2022 marks the tenth year TCM has featured a hand and footprint ceremony at their Classic Film Festival. In 2011, Peter O'Toole was the honoree, followed by Kim Novak, Jane Fonda, Jerry Lewis, Christopher Plummer, Francis Ford Coppola, Carl and Rob Reiner, Cicely Tyson, and Billy Crystal in 2019. After skipping a year and holding a virtual event due to the COVID pandemic, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) has announced it will honor iconic actress and comedian Lily Tomlin during the 13th TCM Classic Film Festival with hand and footprint ceremony. On Friday, April 22, 2022 Tomlin will stand in cement in the courtyard of the world-famous Hollywood Chinese Theatre.
As one of America's foremost comediennes, Tomlin is known to work across a wide range of media. The multi-talented actress has many awards to her credit, including a Tony, a Grammy, eight Emmys, two Peabody Awards, a Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critics’ Circle Award, a CableAce Award, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and is a recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors. Whew! Her remarkable career began in the 1960s with work in cinema, television, and on stage.
TCM primetime anchor and official host of the TCM Classic Film Festival, Ben Mankiewicz aid, “Lily Tomlin’s work has endured for decades because she brings a consistent joyous authenticity and richness to every character she plays. She pulls it off whether she’s performing sketch comedy on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In; working inside an ensemble cast in Robert Altman’s Nashville; trying to sneak a dead body out of a hospital with Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton in 9 to 5; reinventing herself in Grace and Frankie; or breaking new ground in her innovative one-woman show, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe.”
I'm too young to have seen Tomlin on Laugh-In, but I am a big fan of her hit film, 9 to 5. Unlike many comedies of the 1980s, 9 to 5 is a timeless example of cinematic humor at its best. The film also boasts an impeccable cast that includes Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton, and Dabney Coleman. Although it has yet to be announced, I'm guessing the network is doing everything it can to bring the classic film to the 2022 festival. And then there may be a good chance that not only will Tomlin introduce the movie, but likely lure Jane Fonda and perhaps Dolly Parton too in appearing. That could be "the moment" of the festival. If that were to happen, I certainly wouldn't want to miss it, so I'll be maneuvering for a good place in line to guarantee a seat at that screening.