On Friday, Feb. 6, Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals hosted their annual global premiere of their new, entirely student-written and produced show, “Salooney Tunes.” Preceding the performance, “Batman” and “Beetlejuice” star Michael Keaton was welcomed to the stage to be honored as HPT’s 59th Man of the Year—a ceremony which included a celebrity roast, press conference, and the awarding of the illustrious “Pudding Pot.”
“This award-winning actor’s career has spanned over 40 years, marking him as one of the most prolific performers of our generation. When we found out he was our honoree, we were over the moon—but then Jeff Goldblum decided to cancel last minute,” Cate Schwarz ’27 quipped during the roast.
After an extensive 50-year career, the 74-year-old renowned actor spent his hour of “Harvard fame” fielding jests from HPT—laughing with them, but also being laughed at.
HPT’s roast is a classic segment of the MOY award—producers Ellie Tunnell ’27 and Schwartz, alongside other members of the production’s cast, band, tech, and business team, joined the actor on stage for some light-hearted embarrassment.
Festivities started, of course, with an homage to Keaton’s most famous role. “You’ll be facing your greatest opponent, yet it’s a villain you’ve never been able to capture,” Schwartz said as the classic Bat-Signal flashed over the stage and HPT members helped Keaton into his Batsuit. A life-sized Oscar trophy suddenly ran onto the stage and battled the actor with a prop sword. Now, HPT is nothing if not a testament to good sportsmanship—ultimately, Keaton defeated the Academy Award, despite having never secured an Oscar for himself during his nonetheless decorated career.
Keaton then returned to his seat as Tunnell and Schwartz began to take amicable jabs at the honoree’s beginnings as a stand-up comedian. Claiming to have one of his notebooks from his early days, the “incredible Hasty Pudding historians” brought the producers a bright pink, sparkly journal. Schwarz took the book and began to tease him for having “Sigourney Weaver and Meryl Streep” on his list of secret crushes.
Asked to read from the notebook, Keaton was then brought back to the stage front and immediately began to list complaints about Boston. The audience—a majority of which presumably was from the local area—was already laughing as the dramatic irony built up.
“The worst part—the people. Boy, oh boy, do Boston people suck,” Keaton read. He could not help but add a sarcastic “Really?” while delivering this line. He continued to read more specifically about Harvard.“I will continue with this, that those privileged Harvard kids really grind my gears thinking they’re going to invent Facebook or something,” he said.
The producers also made sure to poke fun at his acting career. They began with his recent appearance as Batman in the 2023 adaptation of “The Flash,” quickly moving to Keaton’s lesser-known films which were subject to such witty remarks, with “Much Ado About Nothing” being referred to as his “acting career at large,” and “White Noise” as “Michael Keaton talking.” However, these jests turned positive as they drew attention to Keaton’s wide range and ability as an actor.
The sheer diversity of films Keaton has starred in was made clear throughout the jovial proceedings of the evening. “The Founder,” one of the actor’s most notable films, is based on the true story of McDonald’s roots. Keaton plays the role of Ray Kroc, who turned the family-run Southern California business into a national (and later international) powerhouse. In the movie, Keaton acts as the corporate franchising agent, so what better way to humble him than to teach him the challenges faced by everyday McDonald’s workers in front of hundreds of his fans?
Kroc’s famous quote, “Look after the customer and the business will take care of itself,” may have inspired the producers’ challenge for Keaton. “Michael, you really can’t refuse a customer,” Tunnell and Schwartz repeatedly stated. Played by a member of HPT, a pseudo-McDonald’s customer requested an increasingly absurd amount of extra hamburger meat. Keaton had no choice but to oblige, piling patties until the result was an eight-stack burger. Only then did the customer ask, “Do you think you could take a bite for me?” And the customer’s request was not refused—with some struggle, Keaton took a large bite out of the eight-stacker.
As the 20-minute roast came to a close, the producers decided to pay tribute to Keaton’s hobby of fly fishing. After bringing out what Keaton noted was “not a fly rod,” the trio cast their reels into the pit of the stage. “We don’t have a lake or an ocean here, but the amount of sweat that the Hasty Pudding band generates should do,” Tunnel joked. The producers pulled up a pair of tightey-whitey boxers and a Batman-bejeweled bra, which they both declared belonged to Keaton. And for the finishing touch, Tunnell reeled in the iconic golden Pudding Pot and awarded it to Keaton, concluding the roast section of the night.
At the press conference following the roast, Keaton was joined by HPT members Crystal Manyloun ’26 and Julia Kim ’26, dressed in colorful costumes from previous shows, and Press and Publicity Manager Chaelon Simpson ’26. “I did ask for someone with ridiculously fluorescent hair,” Keaton commented on Manyloun’s neon pink wig.
While reflecting on his thoughts on the roast, Keaton joked,“I didn’t get the Nikki Glaser treatment,” referencing the comedian’s brutal roasts while hosting the 2026 Golden Globes.
He also reflected on his friendship with the recently passed Catherine O’Hara, whom he honored in an article for Time Magazine.
Keaton additionally provided insight into his acting process for “The Founder,” sharing: “The thing about Kroc, though, was for his faults–which we all have them—he worked his ass off. He was an unbelievably hard worker. And so that’s the thing I launched, that determination.”
Though the night was full of jokes and roasts, Keaton still took a moment to be serious during his closing speech in the ceremony.
“Man, I’m encouraged as hell. If this is any indication of [the future based on the] people I hung out with here the last day or so, these women and men have just been great.”
Kalvin Frank ’28 (kfrank@college.harvard.edu) and Ellie Guo ’29 (eguo@college.harvard.edu) are the Arts Editors for the Harvard Independent.