Lily Tomlin

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40 years since her debut, comedian Lily Tomlin continues to inspire, bring joy to audiences
By JACI WEBB
Of The Gazette Staff

"Am I talking too much?" It's Lily Tomlin on the other end of the phone and the award-winning actress and comedian is concerned about the impression she's making on a reporter from Billings. Or perhaps she's just being polite. Either way, it's a welcome surprise from a woman I was laughing at back when my family's TV had rabbit ears.

The character I identified with when Tomlin performed on "Laugh-In" in the late 1960s and early 1970s was Edith Ann, the scrawny kid in the oversized rocking chair who gave her own twisted view of the world, always ending with "And that's the truth, plgggg." Tomlin joined the cast of "Laugh-in" during its third season in December 1969.

"I was nervous. 'Laugh In' was a huge phenomenon. The producer heard I did a telephone operator and so I brought Ernestine. All you want, you know, is to have someone to eat lunch with in the studio cafeteria. So I did it. The show didn't air for six or eight weeks. It aired on a Monday and on Tuesday, people were stopping me on the street saying 'You're the new girl on 'Laugh-In.' People would stop at lights and jump out of their car to meet me. Ernestine was a sensation." Tomlin said that's what makes comedy special - audiences treat comedians like family. "It's not like you're untouchable stars like Angellina Jolie or the Beatles, you've been in their living room and made them laugh. They feel they know you in some more personal way."

Tomlin will be in Billings this weekend to headline the Alberta Bair Theater's 2008 Gala Saturday night. When we spoke earlier this month, she wondered what is funny about Billings. She said she'll use 10 to 12 of her characters during her stand-up show here, but they'll be retooled for a Montana crowd and an election year audience. For example, Ernestine isn't a telephone operator anymore - she's an HMO clerk who revels in rejecting every claim.

"It's pretty informal and interactive," Tomlin said. "Usually, I'll have a Q & A at the end and I'll try and talk about Billings. I bill it as a 'Classic Evening with Lily Tomlin.' It's all relevant." Tomlin made her television debut in 1966 on "The Garry Moore Show" and made several memorable appearances on "The Merv Griffin Show," which led to a move to California. She performed on "Laugh-In" until it went off the air in the early 1970s, then went on to star in six comedy TV specials. She's been awarded six Emmys and two Tony awards.

Tomlin has appeared in numerous movies, including a memorable role in the 1980 film "9 to 5" with Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda. She made her Broadway debut in 1977 in the play "Appearing Nitely," written and directed by her creative partner, Jane Wagner, and went on to appear in many productions, most recently as a singing sister to Meryl Streep in the 2006 Robert Altman film "A Prairie Home Companion."

Not bad for a working class kid who once thought she couldn't make a living as a performer and didn't think she was all that funny. Tomlin grew up in Detroit, encouraged by her dad to perform in bars and booking joints before she started school. "I equated reward with performance," Tomlin said. "As soon as I was able, I put on shows. We lived in an old apartment house in a mixed neighborhood and when I was 7, I started recruiting the neighborhood kids to perform in my shows. I was mad for it."

But Tomlin figured comedian didn't equate with suitable career, so she set off to college to become a doctor. "In my day, in the 1950s, you had to toe another line. The kids who were in the drama club were stagy and I was more nuts and bolts. I was a cheerleader. Growing up in a blue- collar, tough neighborhood, being a performer didn't seem like a reasonable goal."

So she supplemented her medical studies with stage roles to get her "entertainment jones" and eventually the stagy side took over. "Living on the stage, you get skilled enough and experienced enough, you always deliver a nice show, and sometimes you sail. I hope I sail for you," Tomlin said.

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