Hasty Pudding Theatricals Names Jason Segel 2012 Man of the Year

Jason Segel, star of the recent Muppets film and multifaceted entertainer in the film, television, and music industries, was named the Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 2012 Man of the Year on Monday.

Segel will be recognized at the Man of the Year festivities on Feb. 3, when he will be roasted and presented with his Pudding Pot in Farkas Hall, followed by the Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ premiere of their 164th production, “There Will Be Flood.”

Segel joins actress Claire Danes, who was named the 2012 Woman of the Year by the Hasty Pudding Theatricals last week. Danes has appeared in films like “Romeo + Juliet,” television programs such as “Homeland,” and many theater productions.

According to a press release, the annual award is given to a man and woman “whose work has made an indelible mark on the world of entertainment.”

“Segel has brilliantly demonstrated his skill as an actor, writer, and producer,” said Tyler B. Faux ’13, the Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ press and publicity manager. “With the release of this year’s film ‘The Muppets,’ which he pitched, wrote, and starred in, Segel embodies the spirit of the Hasty Pudding in combining theater, comedy, and music.”

Segel’s career in entertainment has spanned different media, from television to film, beginning with the 1999 Emmy-nominated TV show “Freaks and Geeks,” and the CBS show “How I Met Your Mother,” now in its seventh season.

Beyond television, Segel collaborated with Judd Apatow on the 2007 comedy “Knocked Up.”

He then wrote and starred in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” in 2008. Propelled by the film’s success, Segel wrote and co-produced its sequel, “Get Him to the Greek,” in 2010, for which he also co-wrote most of the soundtrack.

Segel has also starred in “I Love You, Man” with Paul Rudd and “Bad Teacher” with Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake.

“I admire how much he has been able to accomplish across comedy, writing, songwriting, film, and television,” said Marta Bralic ’12, Man and Woman of the Year manager. “He has had tremendous success and has delighted audiences with his humor and talent, and we cannot wait to honor him.”

James P. Fitzpatrick ’12, president of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals and a member of the Harvard Lampoon—a semi-secret Sorrento Square social organization that used to occasionally publish a so-called humor magazine—said that when Segel was announced as Man of the Year, the Pudding company was thrilled.

“Segel is their hero, their idol, a demi-god of humor sent from the Mount Olympus of Comedy to strangle the Nemean lion that is prosaic college life and, like lamb-bearing Hermes, to raise these young children of laughter to the very heights of the heavens,” he said in typical Lampoon jest.

The Man of the Year has been an annual tradition since 1963. Past honorees include Bill Cosby, Tom Hanks, and Jay Leno, who was last year’s Man of the Year.

Danes will be honored at a Woman of the Year ceremony on Jan. 26.

—Staff writer Jane Seo can be reached at janeseo@college.harvard.edu.