100 WOMEN WE LOVE 2008
Lily Tomlin’s extraordinary career as a funny lady bloomed on the TV show Laugh-In in 1969, the year of the Stonewall rebellion. Fittingly, she has woven feminism and LGBT life into her characters—the not-so-hardworking phone operator Ernestine, Violet Newstead in 9 to 5 and the numerous personas populating The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, the one-woman play written by Tomlin’s partner Jane Wagner, for which Tomlin won a Tony Award. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for her turn as Linnea Reese in Robert Altman’s Nashville, played recurring roles on TV shows from Murphy Brown to The West Wing, and has won six Emmys, a Grammy, and a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 1977. Tomlin, who has called Wagner the most influential person in her life and career, narrated 1995’s landmark LGBT documentary The Celluloid Closet. –KL
In no particular order…
Hats off to the 100 Women We Love, class of 2008 (in no particular order, ’cause we love ’em all!).
Elizabeth Falkner
With same-sex marriages in the works all over San Francisco, Citizen Cake is about to get very busy. Just steps from city hall, executive chef Elizabeth Falkner’s restaurant and pastry shop will see a spike in cake orders, but Falkner is used to the action. As an alumna of Iron Chef America, this plucky gourmand is fairly quick on her feet. “It’s fun, a sprint,” she says of her appearance on the popular show. Falkner is no stranger to the small screen, having appeared as a guest judge on Bravo’s Top Chef and as a competitor on the Food Network’s Challenge series. Her 2007 cookbook, Demolition Desserts, was nominated for the International Association of Culinary Professionals’ First Book award. Her latest project, Orson Restaurant & Bar, is a large space with killer cocktails, innovative dishes and a hip vibe. –LL
In no particular order…
