Photo Flash: Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals Honor Neil Patrick Harris as 2014 Man of the Year

The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the oldest theatrical organization in the United States, honored Emmy Award-winning actor Neil Patrick Harris as the recipient of its 2014 Man of the Year Award on Friday, February 7, 2014. Harris joins Dame Helen Mirren, who was recently honored as their 2014 Woman of the Year. Scroll down for photos from the event!

The Man and Woman of the Year Awards are presented annually to performers who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment. Established in 1951, the Woman of the Year Award has been given to many notable and talented entertainers, including Meryl Streep, Katharine Hepburn, Julia Roberts, Jodie Foster, Elizabeth Taylor, Anne Hathaway, Claire Danes, and Marion Cotillard. The Man of the Year award was established in 1963. Its past recipients include Clint Eastwood, Tom Cruise, Robert de Niro, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Anthony Hopkins, Bruce Willis, Justin Timberlake, Jason Segel, and Kiefer Sutherland.

The Man of the Year festivities, presented by The Related Companies, included a celebratory roast for the actor. Harris was presented with his Pudding Pot at Farkas Hall, the Hasty Pudding's historic home in the heart of Harvard Square since 1888. A press conference followed the roast. Afterward, the Pudding presented the opening night performance of its 166th production, Victorian Secrets.

Equally successful on stage and screen, Neil Patrick Harris currently stars as Barney Stinson in the hit CBS television series, "How I Met Your Mother," a role which has garnered him multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominations. Harris is a four-time Emmy Award winner for his guest-starring role on "Glee," and as host of the 63rd, 65th and 66th Annual Tony Awards. He also served as host and producer of the 61st and 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as the 67th Annual Tony Awards.

From his seminal role as the beloved titular character in "Doogie Howser, M.D.," to his roles in the Harold & Kumar and The Smurfsfranchise films, Harris has enjoyed a successful career spanning more than 25 years in the industry. He is currently in production on David Fincher's highly-anticipated feature film, Gone Girl, opposite Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, based on the hugely successful novel by Gillian Flynn. He recently wrapped filming on the upcoming comedy feature, A Million Ways to Die in the West, starring Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried, and Sarah Silverman.

In addition to his numerous film and television credits, Harris has also enjoyed success in the theater. He will make his return to Broadway in spring 2014 as the star of John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask's landmark 1998 musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Harris has also starred in three Broadway productions, including the dual role of The Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald in the Tony Award-winning production of Assassins. Harris made his Broadway debut as Anne Heche's unexpected suitor in Proof.

Harris most recently mixed his love of magic and theater in directing Nothing to Hide, an unconventional magic show at the Pershing Square Signature Center in New York, following its lauded run at the Geffen Theater in Los Angeles.

ABOUT THE HASTY PUDDING INSTITUTE OF 1770: The Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770's philanthropic mission is to promote freedom of expression in all aspects of the performing arts, to encourage satire, comedy and the cultivation of young talent, not just at Harvard but around the world. The Institute is comprised of The Hasty Pudding Club (the oldest social club in the United States), The Hasty Pudding Theatricals (the third oldest theater group in the world, after the Comédie Française and the Oberammergau Passion Players) and the Harvard Krokodiloes (the foremost collegiate a cappella group in the United States). Over the last two centuries, it has grown into a premiere performing arts organization, a patron of the arts and comedy, and an advocate for satire and discourse as tools for change worldwide. For more information about the Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770, visit: www.hastypudding.org, www.facebook.com/HastyPudding or twitter.com/HastyPuddin1770.

Photo Credit: Gail Oskin/Getty Images for the Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770