LILY TOMLIN

Lily Tomlin, one of America's foremost comediennes, continues to venture across an ever-widening range of media, starring in television, theater, motion pictures, animation, and video. Throughout her extraordinary entertainment career, Tomlin has received numerous awards, including: six Emmys; a Tony for her one woman Broadway show, “Appearing Nitely”; a second Tony as Best Actress, Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics’ Circle Award for her one woman performance in Jane Wagner’s “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe”; a CableAce Award for Executive Producing the film adaptation of “The Search”; a Grammy for her comedy album, “This is a Recording” as well as nominations for her subsequent albums “Modern Scream,” “And That's the Truth,” and “On Stage”; and two Peabody Awards — the first for the ABC television special, “Edith Ann’s Christmas: Just Say Noël,” and the second for narrating and executive producing the HBO film, “The Celluloid Closet.” Tomlin was born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in a working-class neighborhood 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 right off the TV screen." Her favorites included Lucille Ball, Bea Lillie, Imogene Coca, and Jean Carroll, one of the first female stand-ups on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” After high school, Tomlin enrolled at Wayne State University to study medicine, but her elective courses in theater arts compelled her to leave college to become a performer in local coffee houses. She moved to New York in 1965, where she soon built a strong following with her appearances at landmark clubs such as The Improvisation, Cafe Au Go Go, and the Upstairs at the Downstairs, where she later opened for the legendary Mabel Mercer in the Downstairs Room. Tomlin made her television debut in 1966 on “The Garry Moore Show” and then made several memorable appearances on “The Merv Griffin Show,” which led to a move to California where she appeared as a regular on “Music Scene.” In December 1969, Tomlin joined the cast of the top-rated “Laugh-In” and immediately rose to national prominence with her characterizations of Ernestine, the irascible telephone operator, and Edith Ann, the devilish six year old. When “Laugh-In” left the air, Tomlin went on to co-write, with Jane Wagner, and star in six comedy television specials: “The Lily Tomlin Show” (1973), “Lily” (1973), “Lily” (1975), “Lily Tomlin” (1975), “Lily: Sold Out” (1981), and “Lily for President?” (1982), for which she won three Emmy Awards and a Writers Guild of America Award. Tomlin also starred in the HBO special about the AIDS epidemic, “And the Band Played On” (1993). She has guest starred on numerous television shows, such as “Homicide,” “X-Files” and “Will and Grace,” and played the boss for two years on the popular CBS series, “Murphy Brown.” She is also heard as the voice of the science teacher Ms. Frizzle on the popular children’s animated series, “The Magic School Bus” for which she was awarded an Emmy. Tomlin made her Broadway debut in the 1977 play, “Appearing Nitely,” written and directed by Jane Wagner. “Appearing Nitely” included such favorites as Ernestine and Judith Beasley, the Calumet City housewife, and also introduced Trudy the bag lady, Crystal the hang-gliding quadriplegic, Rick the singles bar cruiser, Glenna as a child of the sixties, and Sister Boogie Woman, a 77-year-old blues revivalist. “Appearing Nitely” was later adapted as both an album and an HBO Special. Tomlin next appeared on Broadway in 1985 in a year-long, SRO run of Jane Wagner’s critically-acclaimed play, “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe.” The Broadway success was followed by a coast-to-coast, 14-city tour that spanned four and a half years. Tomlin extended this extraordinary theatrical career with a cross-country, 29-city tour of “The Search,” a new production of “The Search” on Broadway, a record-breaking, six month run of the production in San Francisco, and a six week run as part of the 2004 season at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. On film, Tomlin made her debut as Linnea, a gospel singer and mother of two deaf children in Robert Altman's “Nashville” (1975); her memorable performance was nominated for an Academy Award, and both the New York Film Critics and National Society of Film Critics voted Tomlin Best Supporting Actress. She next starred opposite Art Carney as a would-be actress living on the fringes of 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 starred as the happy homemaker who became “The Incredible Shrinking Woman” (1981), written by Jane Wagner, and the eccentric rich woman whose soul invades Steve Martin's body in Carl Reiner's popular “All of 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 the Universe” (1991); appeared as part of an ensemble cast in Woody Allen's “Shadows and Fog” (1992); starred opposite Tom Waits in Robert Altman's “Short Cuts” (1993); and portrayed Miss Jane Hathaway in the screen adaptation of the popular television series “The Beverly Hillbillies” (1993). Tomlin also played a cameo role in “The Player” (1992) and “Blue in the Face” (1995), starred in the Miramax film “Flirting With Disaster” (1996) and joined Jack Lemmon, Dan Aykroyd and Bonnie Hunt in “Getting Away 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 With Mussolini” (1999). She then starred with Bruce Willis in Disney’s “The Kid” (2000) and appeared in a quirky cameo role in “Orange County” (2002). Tomlin co-starred with Dustin Hoffman in “I Heart Huckabee’s,” a David O. Russell comedy that explores the emotional idiosyncrasies of life (2004). She was seen in “A Prairie Home Companion” (2006), written by Garrison Keillor and directed by Robert Altman, in which she and Meryl Streep appear as a sister singing act. Tomlin next appeared in Paul Schrader's film, “The Walker” (2007), co-starring with Woody Harrelson, Kristin Scott-Thomas and Lauren Bacall. Tomlin most recently played a sensitivity-training expert assigned to instruct employees on social and political correctness with Steve Martin as Inspector Clousseau in “Pink Panther II” (2009). For her extensive work in film, Tomlin has received the Crystal Award from Women in Film. In 2002, Tomlin joined the cast of the hit NBC series, “The West Wing,” playing President Bartlett’s assistant, Debbie Fiderer — a role for which she received a 2003 Screen Actors Guild nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series. Tomlin continued in the role of Debbie through 2006, the final season of “West Wing.” In the past few years, Tomlin ha made several guest appearances on the highly rated series, “Desperate Housewives,” “NCIS,” and also guest starred in the acclaimed FX series, "Damages," in the Emmy-nominated role of matriarch of a wealthy New York family accused of financial fraud. This year, Tomlin can be seen on Showtime’s series, “Web Therapy,” as Lisa Kudrow's narcissistic mother. In the fall of 2003, she was the recipient of the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor presented at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Tomlin continues to make appearances around the nation and, in 2006, took her classic characters to Australia for shows in Sydney and Melbourne. In November 2009, Tomlin debuted in Las Vegas at The MGM Grand Hotel in her new show entitled “Not Playing with a Full Deck.” She returned there for two engagements in March and April 2010. In 2011, she returned to Australia for several concert appearances and participated in the Mardi Gras Festival. Tomlin can be found on the popular website for women, www.WOWOWOW.com, and participates with other celebrities such as Whoopi Goldberg, Candice Bergen, Liz Smith, Jane Wagner, Peggy Noonan, Marlo Thomas and Lesley Stahl to create an on-line community which is owned and run by women for women of all ages and origins. Tomlin’s entire career in art, text, photos and videos can be found at www.lilytomlin.com. Tomlin is currently working on new stage, radio, television and social media projects--she is narrating the HBO documentary, “An Apology to Elephants”; she is also working on a television series about the several members of a bizarre and troubled family making good; and she will soon enter the social media arena with a new educational game app based on the beloved Edith Ann. JANE WAGNER Jane Wagner, one of America’s most distinguished playwrights, has won numerous awards, including: several Emmys for writing and producing and a Writer’s Guild Award for her work in television. Wagner has also won a New York Drama Critics’ Circle Special Award and a New York Drama Desk Award for her Broadway success, “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe”; a CableAce Award for Executive Producing the film adaptation of “The Search”; three Grammy nominations for comedy albums she wrote with Lily Tomlin, “Modern Scream,” “And That's the Truth, and “On Stage”; and two Peabody Awards — the first for the CBS television special, “J.T.,” and the second for the ABC television special, “Edith Ann’s Christmas: Just Say Noël.” Wagner was born and raised in Morristown, Tennessee, where she enjoyed writing at an early age; by the time she was in high school, she was also drawn to the theater. Early in her professional career, Wagner toured as a leading actress with the famed Barter Theatre of Abingdon, Virginia. Wagner moved to New York City where she auditioned for acting roles in the New York theater and studied painting and sculpture at the School for Visual Arts. She later established herself as a designer for such firms as Kimberly-Clark and Fieldcrest; her most creative designs included the innovative “Teach Me, Read Me” children’s bed sheets. These creations, along with other textile designs of hers, have been exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Wagner made her writing debut with the highly acclaimed CBS teleplay entitled “J.T.” (1969), a special for which she won the coveted Peabody Award. Her book of the same title was published in both soft and hardcover editions. It was “J.T.” that brought Wagner to the attention of Lily Tomlin, who was seeking the help of a writer for her television character, the precocious Edith Ann. Tomlin was impressed with the humanity and depth of Wagner’s writing and felt that Wagner would bring similar depth to Tomlin’s comedic characters. At the same time, Wagner was interested in expanding her writing to include comedy. They began working together on an Edith Ann album, “Edith Ann: And That’s the Truth” (1971), which began an award-winning, creative alliance that has lasted for over forty years. They went on to co-write and produce two more Grammy-nominated albums, “Modern Scream” (1975) and “On Stage” (1977). From that time on, Wagner ventured further into television productions with Tomlin, writing much of the material with which Tomlin is identified in her television and stage career. Together, they produced six comedy television specials: “The Lily Tomlin Show” (1973), “Lily” (1973), “Lily” (1974), “Lily Tomlin” (1975), “Lily: Sold Out” (1981), and “Lily for President?” (1982), for which Wagner won three Emmy Awards and a Writer’s Guild of America Award. Wagner then wrote and executive produced three animated television specials starring the precocious six year old, Edith Ann, whom Tomlin made famous on the hit television show, "Laugh-In." The first special, “Edith Ann: A Few Pieces of the Puzzle” (1994), aired on ABC to critical raves and excellent ratings. This was followed by “Edith Ann: Homeless Go Home” (1996) and “Edith Ann’s Christmas: Just Say Noël” (1996). For this special, Wagner was honored with her second Peabody Award. In addition, her book, “Edith Ann: My Life, So Far,” was released by Hyperion Press in both hardcover and in paperback. Wagner’s television success was almost over-shadowed by the phenomenal acclaim she received for her theater and movie productions. In 1977, Wagner wrote and directed “Appearing Nitely,” a one-woman show in which Tomlin made her Broadway debut. In “Appearing Nitely,” Wagner included favorites such as Ernestine, Edith Ann, and Judith Beasley, the Calumet City housewife, and also introduced Trudy, the bag lady; Crystal, the hang-gliding quadriplegic; Rick, the singles bar cruiser; Glenna, a child of the sixties; and Sister Boogie Woman, a 77-year-old blues revivalist. Wagner subsequently adapted “Appearing Nitely” as both an album (1977) and an HBO Special (1978). The following year, Wagner wrote and directed “Moment by Moment” (1978), a movie starring Tomlin as a bored housewife involved in a romantic dalliance with John Travolta. In 1981, Wagner wrote the screenplay and executive produced the movie, “The Incredible Shrinking Woman," a rollicking, dark commentary on our environmental concerns, in which Tomlin starred as a suburban mother “shrinking” as a result of her exposure to the ubiquitous toxic chemicals of our world. In 1985, Wagner brought her extraordinary play, “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe,” to Broadway, where it became one of the most critically acclaimed plays of the 1985-86 Broadway season. With her scintillating script, Wagner established herself as a unique artistic voice in the literary world. She was honored by the New York Drama Critics’ Circle with a rarely given Special Award for the SRO hit and was similarly lauded by the New York Drama Desk for a "Unique Theatrical Experience." The hardcover edition of “The Search” earned the distinction of being the first play in twenty years to appear on The New York Times bestseller list where it remained for several weeks. Wagner also adapted the screenplay of “The Search” for an HBO film for which Wagner also wrote the haunting title song, “We Are The Ones” (1992). The Broadway theatrical success of the play was followed by a coast-to-coast, fourteen city tour that spanned four and a half years, a cross-country, twenty-nine city tour of “The Search” (1999), a new production of “The Search on Broadway” (2000), a record-breaking six months in San Francisco (2001-2002), and a highly praised, eight week run in Los Angeles (2003). Wagner’s play continues to be performed in the United States as well as other countries, such as Greece, France, and Austria by a myriad of artists. Lily Tomlin continues to perform in hundreds of venues across the States many of the classic characters she and Wagner have created through the years. In 2009, Wagner directed Tomlin's Las Vegas debut at The MGM Grand Hotel in a new show entitled “Not Playing with a Full Deck,” and also directed Tomlin in her return to the MGM Grand in 2010. In 2003 and 2004, Wagner was the Creative Consultant on commercials featuring Ernestine as a global communications visionary for WebEx. In 2008, Wagner joined the newly-launched website for women, www.WOWOWOW.com, and participates with other celebrities such as Whoopi Goldberg, Candice Bergen, Liz Smith, Lily Tomlin, Peggy Noonan, Marlo Thomas and Lesley Stahl to create an on-line community which is owned and run by women for women of all ages and origins. Wagner has also contributed her writings and drawings to Lily Tomlin’s website — www.lilytomlin.com. Wagner is currently working on new stage, radio, television and social media projects: she is writing the narration for an HBO documentary on elephants, "An Apology to Elephants"; she is also writing a television series about the several members of a bizarre and troubled family making good; and she is creating new game apps for social media based on the characters Wagner and Tomlin have created over the years. In 2012, Harper Collins will issue a new release of the book, "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe," to celebrate twenty-five years in print.