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Lily Tomlin (born Mary Jean Tomlin on September 1,
1939 in Detroit, Michigan), is an United
States|American actor and comedian. She first
became well-known for her character skits on
television's Laugh-In, in which she created
several indelible characters that have stayed with
her and become associated with her throughout her
career, including the gum-chewing, wisecracking,
snorting telephone operator Ernestine (famous for
her lines "One ringy dingy, two ringy dingy" and
"A gracious good morning to you ... Have I reached
the party to whom I am speaking?") and the bratty
five-year-old Edith Ann, rocking in her oversized
rocking chair and making rude noises (famous for
her line "And that's the truth!").

Tomlin was the daughter of a factory worker and a
housewife who moved to Detroit from Paducah,
Kentucky during the Great Depression. Tomlin
attended Wayne State University, where her
interest in the theater and performing arts began.
After college, Tomlin began doing stand-up comedy
in nightclubs in Detroit and then New York City.
Her first television appearance was on  The Merv
Griffin Show in 1965. Tomlin joined the Laugh-In
cast in 1969. AT&T offered Tomlin $500,000 to film
a commercial using her character Ernestine, but
Tomlin turned the offer down because she thought
the commercial would compromise her artistic
integrity. In 2003 she did film two commercials as
Ernestine for the company WebEx.

Tomlin is noted for her wide range. For example,
she played Linnea Reese, a strait-laced mother of
two deaf children who has an affair with a country
singer played by Keith Carradine, in Nashville;
secretary Violet Newstead in Nine to Five; and a
sickly heiress in  All of Me. Tomlin also voiced
the Ms. Frizzle character on the television series
The Magic School Bus from 1994 to 1998.  Also in
the 1990s, Tomlin appeared as a regular on the
popular sitcom Murphy Brown. Tomlin currently
plays presidential assistant Deborah Fiderer on
the television series|TV show The West Wing
(television)|The West Wing. 

Tomlin starred in the 1985 hit one-woman Broadway
theatre|Broadway show The Search For Signs of
Intelligent Life in the Universe, written by her
long-time romantic partner, Jane Wagner. The show
won Tomlin a Tony Award. It was made into a
feature film in 1991. Tomlin revived the show for
a brief run in 2000.

Though Tomlin is now open about being lesbian, the
media doesn't focus on this aspect of her personal
life.  In fact, many of her fans are unaware of
her sexual orientation.  Tomlin came out in 2000
on the New York City cable-access TV program Gay
USA.  Actually, Tomlin frequently referred to
Wagner, but avoided saying point-blank that she
herself was, in fact, gay.

Tomlin was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall
of Fame in 1998. In 2003 she won the Mark Twain
Prize for American Humor.

==Filmography==
*Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers (1972) (voice
only)
*Nashville (1975)
*The Late Show (1977)
*Moment by Moment (1978)
*9 to 5 (1980)
*The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981)
*All of Me (1984)
*Lily Tomlin (1986) (documentary)
*Big Business (1988)
*The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the
Universe (1991)
*Shadows and Fog (1992)
*The Player (1992) (Cameo)
*Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman In Carver
County (1993) (documentary)
*Short Cuts (1993)
*The Beverly Hillbillies (1993 movie)|The Beverly
Hillbillies (1993)
*The Celluloid Closet (1995) (narrator)
*Blue in the Face (1995)
*Flirting with Disaster (1996)
*Getting Away with Murder (1996)
*Krippendorf's Tribe (1998)
*Reno Finds Her Mom (1998) (documentary) (also
executive producer)
*Get Bruce (1999) (documentary)
*Tea with Mussolini (1999)
*Picking Up the Pieces (2000)
*The Kid (2000 movie)|The Kid (2000)
*Orange County (2002)
*Lily's Detroit (2004) (short subject)
*Superstar in a Housedress (2004) (documentary)
*I Heart Huckabees (2004)
*Goodnight, We Love You (2004) (documentary)
*Seniors (2006) (currently in pre-production)
*A Prairie Home Companion (2006) (currently in
pre-production)

==TV Work==
*Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (regular performer from
1969-1973)
*The Music Scene (regular performer from
1969-1970)
*Lily (1973) (also writer)
*Lily Tomlin (1975) (also writer)
*Lily: Sold Out (1981) (also executive producer)
*Lily for President? (1982)
*And the Band Played On (1993)
*Edith Ann: A Few Pieces of the Puzzle (1994)
(voice)
*Edith Ann: Homeless Go Home (1994) (voice)
*The Magic School Bus (1994-1998) (voice)
*Edith Ann's Christmas: Just Say Noel (1996)
(voice)
*Murphy Brown (cast member from 1996-1998)
*The West Wing as "Debbie Fiderer"

==External links==

* http://www.lilytomlin.com/ Lily Tomlin's
official website
* http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005499/ IMDb entry
on Tomlin
* http://members.aol.com/nrb409/lily.html Lily
Tomlin tribute site
*
http://www.outlineschicago.com/0outlines/01117/LIL
LY.html "Lily Tomlin Comes Out: Explains Her Past
Reluctance" article

	Web Quotableonline.com Frasescelebres.org Greatbookscollection.org

Lily Tomlin (born Mary Jean Tomlin on September 1,
1939 in Detroit, Michigan|Detroit, Michigan), is
an United States|American actress and comedian.
She first became well-known for her character
skits on television's Laugh-In, in which she
created several indelible characters that have
stayed with her and become associated with her
throughout her career, including the gum-chewing,
wisecracking, snorting telephone operator
Ernestine (famous for her lines "One ringy dingy,
two ringy dingy" and "A gracious good morning to
you ... Have I reached the party to whom I am
speaking?") and the bratty five-year-old Edith
Ann, rocking in her oversized rocking chair and
making rude noises (famous for her line "And
that's the truth!").

Tomlin was the daughter of a factory worker and a
housewife who moved to Detroit from Paducah,
Kentucky|Paducah, Kentucky during the Great
Depression. Tomlin attended Wayne State
University, where her interest in the theater and
performing arts began. After college, Tomlin began
doing stand-up comedy in nightclubs in Detroit and
then New York City. Her first television
appearance was on The Merv Griffin Show in 1965.
Tomlin joined the Laugh-In cast in 1969. AT&T
offered Tomlin $500,000 to film a commercial using
her character Ernestine, but Tomlin turned the
offer down because she thought the commercial
would compromise her artistic integrity. In 2003
she did film two commercials as Ernestine for the
company WebEx.

Tomlin is noted for her wide range. For example,
in Nashville, she played Linnea Reese, a
strait-laced mother of two deaf children who has
an affair with a country singer played by Keith
Carradine; secretary Violet Newstead in Nine to
Five,she also starred in the 1981 comedy film The
Incredible Shrinking Woman, and a sickly heiress
in the Steve Martin comedy All of Me. Tomlin also
voiced the Ms. Frizzle character on the animated
television series The Magic School Bus from 1994
to 1998. Also in the 1990s, Tomlin appeared on the
popular sitcom Murphy Brown. Tomlin currently
plays presidential assistant Deborah Fiderer on
the TV show The West Wing (television)|The West
Wing. 

Tomlin starred in the 1985 hit one-woman Broadway
theatre|Broadway show The Search For Signs of
Intelligent Life in the Universe, written by her
long-time romantic partner, Jane Wagner.The show
won Tomlin a Tony Award. It was made into a
feature film in 1991. Tomlin revived the show for
a brief run in 2000.

Though Tomlin is now open about being lesbian, the
media doesn't focus on this aspect of her personal
life. In fact, many of her fans are unaware of her
sexual orientation. Tomlin came out in 2000 on the
New York City cable-access TV program Gay USA. 
Actually, Tomlin frequently referred to Wagner,
but avoided saying point-blank that she herself
was, in fact, gay.

Tomlin was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall
of Fame in 1998. In 2003 she won the Mark Twain
Prize for American Humor.

==Selected Filmography==
*Nashville (1975 movie)|Nashville (1975 in
film|1975)
*Moment by Moment (1978 in film|1978)
*Nine to Five|9 to 5 (1980 in film|1980)
*The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981 in
film|1981)
*All of Me (1984 in film|1984)
*Big Business (1988 in film|1988)
*Shadows and Fog (1992 in film|1992)
*The Player (1992 in film|1992) (cameo
appearance|cameo)
*Short Cuts (1993 in film|1993)
*The Beverly Hillbillies (1993 movie)|The Beverly
Hillbillies (1993 in film|1993)
*The Celluloid Closet (1995 in film|1995)
(narrator)
*Blue in the Face (1995 in film|1995)
*Flirting with Disaster (1996 in film|1996)
*Getting Away with Murder (1996 in film|1996)
*Tea with Mussolini (1999 in film|1999)
*The Kid (2000 movie)|The Kid (2000 in film|2000)
*Orange County (movie)|Orange County (2002 in
film|2002)
*Superstar in a Housedress (2004 in film|2004)
(documentary film|documentary)
*I Heart Huckabees (2004 in film|2004)
*A Prairie Home Companion (movie)|A Prairie Home
Companion (2006 in film|2006) (currently filming)

==Selected TV Work==
*Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1969–1973)
*And the Band Played On (1993 in film|1993)
*The Magic School Bus (1994–1998) (voice
actor|voice)
*Murphy Brown (1996–1998)
*The West Wing (television)|The West Wing
(2002—)

==External links==

* http://www.lilytomlin.com/ Lily Tomlin's
official website
* http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005499/ IMDb entry
on Tomlin
* http://members.aol.com/nrb409/lily.html Lily
Tomlin tribute site
*
http://www.outlineschicago.com/0outlines/01117/LIL
LY.html "Lily Tomlin Comes Out: Explains Her Past
Reluctance" article