Franco Crowned Hasty Pudding Man of the Year

As James Franco was presented with the Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ Man of the Year Award last Friday night, the “Spider Man” and “Pineapple Express” star not only had to prove worthy of the honor—he had to prove that he was a man.

Franco, who maintained a sheepish demeanor throughout the roast, first had his manhood called into question when Hasty Pudding Theatricals producer Pierce E. Tria ’10 brought up Franco’s admission to The New York Times that—despite growing up with a Jewish mother—he had never had a Bar Mitzvah.

“We can’t give him Man of the Year if he’s not a man!” said fellow Hasty Pudding producer Charlotte E. Twaalfhoven ’10, who roasted Franco along with Tria.

Members of the Hasty Pudding cast then sprang into action to give Franco an impromptu Bar Mitzvah, led by “Rabbi Spider Man” and complete with the band’s rendition of “Hava Nagila.”

“That was actually really touching,” Franco later said of his unexpected induction into manhood.

At a press conference after the event, Franco said he plans to have another Bar Mitzvah when he gets a break from working toward an MFA in fiction writing from Columbia.

Franco said he is now writing a novel and has a book of interrelated short stories that might be published soon.

Twaalfhoven and Tria, whose roast preceded the debut of the Hasty Pudding’s new show, “Acropolis Now,” also teased Franco about some of his less famous roles, such as Apartment Guy #3 in the movie “Some Body” and Officer #2 in an episode of “The X Files.”

But during the press conference, Franco took his own jab at the Pudding, saying he was never in “The X Files,” despite its listing on his Internet Movie Database profile.

Over the course of the roast, Franco was forced to don an eye patch, purple high heels, a blonde wig, and a sparkling golden bra shaped like a pineapple, before he was presented with the traditional Pudding Pot.

“I couldn’t ask for anything more,” Franco said after receiving the Pudding Pot. “I’ve made it.”

During the press conference, Franco compared the Hasty Pudding award to others he had received in the past, including the Golden Globe he won for his performance in the biographical movie “James Dean.”

“I can’t think of an award show that would equal this,” Franco said. “I’ve received more e-mail, calls, and texts than I did for any other award.”

But Franco said the Pudding Pot was not actually the most useful award he had ever garnered—he received a bong from High Times Magazine last year when he won their Stoner of the Year Award for his performance in “Pineapple Express.” He said he sent that award to his parents, who have yet to put the bong to its intended use.

“It cracked in the mail, so they haven’t been able to use it,” he said.

—Staff writer Lauren D. Kiel can be reached at lkiel@fas.harvard.edu.