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!).
Catherine Sumner (right)
As assistant editor of American Heritage Magazine, the country’s longest-running history journal, former Miss Louisiana Sugar Queen and classically trained pianist Catherine Sumner is the perfect all-around Southern belle. This active member of the Libertarian party was recently appointed to the Alexandria Archaeo-logy Museum’s Board of Directors, and is considering a future mayoral run in her hometown of New Orleans. In 2007, Sumner was sacked as news anchor on a conservative radio station after being outed on the air. “It’s about being a responsible citizen, no matter who I kiss goodnight,” says Sumner of her accomplishments. “I hope one day everyone will help everyone else, no matter their orientation.” –JB
In no particular order…
