Jane Wagner (born February 26, 1935) is an American writer, director and producer. She is

Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She started her career as a stand-up comedian as well as performing off-Broadway during the 1960s. Her breakout role was on the varie ...

's comedy writer, collaborator and wife. She is the author of '' The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe'', ''

The Incredible Shrinking Woman ''The Incredible Shrinking Woman'' is a 1981 American science-fiction comedy film directed by Joel Schumacher (in his theatrical directing debut), written by Jane Wagner and starring Lily Tomlin, Charles Grodin, Ned Beatty, John Glover, and ...

'' and other Tomlin vehicles.

Early life and education

Wagner was born and raised in

Morristown, Tennessee Morristown is a city in and the county seat of Hamblen County, Tennessee, United States. Morristown also extends into Jefferson County on the western and southern ends. The city's population was recorded to be 30,431 at the 2020 United States ce ...

, where she quickly developed a penchant for writing. She attended

Morristown High School Morristown High School (MHS) is a four-year public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from three communities in Morris County, United States, operating as part of the Morris School District. The school serves students ...

, where she wrote for the school newspaper. At 17, she left the hills of

East Tennessee East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 count ...

to pursue an acting career in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where she also studied painting and sculpture at the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

and piano.

Career

Early in her life she toured with the

Barter Theatre Barter Theatre, in Abingdon, Virginia, opened on June 10, 1933. It is the longest-running professional Equity theatre in the United States. History Concept In 1933, when the United States was in the middle of the Great Depression, many peo ...

Abingdon, Virginia Abingdon is a town in Washington County, Virginia, United States, southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,376 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Washington County. The town encompasses several historically significant sites and f ...

, and later became a designer for such firms as

Kimberly-Clark Kimberly-Clark Corporation is an American multinational personal care corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. The company manufactures sanitary paper products and surgical & medical instruments. Kimberly-Clark brand ...

and Fieldcrest. She made her writing debut with the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

afternoon special ''J.T.'' (1969), for which she won the

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

— and drew the attention of Tomlin, who was looking for someone to help develop the ''

Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Dan ...

'' character Edith Ann. It was the beginning of a collaboration that continues to this day. Wagner has been nominated for

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s, with Tomlin, for the comic's recorded albums and has won three

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

and a

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Gu ...

award, also with Tomlin, for the comic's television specials. She wrote and directed ''

Moment by Moment ''Moment by Moment'' is a 1978 American romantic drama film written and directed by Jane Wagner and starring Lily Tomlin and John Travolta. It was produced by Robert Stigwood and released by Universal Pictures on December 22, 1978. The film was ...

'', starring Tomlin and

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom '' Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes '' Carrie'' ( ...

, and wrote ''The Incredible Shrinking Woman'', which starred Tomlin. ''The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe'' won Wagner a Special Award from the New York Drama Critics' Circle and a New York

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. F ...

. The

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

of the play brought Wagner a

Cable ACE Award The CableACE Award (earlier known as the ACE Awards; ACE was an acronym for "Award for Cable Excellence") is a defunct award that was given by what was then the National Cable Television Association from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in Ame ...

. Wagner won a second Peabody for the ABC special, ''Edith Ann's Christmas: Just Say Noel'' (1996). Since its launch in 2008, Wagner has been a contributor for

wowOwow wowOwow was a U.S.-based website publication run by Joni Evans. History The website was launched by chief executive officer Joni Evans, Mary Wells Lawrence Mary Wells Lawrence (born Mary Georgene Berg on May 25, 1928) is an American retir ...

.com, a website for women to talk culture, politics and gossip.

Honors, awards and nominations

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally de ...

1997: nominated – Best Individual Achievement: Writing in a TV Production – ''Edith Ann's Christmas: Just Say Noel''

2001: nominated – Outstanding Revival of a Play – ''The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe''
1986: won – Unique Theatrical Experience – ''The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe''

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

1993: nominated – Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special – ''The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe''
1981: won – Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program – ''Lily: Sold Out''
1981: nominated – Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Music or Comedy Program – ''Lily: Sold Out''
1976: won – Outstanding Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Special – ''The Lily Tomlin Special''
1976: nominated – Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Special – ''The Lily Tomlin Special''
1974: won – Outstanding Writing in Comedy-Variety, Variety or Music – ''

Lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

1996: won – ''Edith Ann's Christmas: Just Say Noel''
1970: won – ''J.T.''

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

2001: nominated – Best Revival of a Play – ''The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe'' *On March 16, 2012, Wagner and Tomlin received the 345th star on the Walk of Stars in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by lan ...

Works and publications

* Wagner, Jane, and Gordon Parks, Jr. ''J.T.'' New York: Dell, 1971. * Tomlin, Lily, and Jane Wagner. ''On Stage.'' New York, N.Y.: Arista, 1977. Recorded live at the Biltmore Theatre, New York City. Audio book on LP. * Wagner, Jane. ''Development and Effect of Feminist Consciousness Raising Women's Groups, Los Angeles, Late 1960s Through 1982.'' Ph.D. Thesis/dissertation. Wright Institute, Los Angeles. 1983. * Wagner, Jane, Elon Soltes, Wendy Apple, and Lily Tomlin. ''Appearing Nitely.'' Valley Village, Calif.: Tomlin and Wagner Theatricalz, 1992. Recorded live at the

Huntington Hartford Theater Huntington may refer to: Places Canada * Huntington, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Huntington, New Zealand a suburb in Hamilton, New Zealand United Kingdom * Huntington, Cheshire, England * Huntington, East Lothian, Scotland * Huntington, ...

in Los Angeles, Calif. Originally produced for television in 1978. Video recording. * Wagner, Jane. ''Edith Ann – My Life, So Far.'' New York: Hyperion, 1994. As told to and illustrated by Jane Wagner. * Tomlin, Lily, Jane Wagner, and

Anna Deavere Smith Anna Deavere Smith is an American actress, playwright, and professor. She is known for her roles as National Security Advisor Dr. Nancy McNally in '' The West Wing'' (2000–06), hospital administrator Gloria Akalitus in the Showtime series ''N ...

. ''Conversation with Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner, October 25, 1994.'' San Francisco: City Arts & Lectures, Inc, 1994. Masonic Auditorium. * Wagner, Jane. J.T. New York: Carousel Films, 2000. DVD. Originally broadcast in 1969. Jeannette Du Bois,

Theresa Merritt Theresa Merritt Hines (September 24, 1922 June 12, 1998), known professionally as Theresa Merritt, was an American actress and singer. She's known for her role in '' That's My Mama'' (1974-1975) and for her film roles in ''The Wiz'' (1978) and ''B ...

Kevin Hooks Kevin Hooks (born September 19, 1958) is an American actor, and a television and film director; he is notable for his roles in '' Aaron Loves Angela'' and '' Sounder'', but may be best known as Morris Thorpe from TV's '' The White Shadow''. Ea ...

. * Tomlin, Lily, and Jane Wagner. ''And That's the Truth.'' United States: Universal Music Enterprises, 2003. Recorded live at The Ice House, Pasadena, March 1976. Audio book. * Tomlin, Lily, and Jane Wagner. ''The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe.'' Tarzana, Calif.: Laugh.com, 2005. 1992 HBO television film. A film adaptation of the Broadway play by Jane Wagner. * Wagner, Jane, Marilyn French, and Lily Tomlin. ''The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe.'' New York, NY: ItBooks, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2012. Reprint. Originally published: New York : Harper & Row, 1986. Based on the Broadway play written by Wagner starring Lily Tomlin. Includes an Afterword by Marilyn French and Reflections by Lily Tomlin and by Jane Wagner.

Early life and education

Career

Honors, awards and nominations

Works and publications

References

External links