Tomlin, Lily (1939–)

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Tomlin, Lily (1939–)

American actress. Born Mary Jean Tomlin, Sept 1, 1939, in Detroit, Michigan; dau. of Guy Tomlin (toolmaker) and Lillian May Ford; attended Wayne State University; studied mime with Paul Curtis; partner of writer-director Jane Wagner since 1971.

Made tv debut on "The Garry Moore Show"; came to prominence as a regular on "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" (1970–73), with such characterizations as the toddler Edith Ann and the telephone operator Ernestine; made numerous comedy recordings, including This Is a Recording (1971), which won a Grammy; made film debut in Nashville (1975), for which she was nominated for an Oscar and won New York Film Critics award; other films include The Late Show (1977), Nine to Five (1980), All of Me (1984), Tea With Mussolini (1999), Orange County (2002) and IHuckabees (2004); on stage, performed in Tony Award-winning solo shows, Appearing Nitely (1977) and The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (1985–86); was regular on "Murphy Brown" (1996) and "The West Wing" (2002).

See also Jeff Sorenson, Lily Tomlin: Woman of a Thousand Faces (St. Martin, 1989).