Center for the Arts at Pepperdine University

America fell for this supremely gifted comedienne the first time she muttered "one ringy-dingy" with a contemptuous snort as Laugh-In's irascible telephone operator, Ernestine. The Emmy-, Grammy-, and Tony-winning Lily Tomlin has become part of our collective comedic consciousness, delighting us with her indelible characters on television, in movies (Nashville, 9 to 5, Big Business), on albums (This Is a Recording), and—of course—in her one-woman Broadway triumphs (Appearing Nitely and The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe).