SALON

Tuesday, Mar 19, 2013 3:23 PM UTC

Lily Tomlin: “Young people don’t even know who Bella Abzug was”

The veteran comic actress on how she got her start and how she overcame the odds against a non-ingénue

By

Topics: Lily tomlin, Admission, Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, laugh-in, nashville, robert altman,

Lily Tomlin: Lily Tomlin(Credit: AP/Matt Sayles)

Lily Tomlin doesn’t just play a feminist in the upcoming film “Admission” — she’s been a real-life pioneer, making her way in the movie industry and openly sharing life with her partner, Jane Wagner. In “Admission,” Tomlin milks the movement for laughs as Tina Fey’s mother, a woman who lives in isolation, building her own bicycle and reading up on theory; she even demands that Fey’s character call her by her first name: “Mom” is too outmoded a term. We spoke to Tomlin about “Admission” and her life in Hollywood.

What inspired your performance as a radical feminist?

I was part of the feminist movement! I knew feminists who’d written important books. I felt I understood a little bit about where Susannah was coming from, how she’d lived her life, or tried to live her life. I didn’t really input dialogue except in the most perfunctory ways. Ideally I wanted to have — I’d had a double mastectomy as the character. I wanted her to have a breast plate tattoo — that empowerment, that Amazonian response, was part of her statement too. But it was a demanding thing to get finished. I settled for a tattoo of Bella Abzug, even though young women don’t even know who Bella was.

So do you not think feminism is relevant anymore?

With all movements, people come forward and then there’s a setback. We think we’ve vanquished some oppressive regime in some part of the culture, and we realize we haven’t. Look at all the steps they’re trying to take backwards with women in our society. You keep revisiting stuff — hopefully they won’t take hold, and someone will have to struggle against them again. Old policies and habits and societal mores die hard.

Is this what inspired you to do “9 to 5″?

“9 to 5″ had a specific theme and was written very directly and purposefully toward the workplace, daycare, equity in pay, flexible hours, probably healthcare, things that served the community of workers. Equal pay. Some of those things have improved, and we’ve made progressive moves. Some of them haven’t been acknowledged in our country or cities, maybe least of all in large corporations. I don’t know the exact state of our corporate culture. I doubt there are many employers that are that expansive in their desire for the welfare of their employees. And people are constantly trying to make labor cheaper. We know that. That’s nothing new.

Wages have been static in this country while profits have been huge. You can only make comment within the range of what you’re presenting in this movie, which deals with human relationships between people and how they represent themselves. I was interested in having been a feminist in that era, I still consider myself a feminist, knowing what it is to be a person who’s lived a long time, with core beliefs, a philosophy — clinging to it, trying to be absolutely true and not betray it when there are a lot of things going on around you. She created a mythology around it that isolated her from her daughter.

It sounds like you relate in some way. Do you feel like you were a pioneer for feminism in any way?

It’s hard to relate to it in that way because I’ve always been identified as a comedic actress or a creator of kinds of different characters and culture types. I was never a leading lady in the classic sense, even when I was younger. They wouldn’t give me a leading lady role in a traditional movie. [Robert] Altman cast me in “Nashville” because he was not traditional. It was a time when I was identified as Ernestine, that girl on “Laugh-In.”

[Altman] gave me a very serious role as the mother of two deaf children, who was sympathetic to others’ struggles because she understood her own children who were disenfranchised. She related to other people who were disenfranchised, blah, blah, blah, and all that stuff.

But I was trying to create something else for myself to do. I was never an ingénue either. People would point out actresses and say, “Do you know who that is?” They’d say, “You’ll do what she’s doing when you’re 50 or 60,” when I was 20. But I’m not going to wait around. It never dawned on me not to make work for myself. I started doing an act. And the act kept me from being on “The Match Game.”

You didn’t make that much money on “Laugh-In.” What were you going to do the other half of the year? By the time I got well-known, I had an act, I would go up at the Improv or wherever I could get a spot. I could create specials for myself. I was lucky I recognized what it was that was possible: With not a lot of forethought I found a way to work all the time. I wasn’t competing for traditional kinds of roles. I wasn’t one of seven young actresses between 18 and 30 competing for the lead.

That’s why I’ve always admired Tina. I can see that girl as a force. She’s completely self-possessed or at least appears to be. She’s a master of her own destiny. People like her have a sensibility and they honor it. They don’t know another way. I recognize that in her.

Daniel D

Daniel D'Addario is a staff reporter for Salon's entertainment section. Follow him on Twitter @DPD_ More Daniel D'Addario.

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

7 motorist-friendly camping sites

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 9

Sponsored Post

  • White River National Forest via Lower Crystal Lake, Colorado
    For those OK with the mainstream, White River Forest welcomes more than 10 million visitors a year, making it the most-visited recreation forest in the nation. But don’t hate it for being beautiful; it’s got substance, too. The forest boasts 8 wilderness areas, 2,500 miles of trail, 1,900 miles of winding service system roads, and 12 ski resorts (should your snow shredders fit the trunk space). If ice isn’t your thing: take the tire-friendly Flat Tops Trail Scenic Byway — 82 miles connecting the towns of Meeker and Yampa, half of which is unpaved for you road rebels.
    fs.usda.gov/whiteriveryou


    Image credit: Getty

  • Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest via Noontootla Creek, Georgia
    Boasting 10 wildernesses, 430 miles of trail and 1,367 miles of trout-filled stream, this Georgia forest is hailed as a camper’s paradise. Try driving the Ridge and Valley Scenic Byway, which saw Civil War battles fought. If the tall peaks make your engine tremble, opt for the relatively flat Oconee National Forest, which offers smaller hills and an easy trail to the ghost town of Scull Shoals. Scaredy-cats can opt for John’s Mountain Overlook, which leads to twin waterfalls for the sensitive sightseer in you.
    fs.usda.gov/conf


    Image credit: flickr/chattoconeenf

  • Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area via Green Road, Michigan
    The only national forest in Lower Michigan, the Huron-Mainstee spans nearly 1 million acres of public land. Outside the requisite lush habitat for fish and wildlife on display, the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area is among the biggest hooks for visitors: offering beach camping with shores pounded by big, cerulean surf. Splash in some rum and you just might think you were in the Caribbean.
    fs.usda.gov/hmnf


    Image credit: umich.edu

  • Canaan Mountain via Backcountry Canaan Loop Road, West Virginia
    A favorite hailed by outdoorsman and author Johnny Molloy as some of the best high-country car camping sites anywhere in the country, you don’t have to go far to get away. Travel 20 miles west of Dolly Sods (among the busiest in the East) to find the Canaan Backcountry (for more quiet and peace). Those willing to leave the car for a bit and foot it would be remiss to neglect day-hiking the White Rim Rocks, Table Rock Overlook, or the rim at Blackwater River Gorge.
    fs.usda.gov/mnf


    Image credit: Getty

  • Mt. Rogers NRA via Hurricane Creek Road, North Carolina
    Most know it as the highest country they’ll see from North Carolina to New Hampshire. What they may not know? Car campers can get the same grand experience for less hassle. Drop the 50-pound backpacks and take the highway to the high country by stopping anywhere on the twisting (hence the name) Hurricane Road for access to a 15-mile loop that boasts the best of the grassy balds. It’s the road less travelled, and the high one, at that.
    fs.usda.gov/gwj


    Image credit: wikipedia.org

  • Long Key State Park via the Overseas Highway, Florida
    Hiking can get old; sometimes you’d rather paddle. For a weekend getaway of the coastal variety and quieter version of the Florida Keys that’s no less luxe, stick your head in the sand (and ocean, if snorkeling’s your thing) at any of Long Key’s 60 sites. Canoes and kayaks are aplenty, as are the hot showers and electric power source amenities. Think of it as the getaway from the typical getaway.
    floridastateparks.org/longkey/default.cfm


    Image credit: floridastateparks.org

  • Grand Canyon National Park via Crazy Jug Point, Arizona
    You didn’t think we’d neglect one of the world’s most famous national parks, did you? Nor would we dare lead you astray with one of the busiest parts of the park. With the Colorado River still within view of this cliff-edge site, Crazy Jug is a carside camper’s refuge from the troops of tourists. Find easy access to the Bill Hall Trail less than a mile from camp, and descend to get a peek at the volcanic Mt. Trumbull. (Fear not: It’s about as active as your typical lazy Sunday in front of the tube, if not more peaceful.)
    fs.usda.gov/kaibab


    Image credit: flickr/Irish Typepad

  • As the go-to (weekend) getaway car for fiscally conscious field trips with friends, the 2013 MINI Convertible is your campground racer of choice, allowing you and up to three of your co-pilots to take in all the beauty of nature high and low. And with a fuel efficiency that won’t leave you in the latter, you won’t have to worry about being left stranded (or awkwardly asking to go halfsies on gas expenses).


    Image credit: miniusa.com

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 9

Related Videos

Comments

 2 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
Let's Stop Screwing Around and Impeach James Clapper: After lying to Congress about all the different ways the NSA's spying on us, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lies about how he lied. Call the White House at 202 456-1111 and Tell Obama to Get Rid of Clapper
526 points527 points | 26 comments
vote
Let's Stop Screwing Around and Impeach James Clapper: After lying to Congress about all the different ways the NSA's spying on us, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lies about how he lied. Call the White House at 202 456-1111 and Tell Obama to Get Rid of Clapper
438 points439 points | 32 comments
vote
Yes, there is a better search engine (1998)
102 points103 points | 32 comments
vote
Machiavelli doesn’t belong to the 1 percent | "The Prince" is oft-quoted on Wall Street, but its author was a hero of the working class who despised elites
93 points94 points | 33 comments
vote
Let's Stop Screwing Around and Impeach James Clapper: After lying to Congress about all the different ways the NSA's spying on us, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lies about how he lied. Call the White House at 202 456-1111 and Tell Obama to Get Rid of Clapper
96 points97 points | 9 comments

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "The Joker": Laughing at life's deepest sorrows