[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 9 (Monday, January 23, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S35]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO LILY TOMLIN AND JANE WAGNER

 Mrs. BOXER. 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.

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