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Ian McKellen Gets Honorary Degree From Cambridge, University Flies Gay Pride Flag To Celebrate

Ian McKellen Gets Doctorate From Cambridge, University Flies Gay Pride Flag To Celebrate
The Huffington Post UK
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X-Men and Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian McKellen was given an honorary degree from Cambridge, with the university flying the gay pride flag in honour of the actor.

McKellen was one of seven people awarded doctorates by the institution, and was made a Doctor of Letters in recognition of his lengthy career as an actor and director. The star read English at St Catharine's College in the 1950s and tweeted and Facebooked a picture of himself at the university, with the rainbow flag in the background, writing: "I am now an honorary Doctor of Letters at Cambridge University UK. My old college St Catharine's celebrated by flying the rainbow flag."

The 10 most surprising celebs with honorary degrees
1) Kermit the Frog(01 of10)
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Yes. A frog. A frog has a degree. Not even a frog but a puppet of a frog. You know your mum will bring that up if you don’t get a first. (credit:LOOKING GLASS/FLICKR)
2) Susan Boyle(02 of10)
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The BGT star (that’s Britain’s Got Talent not Big Glaswegian Troll) got a degree for her services to singing “I Dreamed a Dream” without sobbing halfway through. (credit: BERT KOMMERIJ/FLICKR)
3) Jimmy Savile (03 of10)
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To be fair he was awarded this before his everything else came out. So you can pick your reasons you don’t think he deserves an honorary degree. (credit:BEACON RADIO/FLICKR)
George W Bush(04 of10)
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Dubya has countless honorary degrees from various universities he has visited. We’re assuming none of them are in art. Or geopolitics for that matter. (credit:DPMS/FLICKR)
Barbara Bush(05 of10)
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If you thought George’s degree was surprising what about getting one for being his wife? Actually, it probably isn’t easy being George Bush’s wife. You have to pretend to admire his artwork like he’s a four year old whose just done a finger painting a turkey. (credit:HCPLEBRANCH/FLICKR)
Slade(06 of10)
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The famous one hit wonder band have a degree from Wolverhampton University. One degree between all of them. I don’t know how they do that. Presumably they take it in turns. Or maybe they each get a part. Who even cares anymore? The only time anyone knows who they are is when Christmas music starts playing in shops. Admittedly this is August-December in some cases. (credit:HEINRICH KLAFFS/FLICKR)
Maya Angelou (07 of10)
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It isn’t that surprising that this poet and activist has an honorary degree. The surprising thing about her is that she has 30. Hey, can we have a couple? Please? (credit: YORK COLLEGE ISLGP/FLICKR)
Mike Tyson(08 of10)
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Maybe the lecturer was just scared what Tyson would bite off if he didn’t him a degree. The fact that, at the time, the full time boxer and part time ear connoisseur got his degree in Humane Letters is also hilarious. (credit:EVA RINALDI CELEBRITY AND LIVE MUSIC )
George Foreman(09 of10)
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Yes, a lot of boxers have degrees. Apparently being hit repeatedly in the head is good for studying. To be fair Foreman’s awesome grills have made student cooking infinitely easier. And infinitely less healthy. To George. (credit:ESCHIPUL/FLICKR)
Col Gaddafi(10 of10)
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Gaddafi’s degree was taken off him in 2011. I’m sure he doesn’t mind. He had more significant things taken off him in 2011. Like his country. And his life. Sorry to end on a downer. But he was a tyrant. And it’s Friday. Cheer up. (credit:MARTIN BEEK/FLICKR)
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