Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals brags that it’s the oldest college acting troupe in the nation, which is maybe a half-step above the honor of “Most Rockin’ a Capella Group.” Traditionally, the dumb wiener college kids of Hasty Pudding select talented entertainers as their Man of the Year (previous recipients include legends like Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Martin Scorcese, and Paul Newman). This year they picked Jay Leno.
In 1977 Leno made his first appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” who was the 1977 Man of the Year. Leno took over as full-time host in 1992. Leno has never stopped touring on the comedy circuit and still averages over 150 gigs a year, including weekly shows in Las Vegas. Through all of his success, Leno continues to keep in touch with people by shaking hands and getting “one-on-one” time with audiences. Perhaps this is why he continues to exude the “everyman” style and personality. As an acclaimed comedian and television show host, Leno joins the likes of Johnny Carson and Bob Hope on our list of Man of the Year recipients. [Hasty Pudding]
Of course, Harvard is where Conan O’Brien got his start as the editor of the Harvard Lampoon, and since these kids are supposedly smart, the only possible explanation is that this is an elaborate prank against the Lampoon.
In other, more talented collegiate comedy news, Steven Colbert will return to his (and my) alma mater to give the commencement speech at Northwestern this spring:
It was at Northwestern in the mid-1980s that Colbert switched from plans to study serious acting and instead joined an improvisation team. After graduation he joined the comic Second City touring team.
He recently told Northwestern magazine that he switched from serious theater after realizing that failing onstage in comedy can be funny, and healthier. [AP]
Northwestern, of course, has a rich history of improv comedy, with the Mee-Ow Show producing funny people like Julia-Louis-Dreyfus, Kristen Schaal, and Seth Meyers (aw crap, sorry about that last one). Who are the alumni from Hasty Pudding? Theodore Roosevelt, Oliver Wendell Holmes, William Randolph Hearst, and J.P. Morgan. Pffft, sure, but what have they done for us lately?