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Tribute To Lily Tomlin And Jane Wagner

Volume
Volume 158 , Number 9
Pages
Pages S35
Legislative Body
Senate
Date
Mon, Jan. 23, 2012

Sen. Barbara Boxer

legislator photo
Party
D
State
CA

Mr. President, on March 16th, two of the Nation's great theatrical talents will be recognized when my friends Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner are added to the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.

As we all know, Lily Tomlin is a dazzling star of stage, screen, and television. She first won the hearts of millions of Americans more than 40 years ago on ``Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In,'' where she created unforgettable characters such as the world famous telephone operator Ernestine and the precocious young child Edith Ann. Lily said of these characters, ``I don't necessarily admire them, but I do them all with love.'' From the beginning, audiences fell in love with Lily Tomlin.

In 1971, Lily began working on an Edith Ann comedy album with a brilliant, award-winning young playwright named Jane Wagner. They produced acclaimed hit recordings and television specials and went on to further triumphs on Broadway and in Hollywood.

It is fitting that Lily and Jane will be honored together on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars, not only because of their long personal and professional partnership, but because they have formed one of the most fruitful creative collaborations in the history of American performing arts. Over the past four decades, Jane Wagner has created unforgettable characters, and Lily has inhabited these characters and brought them fully to life.

Since 1985, much of their creative energy has focused on various productions of Jane's play ``The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe''. Through this timeless yet dynamic work of art--with insight, humor, and love for all that makes us human--these two extraordinary artists have expanded both the bounds of performance art and our understanding of the human condition.

I have known Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner for many years. I am pleased to call them my friends, and I will be honored to join the Palm Springs Walk of Stars next month in paying tribute to their tremendous contributions to the Palm Springs area and to American culture.