Keep on reading to discover the untold truth of Lily Tomlin.
Whenever the topic was broached, Tomlin typically deflected with humor.
I just always lived very simply and openly."
“It was a hard decision to make,” Tomlin told DeGeneres.
“I fell down on the side of probably after what youwent through, probably good sense.”
I had to audition for Ms. Frizzle," she quipped.
This wasn’t Tomlin’s only animated role, however.
“She’s got a good heart, but she’s tough,” said Tomlin.
“She doesn’t suffer any nonsense or excuses.”
“The host asked Tomlin’s fellow guest, actor Chad Everett, if he owned any pets.
He responded by listing his menageries, which included horses, dogs, “and a wife.”
However, he doubled down by describing his wife as “the most beautiful animal I own.”
Tomlin was taken aback.
(Spoiler alert: She was.)
“It was a perfectly pure act,” Tomlin later toldThe New York Timesof her spontaneous walkout.
“I felt angels walked me off.”
Tomlin never did win that Oscar and, as of this writing, has not been nominated since.
Tomlin offered her theory for her enduring popularity.
“I was never a movie star,” she explained to Showbiz 411.
“I was always a co-star.”
“Written by Jane Wagner, the show was the first-ever one-woman show to play the Great White Way.
As theJournal of Popular Cultureput it, “Appearing Nitely” was a show that “defied easy categorization.
It wasn’t stand-up, it wasn’t a play, it wasn’t performance art.”
That year, Tomlin won a"special Tony Award"in honor of her performance.
However, it took alotof convincing to get Tomlin to sign on.
“I didn’t want to do a cheap comedy,” Tomlin explained.
“I was looking for something more serious.”
In fact,Tomlin and Fonda are such good friendsthat they candidly discussed their close relationship in aTED Talk.
Fonda then shared her perspective.
I don’t even know what I’d do without my women friends,” she said.
“They make me stronger, they make me smarter, they make me braver.
They tap me on the shoulder when I might be in need of course-correcting.”
“Lily looked at my stuff from Canada and asked me to work with her,” said Michaels.
“She was the first person I met who really cared about quality and getting it all right.”
“Saturday Night Live” was born.
While both actors' careers subsequently rebounded, Tomlin has continually expressed regret for “Moment By Moment.”
“I made the wrong choice.
I felt terrible,” Tomlin told theLos Angeles Timesin 1986.
“I didn’t know what to do …
I felt for John too he’s so sensitive.”
While Tomlin basks in the acclaim, Wagner prefers to remain in the background.
During their speeches, Tomlinpaid tributeto Wagner.
“They think I’m so smart, but the brainy stuff really comes from her.”
“I don’t know how to swim very well,” said Tomlin.
Discussing the scene in which she repeatedly yells “F*** you!”
at Russell, she toldThe Guardianthat what viewers don’t see is Russell saying horrible things off-camera.
Addressing her outburst withMovieline, Tomlin said the whole thing had been blown out of proportion.
Then he flipped out on me.
And you know, stuff goes on.
But it’s nothing.”
“Yeah, a lot of women great movie stars don’t get paid what men do.
“So that’s not a lot of progress.
But it’s some progress.
And we’re supposed to be grateful for those crumbs.”
