Actress, comedian Lily Tomlin keeps her fans in stitches ~ Ernestine is back!

October 21, 6:46 PMActing ExaminerDeborah Smith Ford

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Lily Tomlin, Cherry Jones                               (AP Photo/Apalaric Lambert)

Lily Tomlin has brought enjoyment to her fans for quite a few decades, and she still is.  Her latest update is that of her character Ernestine.

Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin is an actress, comedian, writer and producer.

Tomlin attended Wayne State University where her interest in the theater and performing arts began. After college, Tomlin began doing stand-up comedy in nightclubs in Detroit and later in New York City.

Tomlin's first television appearance was on The Merv Griffin Show in 1965.

In 1969 Tomlin joined the sketch comedy show Laugh-In. Some characters from the show have been associated with her throughout her career, including the wisecracking, snorting telephone operator, Ernestine, the bratty five-year-old Edith Ann, seated in an over-sized rocking chair making rude noises while telling stories and the Tasteful Lady.

Another of her many characters is the lady who lives a gracious, na?ve life of entitlement in the upper class  Additional characters include Susie the Sorority Girl, who appeared on Tomlin's album Modern Scream and in her 1975 appearance on Saturday Night Live.

As an actress and comedienne Tomlin is noted for her versatility. She portrayed a secretary named Violet Newstead in Nine to Five, and also performed several comedic roles in the 1981 film The Incredible Shrinking Woman, and was a sickly heiress in the Steve Martin comedy All of Me.

Lily Tomlin and Bette Midler played two pairs of identical twins who were switched at birth in the 1989 comedy Big Business.

In the 2008-2009 fifth season of Desperate Housewives Tomlin has a recurring role as Roberta, the sister of Mrs. McCluskey. In The West Wing she was cast and played the successor to Delores Landingham, the previous secretary.

According to Chuck Darrow for Arts and Entertainment, Tomlin has updated her character Ernestine for an Atlantic City debut.  It will be held Saturday, October 24, 2009 at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa.

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