Lily and Jane

[SFBill]

loved this article

CANDOR AND COMEDY
Lily Tomlin an open book, onstage and off
By GLENN LOVELL
San Jose Mercury News

Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner have been in a committed relationship for 35 years. They met when Tomlin was doing ''Laugh-In'' and asked Wagner, a struggling writer, to help her with a sketch about a mischievous little girl named Edith Ann. That led to the Grammy-nominated album ''And That's the Truth.''

They've been together so long now that Wagner winces good-naturedly when reminded of the length of their partnership.

''Has it been that long? Amazing!'' says the writer, laughing. ''Sometimes I cringe when Lily tells people how long it's been.''

''Oh, God -- 35 years!'' groans Tomlin, feigning exasperation. ''But no one said it was always happy. I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I admire and respect Jane immensely. She's brilliant and terribly kind and nurturing.''

Tomlin -- Oscar-nominated actress, Tony winner for her one-woman shows, President Bartlet's bossy secretary in ''The West Wing'' -- has always been something of an open book. But in a good way. She seems incapable of phoniness, and even if her comments occasionally verge on the sarcastic, her eyes sparkle and remind you, ''It's a joke, honey.''

Candor and comedy will be served up in the inimitable Tomlin fashion today at the San Jose Center for Performing Arts. The actress-satirist, soon to be seen opposite Virginia Madsen and Meryl Streep in Robert Altman's ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (opening June 9), is the latest guest in KTEH's ''Unique Lives & Experiences'' series.

But don't expect your standard pundit-at-the-podium gig. Tomlin will often cede the floor to her many stage alter-egos, including Trudy the bag lady, Sister Boogie Woman, Mrs. Beasley and, of course, Ernestine the snorting telephone operator.

''I've been doing these appearances for years,'' says Tomlin, 66, who continues to tour in her Tony-winning one-woman show, ''The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe.'' ''But I don't lecture in the sense of someone standing at a podium. I don't think I could do that. I do what I normally do -- express my point of view, relate to the audience through my characters. It's very informal.''

''And intuitive,'' adds Wagner. ''That's the first word that comes to mind. She intuits things. I don't know if she's tuned in to the zeitgeist or her psychology reflects what's going on. She's almost psychic sometimes.''

With a minimum of coaxing, Tomlin may talk about her first inspiration (a social-studies teacher who did funny dialects), her passion for the just-canceled ''West Wing,'' her dream of someday having her own prime-time variety show, and her ongoing collaboration with director Altman, whom she introduced with Streep at the Oscars. She was nominated for an Oscar for playing a gospel singer in ''Nashville''; she plays a western singer in the movie version of Garrison Keillor's ''Prairie Home Companion.''

''I'm Rhonda and Meryl is Yolanda, and we're the last two members of a four-sister singing group, the Johnson Girls,'' she says.

Altman was undergoing chemotherapy during the St. Paul, Minn., shoot. At the Academy Awards in March, he revealed that he had had a heart transplant 11 years earlier.

''There's no explaining that man,'' says Tomlin. ''As always, he was the first one on the set. He's unflappable and always in control. That's why actors adore him. He's so there. He's just so who he is.''

Between her speaking engagements and revivals of ''Intelligent Life,'' Tomlin has carved out a very respectable film career that has included such hit comedies as ''9 to 5'' and, opposite Steve Martin, ''All of Me.'' After the latest Altman ensemble piece, she did a character part in the upcoming movie ''The Walker,'' starring Woody Harrelson as a Beltway gigolo, and voice work in the animated feature ''The Ant Bully.''

She's still reeling from the cancellation of ''West Wing,'' done in by ratings and star John Spencer's death. She was so impressed by the quality of the drama, she says, she approached the creators about writing her into the show. She eventually took over the role of the president's no-nonsense secretary.

''When the show came on, I was crestfallen that I wasn't in it,'' she says. ''It was one of the few shows on the air that had anything to say. And it didn't hurt that it expressed a political view that I preferred to see expressed. So I immediately tried for a guest spot. I said I could be a lobbyist or something. I never expected to finally end up with a recurring role.''

Tomlin's career has been devoted, in large part, to finding vehicles that have something to say. ''Intelligent Life,'' written by Wagner, tackles such issues as madness, alienation, pollution, New Age hedonism and our cosmic interconnectiveness. It also, of course, speaks out on gay rights, which Tomlin believes are in danger of being rolled back by a more conservative Supreme Court.

''What's going on in the culture? People are like inured to everything,'' says Tomlin in frustration. ''Jane and I talk about it all the time. She's worried that fascism has been coming for 15 years; that our rights are being rolled back incrementally by that empty suit standing up in front of us.

''I can't imagine the American people not at some point waking up. But why it took so damn long I'll never know.''

And her feelings about same-sex marriage?

''Jane and I have never gone through the ceremony,'' Tomlin replies. ''I'm totally supportive of anyone who wants to do it, but it doesn't mean anything to me because I'm not a religious person.''

If you go • What: "Lily Tomlin: Unique Lives & Experiences Series" • When: 7:30 p.m., tonight • Where: San Jose Center for the Performing Arts • Tickets: $38-$73 • Information: Events Unlimited at (877) 882-8124 or www.uniquelives.com

[Cardiffgal]

Thanks SFBill one of my "other" heros!

[Dar]

thanks for posting that interview!! We saw her when she was in town last year, FABULOUS as always! Love her.