Actor Tim Robbins named Hasty Pudding Man of the Year

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) _ Actor Tim Robbins pleaded, sang and faced off with protesters to earn the Hasty Pudding Man of the Year award on Thursday. <br/><br/>Robbins, whose best-known roles include the

Thursday, February 17th 2005, 9:52 pm

By: News On 6

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) _ Actor Tim Robbins pleaded, sang and faced off with protesters to earn the Hasty Pudding Man of the Year award on Thursday.

Robbins, whose best-known roles include the wrongly convicted prisoner in ``The Shawshank Redemption'' and a quirky baseball pitcher in ``Bull Durham,'' made his case to a ``parole board'' _ a wooden board with ``parole'' written on it _ and sang a version of ``Take Me Out to the Ball Game'' with the lyrics rewritten for him.

The actor, known for his social activism, also had to deal with sign-toting protesters before members of the Harvard-based student drama troupe, dressed in drag, presented him with the bronze pudding pot.

Robbins' companion, actress Susan Sarandon, was crowned the Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year in 1996.

``She actually prepared me for a parade, so she talked mostly about a parade and I didn't end up getting a parade,'' Robbins said of the advice he got from Sarandon. ``Next time, maybe after tonight we'll have an impromptu parade, open air cars, get some of the guys in drag.''

Robbins, 46, earned a best supporting actor Oscar last year for ``Mystic River.''

Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones received the Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year award last week.

Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the nation's oldest undergraduate drama troupe, gives the awards to performers who have made a ``lasting and impressive contribution to the world of entertainment.''

Last year's recipients were Sandra Bullock and Robert Downey Jr.