The Incredible Shrinking Woman

Lily Tomlin brings her multiple personalities together to celebrate McCarter Theatre’s 75th anniversary.

By: Susan Van Dongen

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Lilly Tomlin


   Debbie, don’t go.
   That is, Debbie Fiderer — Lily Tomlin’s eccentric secretary on The West Wing. Fans of the show know that Martin Sheen’s President Josiah Bartlet is ready to leave the Oval Office, so that means Ms. Tomlin’s semi-regular role may end too, which would be a real loss to viewers.
   "His White House is changing and that means me too, I reckon," says Ms. Tomlin, speaking from her home in Southern California. "Unless they send me up to personnel. I said to them the other day, ‘Linda Tripp worked for more than one administration.’ I loved the show — when I first saw it, I thought it was so wonderfully written, I made it known that I was fan and wanted to be on it."
   A chameleon who can shift gears from a member of the White House inner circle to a guy cruising a singles bar or a physically challenged hang glider, Ms. Tomlin will bring her multiple personalities together to help McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton celebrate its 75th anniversary April 16. The gala evening also includes a special look back at McCarter’s history and the artists and community members who made it possible.
   A pioneer comedienne who has influenced a couple of generations of funny folks, Ms. Tomlin says her early heroes were Lucille Ball, Bea Lillie and Imogene Coca — all rubber-faced, zany and unforgettable women.
   "There was also Jean Carroll, who was the first woman stand-up comedienne I ever saw — and she may have been the first, period," Ms. Tomlin says. "I used to see her on Ed Sullivan when I was about 9 years old. Comedy was very different back then. Most of it was traditional, Vegas-style comedy. Or you had people on TV like Jack Benny and Lucy, even Gale Storm and Anne Sothern."
   As far as today’s funny men and women, Ms. Tomlin has praise for Chris Rock, seeing quite a bit of Richard Pryor in him.
   "That kind of style began with Richard Pryor," she says. "I admit I prefer Richard, though. He was so hilarious, but he could also break your heart at the same time. For favorites, I guess I hark back to comedians from the generation before — Steve Martin, Robin Williams, Martin Short, Catharine O’Hara and Dana Carvey. There are so many people who dot the comedy landscape."
   "Bill Maher was getting so sharp and funny and human last year and brought a much broader perspective," she continues. "Then, on the other hand, there was Dennis Miller. He was beginning to sound like Rush Limbaugh. I thought he was getting faxed a daily agenda."
   Although it’s billed as an evening of classic comedy featuring Ms. Tomlin’s memorable characters, she can’t help but interject her observations on current events.
   "The show may be peppered with those kind of things," she says. "But everything I do is socially relevant and has some play in contemporary life. It always has."
   To mark just a few of Ms. Tomlin’s career highlights, she made her television debut on The Garry Moore Show in 1966. Fans of a certain generation might have vivid memories of Laugh-In a few years later, where Ms. Tomlin created characters like telephone operator Ernestine — who seemed to always be snorting into the phone — and Edith Ann, the little girl in the giant rocking chair who punctuated her pronouncements with "…and that’s the truth" and a "raspberry."
   After Laugh-In, Ms. Tomlin co-wrote and starred in a number of comedy specials on TV and made her film debut in Robert Altman’s Nashville, followed by The Late Show, 9 to 5 and All of Me. In the latter, she played an eccentric rich woman whose soul invades Steve Martin’s body. Most recently, Ms. Tomlin appeared on screen in I Heart Huckabees.
   On Broadway, she debuted in 1977 with Appearing Nitely, unveiling characters like Trudy the Bag Lady and Sister Boogie Woman. Ms. Tomlin had a huge Broadway hit in 1985 with The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, which also toured the country.
   She has six Emmys, two Tonys, two Peabody awards, a Grammy and numerous other honors. In 2003, Ms. Tomlin received the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Along with her semi-regular role on The West Wing, she continues to make appearances around the country.
   It’s a far cry from the little shows she dreamed up and staged at her apartment complex, growing up in a marginal neighborhood of Detroit.
   "When I was really young, I’d put on shows — on the back porch or if I could borrow somebody’s garage, we’d do it there," Ms. Tomlin says. "We’d use my mother’s blankets for the stage curtains without even asking. And as soon as new kids would move into the building, I’d cast them as characters. I’d see something in them and I’d be all excited. These two kids moved in from Georgia and they had curly red hair and freckles. So right away I thought, ‘Arthur Godfrey and Howdy Doody.’ But they didn’t really want to do it. They were little boys, so I had to kind of force them.
   "Same with my brother — I’d make up stuff for us to do and he’d just leave in the middle, out of embarrassment," she says. "That’s when I started to do stuff by myself."
Lily Tomlin will perform at McCarter Theatre’s 75th Anniversary Gala, 91 University Place, Princeton, April 16, 8 p.m. Concert only tickets cost $45-$55. For information, call (609) 258-2787. For tickets and information about the gala, call (609) 258-6547. On the Web: www.mccarter.org. Lily Tomlin on the Web: www.lilytomlin.com