Hanks Receives Pudding Award

To some, it may seem ironic for a Man of the Year to receive his award in a dress. But for the Harvard Pudding Theatricals--and Tom Hanks--it was more than appropriate.

Last night at the official opening of `A Tsar is Born,' Oscar winner Hanks received the 1995 Hasty Pudding Theatrical's Man of the Year award and a brassiere embellished with grapes to boot.

Harvard's glitterati turned out in predictable cocktail attire to watch the show's producers roast the star of 'Forrest Gump' and 'Big,' before settling down to watch the musical.

Mark R. Roybal '95 and Sophia M. Scott '95, the show's co-producers, twitted Hanks for his "lesser" film and television roles, most notably "Bachelor Party" and the oh-so-fitting sitcom "Bosom Buddies."

Other aspects of the roast included Hanks' pseudoperformance on a toy piano (producing noises slightly less musical than a junior high band) and the star's participation in "Nail the Nominee or Stab the Loser," in which he attempted to throw darts at pictures of the other 1995 Oscar Nominees for Best Actor.

The crowd loved his willing antics, cheering loudly when he managed to tag a photograph of John Travolta in the ear.

The high point of the roast came after Hanks was presented with a reminder of his 'Bosom Buddy' days, composed of a dress, a wig, pink satin stilettos and of course the traditional Pudding sequined bra.

Upon receiving his Pudding Pot, Hanks struck a Vannaesque pose.

"I'd like to be sincere but then I'd look like an even bigger idiot," said Hanks with a grin. "Still...not bad for someone who didn't finish Sacramento State."

As a finale, Hanks called Harvard "a good community college with a parking problem that needs to be solved," and flung his dress, wig, shoes and bra into the audience. The crowd roared and strained for Hanks' discarded clothes like fans seated in left field, trying to catch a pop fly.

During the press conference, Hanks described the award as both "an amazing kind of thrill" and "an odd pleasure, but a pleasure still."

"I'm not here so much to enjoy the honors of the Pudding Pot as to exorcise the ghost of Sherman McCoy [the character Hanks portrayed in "Bonfire of the Vanities"] who attended Yale. In fact, I'm trying to visit all the Ivy League schools to pay homage somehow to them...Is Cornell an Ivy League school?" Hanks quipped.

The actor was at ease with attending reporters, enough so, in fact, to sing an entire verse of the "Underdog" theme song with the press eventually joining in.

Hanks said that he looked forward to truly feeling like the Man of the Year, and sharing the experiences of previous winners Kevin Costner and Steven Spielberg.

"I understood that it would be nice for a bunch of young people in tuxedos to throw up in front of me," said Hanks.

When asked the notorious question of artist as citizen, Hanks responded: "I think actors are citizens in most countries of the world."

"I'm as political as the next guy," the actorcontinued, but he said he didn't "thinkresponsibility went beyond voting via secretballot."

Hanks freely distributed his opinion of theshow and advice to its cast.

"I looked up there before the show began andsaw the future financiers and leaders of thewestern world," the Academy Award winner said.

"And looking at them on the stage after thefirst act tonight, I would say that most of themhave great careers ahead of the them as financiersand future world leaders," Hanks said

"I'm as political as the next guy," the actorcontinued, but he said he didn't "thinkresponsibility went beyond voting via secretballot."

Hanks freely distributed his opinion of theshow and advice to its cast.

"I looked up there before the show began andsaw the future financiers and leaders of thewestern world," the Academy Award winner said.

"And looking at them on the stage after thefirst act tonight, I would say that most of themhave great careers ahead of the them as financiersand future world leaders," Hanks said