Sharon Stone returns to Edinboro, Pa., school

EDINBORO, Pa. (AP) — Actress Sharon Stone is best known for her roles as a sexpot in movies like “Basic Instinct” and “Casino.”

But when Stone, a Meadville native, came back to Edinboro University to speak at an honors banquet Wednesday, she didn’t talk about her steamy roles on the silver screen — she talked about serving others.

“Life is a service job,” Stone said during her 15-minute keynote address at the eighth annual Frank F. Pogue Honors Scholarship luncheon. “You’ve got to figure out how you serve people the best and do it.”

Pogue, the state-run university’s first black president, is retiring June 30 after 11 years at the school. The luncheons in his honor have so far raised $900,000 for scholarship funds.

Stone majored in creative writing and fine arts at Edinboro in the 1970s and attended on a writing scholarship, but she left school before graduating to pursue a modeling career.

Stone also talked about her Pennsylvania roots and entering her first beauty pageant on a $50 bet.

“It is very hard to be from here,” Stone said. “Pennsylvania’s a tough place with tough people. The weather’s tough, it’s tough to get work, it’s tough politically. But it has served me so well and I am so proud to be from here.”