Happy Birthday, Lily Tomlin!

I love Lily Tomlin, but I get the impression she is not well liked in the industry.

When she won the Mark Twain Award, most of her former costars took a pass and she had people like Elaine Stritch appear, who admitted she had never seen Tomlin perform until someone sent her a tape just before she appeared that night. It was embarrassing.

Jane Fonda and Dolly seem to really love her.

I am!

Decades ago, I saw her at St. Nicholas Theater Company in Chicago working out her one woman show. The space was so small she was close enough to touch.

When I was in high school I brought in her Ernestine album and after classes played it in the music room after gathering up a group to listen to it, and I had no problem gathering those interested. AI have admired her talent greatly since Laugh-in and to today--and for fucking ever. 'Till death do us part.

I loved her Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, which is brilliant and was deeply moving. (I saw it live)

I think she's a special human and rejoiced to hear she was family. And her wife is the brilliant partner who doubles the wonder that is Tomlin.

Yeah, I like her.

She is a treasure

I saw her live when I was in grade school. (I can't believe my parents let me go -- or left me there to pick me up after the show!)

It was early in her career so she wasn't doing her "one woman show" yet -- it was more of mix of stand-up and character sketches.

It was a very small club. At one point she said, "You're all so beautiful. Well, except that one gal. And she's in the bathroom."

Just then, a woman emerged from the bathroom (just across from where Tomlin was) and the whole audience burst into loud laughter. The woman seemed to wonder what she had missed.