LILY TOMLIN : LAUGHING MATTERS

Tony-, Grammy- and Emmy-winning Lily Tomlin hosts the “10th Annual Montreal Comedy Festival” Saturday on Showtime.

The two-hour special features such comics as Alan King, Steven Wright, Sinbad, Rita Rudner and Penn & Teller. Jerry Lewis will be inducted into the “Just for Laughs International Humor Hall of Fame.”

Tomlin, 52, no doubt will soon be a candidate for the Hall of Fame. The Detroit native began performing in New York clubs in 1965. She made her TV debut in 1966 on “The Garry Moore Show” and joined “Laugh-In” in 1969, where she rose to fame with such memorable characters as the sarcastic telephone operator Ernestine and the devilish little Edith Ann.

Tomlin made her film debut in Robert Altman’s 1975 “Nashville,” which brought her an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress. She also starred in “The Late Show,” “All of Me” and “Big Business.”

She first appeared on Broadway in 1977 and won a special Tony Award for “Appearing Nitely,” written and directed by Jane Wagner. Tomlin received the best actress Tony in 1986 for “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe,” also written and directed by Wagner. The film version of “Search for Signs” was released last fall. Next month, Showtime premieres the movie with an additional eight minutes of footage.

Tomlin talked with Times Staff Writer Susan King about the comedy festival, her early days as a comedian and what funny people she admires.

Were you familiar with the Montreal International Comedy Festival?

I had seen it (on TV) in the past, but I had no idea the scope of the festival.

How has comedy changed for women since you started?

There was a time just the idea of women doing stand-up of any kind was kind of frowned on. It was considered unfeminine. Stand-up and comedy was somehow viewed as somewhat aggressive.

One of my favorite stories was from when I was working at (New York’s) Upstairs at the Downstairs. There were three women in the show, and I am sure we were supposed to be the ingenue, the leading lady and the character woman. I was the character woman, but I didn’t know that. And the woman who was the ingenue was very young and a very pretty girl. She was very bland on stage and very boring, but in the dressing room she was really hilarious. She would describe something to me and I would say, “It’s so funny. You have got to do that on stage tonight.” She would say, “I wouldn’t want anyone to think I am unattractive.”

Was it difficult not only to get jobs in clubs but to gain audience acceptance?

In the very late ‘60s and early ‘70s, there were very few places to do comedy. Music was really the dominate cultural focus and someone like George Carlin was just crossing over from being a Vegas comic to being a counter-culture comic.

I remember I was working at the revue at the Upstairs at the Downstairs and that was very New York and chi-chi. I was always working on my act and I was always going to the Improv. There were places like the Improv where you could get up (on stage), but you couldn’t earn a living.

There was this agent in New York at that time, Irv Arthur. He is still around. I would say, “Irv, book me. I know I can go over.” He would say, “Nah. They are going to eat you alive.” And so sure enough, he got me a two-week job at the Living Room. So I go to the Living Room and I do my act and I do it to absolute silence.

When I finished, the boss said to me, “Has Irv talked to you about your act?” I said, “Well, what was he supposed to say to me?” He said, “We would like to have you make a few changes.” And he starts at the bottom and goes right up to the top. He named every single thing I did that he didn’t want me to do. It was just awful. ... I am not fearful and everything I do isn’t flat-out funny, but they wore me down pretty good.

Do you think it’s harder to break through now because there are so many comedy clubs?

I think it is very hard to break through because there are so many people. A lot of them are good, a lot of them are relevant. Although there is nobody funnier than Henny Youngman. He is too cute.

What comediennes were you a fan of growing up?

I loved Lucy and Joan (Davis). I loved Imogene Coca because she did characters. I would see Bea Lillie on “Ed Sullivan” and loved her because she was sort of zany and sophisticated. Jean Carroll, who was really the first woman stand-up I ever saw. I used to steal her material when I was 10 and do it.

Did you ever get to work with Lucille Ball?

No, I never did. She wasn’t even particularly fond of me, I am sure, as a comedian. In fact, one time in People magazine early on (in my career) she said, “I don’t get Lily Tomlin.” I was just devastated. But later on before she died, Bette (Midler) and I had dinner with her. I was terrified, but she was fabulous. She was so wonderful with us that night and so funny.

The film version of “Search for Signs” juxtaposes performance footage with costumes, makeup and sets. Why did you and Wagner decide to film it in that manner?

We wanted to make something different out of it. The most important thing was we wanted to keep the emotionality of it. We wanted that same kind of emotional rush people were getting in the theater. We waited a long time to film it because we weren’t sure how to translate it.

“10th Annual Montreal Comedy Festival” airs Saturday at 10 p.m. on Showtime with repeats on Aug. 20 at 10 p.m., Aug. 24 at 11 p.m. and Aug. 30 at midnight.