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.