How Lily Tomlin found liberation in exploring her characters | American Masters | PBS

Official website: http://www.pbs.org/americanmasters | #AmericanMastersPBS On October 10, 2007, Lily Tomlin spoke about her time on Laugh-In and how she developed her characters. Interview conducted by director Michael Kantor for the six-hour PBS comedy series, “Make ‘Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America” (2009). 00:00 Utilizing character work to push past the limited expectations for female comics in the 1960s 02:37 Drawing on life experience to organically form the “Edith Ann” character 05:08 Hitting the ground running on Laugh-In debut with “Ernestine” 08:28 The struggle to separate Tomlin’s work and career from the runaway success of her characters 10:24 The boy’s club of comedy and their narrow fascination with the puerile Subscribe to the American Masters channel for more clips: http://bit.ly/1JmUCu5 Enjoy full episodes of your favorite American Masters films: http://www.pbs.org/americanmasters FOLLOW AMERICAN MASTERS: Facebook:   / americanmasters   X:   / pbsamermasters   Instagram:   / pbsamericanmasters   TikTok:   / pbsamericanmasters   FOLLOW PBS: Facebook:   / pbs   X:   / pbs   Instagram:   / pbs   TikTok:   / pbs   Shop: http://www.shop.pbs.org/ ___________________________________ Now in its 38th season on PBS, American Masters illuminates the lives and creative journeys of those who have left an indelible impression on our cultural landscape—through compelling, unvarnished stories. Setting the standard for documentary film profiles, the series has earned widespread critical acclaim: 28 Emmy Awards—including 10 for Outstanding Non-Fiction Series and five for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special—two News & Documentary Emmys, 14 Peabodys, three Grammys, two Producers Guild Awards, an Oscar, and many other honors. To further explore the lives and works of more than 250 masters past and present, the American Masters website offers full episodes, film outtakes, filmmaker interviews, the podcast “American Masters: Creative Spark,” educational resources, digital original series and more. The series is a production of The WNET Group.