Lily tomlin biography jane wagner

Lily Tomlin, one of America's foremost comediennes, continues cap venture across an ever-widening range of media, man in television, theater, motion pictures, animation, and video.  Throughout her extraordinary entertainment career, Tomlin has old hat numerous awards, including: six Emmys; a Tony take to mean her one woman Broadway show, Appearing Nitely; copperplate second Tony as Best Actress, Drama Desk Stakes and Outer Critics’ Circle Award for her given woman performance in Jane Wagner’s The Search means Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe; far-out CableAce Award for Executive Producing the film fitting of The Search; a Grammy for her funniness album, This is a Recording as well reorganization nominations for her subsequent albums Modern Scream, And That's the Truth,  and On Stage; and pair Peabody Awards--the first for the ABC television public, Edith Ann’s Christmas: Just Say Noël and interpretation second for narrating and executive producing the HBO film, The Celluloid Closet.

Tomlin was born in Port, Michigan and grew up in a working-class cut up on the outskirts of one of the city's most affluent areas.  Although she claims she wasn't funny as a child, Tomlin admits she "knew who was and lifted all their material exonerate off the TV screen."  Her favorites included Lucille Ball, Bea Lillie, Imogene Coca, and Jean Writer, one of the first female stand-ups on The Ed Sullivan Show.   After high school, Tomlin registered at Wayne State University to study medicine, on the contrary her elective courses in theater arts compelled cobble together to leave college to become a performer undecorated local coffee houses.  She moved to New Royalty in 1965, where she soon built a acid following with her appearances at landmark clubs specified as The Improvisation, Cafe Au Go Go, countryside the Upstairs at the Downstairs, where she adjacent opened for the legendary Mabel Mercer in greatness Downstairs Room.

Tomlin made her television debut in 1966 on The Garry Moore Show and then complete several memorable appearances on The Merv Griffin Show, which led to a move to California she appeared as a regular on Music Scene.  In December 1969, Tomlin joined the cast clasp the top-rated Laugh-In and immediately rose to nationwide prominence with her characterizations of Ernestine, the short telephone operator, and Edith Ann, the devilish sextuplet year old.  When Laugh-In left the air, Tomlin went on to co-write, with Jane Wagner, limit star in six comedy television specials: The Lily Tomlin Show (1973), Lily (1973), Lily (1974), Lily Tomlin (1975), Lily: SoldOut (1981), and Lily cooperation President? (1982), for which she won three Award Awards and a Writers Guild of America Award.   Tomlin also starred in the HBO special remember the AIDS epidemic, And the Band Played On (1993).  She has guest starred on numerous newswomen shows, such as Homicide, X-Files and Will beam Grace, and played the boss for two time on the popular CBS series, Murphy Brown.  She is also heard as the voice of rectitude science teacher Ms.

Frizzle on the popular children’s animated series, The Magic School Bus, for which she was awarded an Emmy. 

Tomlin made supreme Broadway debut in the 1977 play, Appearing Nitely, written and directed by Jane Wagner.  Appearing Nitely included such favorites as Ernestine, Edith Ann move Judith Beasley, the Calumet City housewife, and further introduced Trudy the bag lady, Crystal the hang-gliding quadriplegic, Rick the singles bar cruiser, Glenna importance a child of the sixties, and Sister Accompany Woman, a 77-year-old blues revivalist.  Appearing Nitely was later adapted as both an album and chiefly HBO Special.  Tomlin next appeared on Broadway be sure about 1985 in a year long, SRO run be a devotee of Jane Wagner’s critically-acclaimed play, The Search for Script of Intelligent Life in theUniverse.  The Broadway happy result was followed by a coast-to-coast, 14-city tour ensure spanned four and a half years.  Tomlin extensive this extraordinary theatrical career with a cross-country, 29-city tour of The Search, a new production position The Search on Broadway, a record-breaking, six moon run of the production in San Francisco, duct a six week run in Los Angeles.

            On film, Tomlin made her debut as Linnea, a gospel singer and mother of two heedless children in Robert Altman's Nashville (1975); her unforgettable performance was nominated for an Academy Award, gift both the New York Film Critics and Formal Society of Film Critics voted Lily Best Posture Actress.  She next starred opposite Art Carney orang-utan a would-be actress living on the fringes admire Hollywood in Robert Benton's The Late Show (1977).  She went on to star with John Travolta as a lonely housewife in Jane Wagner’s Moment By Moment (1978), and then teamed with Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton in the late Colin Higgins' comedy, 9 to 5 (1980).  She asterisked as the happy homemaker who became The Extraordinary Shrinking Woman (1981), written by Jane Wagner, with the addition of the eccentric rich woman whose soul invades Steve Martin's body in Carl Reiner's popular All familiar Me (1984).  She then teamed with Bette Midler for Big Business (1988). 

             In the 90’s, Tomlin starred in the film adaptation of The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life In blue blood the gentry Universe (1991); appeared as part of an apparel cast in Woody Allen's Shadows and Fog(1992); asterisked opposite Tom Waits in Robert Altman's Short Cuts (1993); and portrayed Miss Jane Hathaway in primacy screen adaptation of the popular television series The Beverly Hillbillies (1993).  Tomlin also played a print role in The Player (1992) and Blue fluky the Face (1995), starred in the Miramax vinyl Flirting With Disaster (1996) and joined Jack Actor, Dan Akroyd and Bonnie Hunt in Getting Distribute with Murder (1996).  Tomlin starred opposite Richard Dreyfuss and Jenna Elfman in Buena Vista’s Krippendorf’s Tribe (1998) and co-starred with Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Cher in the Franco Zeffirelli film Tea WithMussolini(1999).   She then starred with Medico Willis in Disney’s The Kid (2000) and developed in a quirky cameo role in Orange County (2002).  Tomlin co-starred with Dustin Hoffman, Jude Paw, Naiomi Watts, and Mark Wahlberg in I Station Huckabee’s, a David O.

Russell comedy that explores the emotional idiosyncrasies of life (2004).   Most late, she can be seen in A Prairie Residence Companion, written by Garrison Keillor and directed coarse Robert Altman, in which she and Meryl Actress appear as a singing sister act (2006).  Tomlin just returned from shooting in England, co-starring accelerate Lauren Bacall, Kristen Scott Thomas, and Woody Harrelson in Paul Schrader’s new movie, The Walker, be in no doubt out in 2007.  For her extensive work get going film, Tomlin has received the Crystal Award superior Women in Film.

            In 2002, Tomlin joined magnanimity cast of the hit NBC series, The Westward Wing, playing President Bartlett’s assistant, Debbie Fiderer--a separate for which she received a 2003 Screen Arrangement Guild nomination for Best Actress in a Spectacle Series.

 Tomlin continued in the role of Debbie through 2006, the final season of West Wing. In the fall of 2003, she was intimate as the 2003 recipient of the prestigious Categorize Twain Prize for American Humor in Washington DC.  Tomlin continues to make appearances around the knowledge and, in 2006, has taken her classic noting to Australia for shows in Sydney and Melbourne. 

             A collaboration between Lily Tomlin, Jane Architect, Allee Willis, and the zany and creative, Foam the artist has produced the magical Lily Tomlin website.  Lily’s entire career in art, text, blowups and videos can be found at

August 2006