Pudding Honors Turner, Williams

And the winners are...Kathleen Turner and Robin Williams!

Hasty Pudding Theatricals, which traditionally bestows the prestigious Pudding Pot on their Man and Woman of the Year, announced Monday that Williams and Turner will receive this year's awards.

"We choose performers who have made an impressive and lasting contribution to the world of entertainment," said Sharon Dwyang '91, publicity manager for the Pudding Theatricals. "We believe that both fulfill the criteria admirably."

Citing Turner's versatility as one of her chief strengths, Dwyang noted that she has played roles as diverse as a love-struck novelist in "Romancing the Stone," a mafia assassin in "Prizzi's Honor," and a wholesome small-town teenager in "Peggy Sue Got Married."

"She's willing and brave enough to risk controversial roles like 'Crimes of Passion' and `Julia and Julia,' and potentially unglamorous roles like `Peggy Sue Got Married,'" said Dwyang. "She's played both the femme fatale and the quintessential modern romantic commedienne--that's versatility for you. She resists typecasting."

Describing Robin Williams as a "comedian of superior talent and boundless energy," Dwyang noted that his comic talents have spanned several different media, including a television sitcom, a series of comedy albums, feature-length films, and live stand-up comedy routines.

"He is probably the only actor who can claim to have portrayed a cartoon character, a real-life character, and an alien," said Dwyang, noting that Williams' alternation between technical diligence and impulsive individualism were once described by Time Magazine as "Juliard and wackiness."

"This combination is unique and especially appropriate to an organization like ours, where the men are students by day and lusty busty females by night," Dwyang said.

The Pudding will present Turner with her award on February 14 at a preview performance of scenes from their spring show. Before the ceremony, Turner will get a taste of the society's distinctive brand of humor, as a band of cross-dressed actors escorts her open-air convertible down Mass. Ave. to the Hasty Pudding Theater and performs several musical numbers for the guest of honor.

Williams will get his award just before the February 21 premiere of "Whiskey Business," the Pudding's spring theatrical production. Both Turner and Williams will also have the opportunity to sample the famous Hasty Pudding pudding.

Previous winners of the Man and Woman of the Year awards, which began respectively in 1967 and 1951, have included Meryl Streep, Elizabeth Taylor, James Stewart, and Dustin Hoffman.