Pudding Names Man of the Year

Justin R. Timberlake will be honored as Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 2010 Man of the Year next Friday, Feb. 5.

Timberlake, 28, was selected for his wide range of talents across the arts, according to Pudding press manager David J. Smolinsky ’11.

“He is a real Renaissance man,” Smolinsky said. “He’s an artist who has been able to do it all and has succeeded in each endeavor. Whether it’s with music or film or songwriting or producing, he’s really established himself in all of his ventures.”

Moreover, Smolinsky said Timberlake has a special relevance to those currently enrolled in the College.

“He’s an artist that our generation has grown up on,” he said. “We’re just very excited to have him here.”

Timberlake will be awarded the traditional Pudding Pot after an 8 p.m. roast by Pudding producers Kelly M. Conley ’11 and Stephen L. Rola ’11. Following the roast, the Pudding will present their 162nd show “Commie Dearest.”

Tickets are already sold out for the event, and Smolinsky said that at least 40 names are on a waiting list.

After launching his music career as the lead singer of ’N Sync, Timberlake went solo in 2002. A year later, his debut album “Justified” won two Grammy Awards, one for Best Pop Vocal Album and another for the single “Cry Me a River.” His next album, “FutureSex/LoveSounds,” brought him another four Grammy Awards.

While best known for his music–and perhaps the “wardrobe malfunction” involving him and Janet D.J. Jackson during Super Bowl XXXVIII–Timberlake has also started his own record company, acted and voiced characters in movies, started a clothing line, opened several restaurants, and taken home Emmy awards for his performances in “Saturday Night Live.”

In a tradition started in 1963, Timberlake joins past Pudding honorees such as Harrison Ford, Samuel L. Jackson, and James E. Franco, who was last year’s Man of the Year.

Anne J. Hathaway, the star of movies ranging from “The Princess Diaries” to “Rachel Getting Married,” will be honored as the Pudding’s 2010 Woman of the Year on Thursday.

—Staff writer Naveen N. Srivatsa can be reached at srivatsa@fas.harvard.edu.