pot trophy while getting kisses on the cheek at Harvard's Farkas Hall on Jan. 31, 2025As for what went down at the ceremony, Hamm — who most recently appeared on Paramount+'s Landman — carved a literal ham on stage and even went head-to-head with a shirtless man in a Paul Rudd mask, per The Globe.
Students also reportedly tested his sales skills — as an homage to his Mad Men character, Don Draper — when they presented an image of Hamm in a bathtub with Daniel Radcliffe from their 2012 series A Young Doctor’s Notebook, asking him to “sell” some “bath time with Harry Potter” to another person on stage. “Hi, do you love Daniel Radcliffe? How about Harry Potter?” he asked a woman on stage, per the AP. “I would say let’s sit in a tub together but that sounds like, A, terrifying, and B, marginally illegal.”
Hamm was also jokingly tasked with pitching car insurance to a baby driver and a pen to someone who was just fired from a dream job.
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Jon Hamm appears on 'The Tonight Show' on Nov. 17, 2024Other recent stars to earn Hasty Pudding’s Man of the Year honor include Barry Keoghan (2024), Bob Odenkirk (2023) and Jason Bateman (2022). The award dates back to 1967, when it was first presented to Bob Hope.
But as Hamm told students on Friday, he didn't touch base with any previous honorees on what to anticipate, per The Globe, including his pal Rudd — who earned the honor in 2018. “I thought it’d be more fun if I just sort of entered it like most things, with eyes wide open and knowing that it’s all in good fun, and I’m glad I did,” Hamm said.
According to the outlet, Cynthia Erivo will be honored as Hasty Pudding’s 2025 Woman of the Year next week, a month before she's up for best actress at the 97th Academy Awards on March 2.
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As for Hamm, the actor is no stranger to making fun public appearances. Back in early January, the Transformers One star attended a popular Chicago karaoke event on New Year's Day. While at a weekly live band karaoke night at Bub City, the actor sang renditions of Neil Diamond’s 1969 hit “Sweet Caroline," Radiohead’s “Creep” and Prince’s “1999.” He also capped off the night with an encore performance of Shaboozey's 2024 chart-topper “A Bar Song (Tipsy)."
After being handed a microphone by Lloyd Snyder of Lloyd Snyder & the Big Rig Band, Hamm casually walked on stage for his brief set, a rep for Bub City told PEOPLE at the time. “When Jon Hamm grabs the mic at Live Band Karaoke, it’s a night to remember. 🎤✨. Thanks for kicking off Life Band Karaoke 2025 with us, Jon," the venue wrote on Instagram.
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