Lily Tomlin is a beloved comedy icon who has endured for decades. She has always known where the edge is and has straddled it brilliantly. Because of this, her sexuality always hovered just under America's gaydar. Never cast as the romantic leading lady, she never stirred prurient interest, on-screen or off.
Tomlin has always made casual references to her time-honored romance with writer-director Jane Wagner as if it was the most normal thing in the world, which, in fact, it is. She and Wagner share one of the longest-running professional and personal partnerships in show business. These women's highly civil union survived the stunning success of The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, which had two critically acclaimed runs on Broadway 14 years apart, and the numbing failure of Moment by Moment, a soapy drama in which Tomlin lapsed into early cougardom, chasing John Travolta down the beach at Malibu. Both were written and directed by Wagner.
Tomlin discussed Wagner more seriously in an interview with Variety, explaining how Wagner is able to clearly express Tomlin's feelings in words, something Tomlin struggles with.
For much of her career, Lily Tomlin's homosexuality was the worst-kept secret in Hollywood, since she and wife/creative partner Jane Wagner (they married on New Year's Eve of 2013) have visibly been a couple since the early 1970s. Whenever the topic was broached, Tomlin typically deflected with humor.
Lily Tomlin First Came Out to a Stranger at a Bar
In 1975, Time magazine offered her the cover if she would come out. She frankly was not interested in being typed as the gay celebrity.
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Tomlin never really, formally, stereophonically came out. She never hid anything and she never denied anything, but she never said anything specific. She referred to Jane a million times as her partner, and people interpreted that as they would.
The Dick Cavett Show Incident
One of Lily Tomlin's most legendary television appearances came during a 1972 visit to "The Dick Cavett Show." The host asked Tomlin's fellow guest, actor Chad Everett, if he owned any pets. He responded by listing his menageries, which included horses, dogs, "and a wife." Everett may have found his joke amusing, but the audience didn't, meeting his quip with just a few sporadic chuckles. However, he doubled down by describing his wife as "the most beautiful animal I own." Tomlin was taken aback.
"You own?" she blurted out. Shortly after Tomlin's abrupt exit, Everett noted that Tomlin's walk-off was "disturbing," expressing his desire that she'd return, saying, "She can't be serious." (Spoiler alert: She was.) "It was a perfectly pure act," Tomlin later told The New York Times of her spontaneous walkout. She also recalled the moment in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, insisting that when she marched off the set, she wasn't angry.
The Dick Cavett Show had a history of controversial, even combustible, moments. In one episode of the award-winning ABC show, actress Gloria Swanson (“Sunset Boulevard”) was aghast that she was sharing a stage with Janis Joplin. Lily Tomlin walked off a taping because of actor Chad Everett’s sexist comments.
Chad Everett's Response and Background
Raymon Lee Cramton (June 11, 1937 - July 24, 2012), known professionally as Chad Everett, was an American actor who appeared in more than 40 films and television series. During an appearance on The Dick Cavett Show that aired on March 31, 1972, Everett gifted a pair of panties to fellow guest Lily Tomlin.
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Everett's first notable role came in an episode of the 1960-1962 detective series Surfside 6. His first major role came a year later in the film Claudelle Inglish, and he played a deputy in the short-lived 1963 ABC Western television series The Dakotas. After appearing in a number of movies and television series in the later 1960s, he got his big break, landing the role of Dr. He appeared in numerous films and television series, including The Singing Nun, Centennial, Hagen, Airplane II: The Sequel, Star Command, and Mulholland Drive.
Everett credited his family with being a stabilizing force in his life, stating that even in the worst of times, Grant "never threatened to leave. She would tell me that she was there for me. If not for my family, I would have been in big trouble."
Controversies Surrounding Chad Everett
Beginning in 1973, actress Sheila Scott initiated court proceedings against Everett three times, claiming her son Dale (born 1973) was fathered by him. The lengthy and complicated paternity suit ended in 1984 when a California Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Everett. "From the evidence adduced, the jury concluded that Everett was not Dale's father despite the 94.67 percent probability of paternity from the HLA test"... Everett refused to take any more tests regarding paternity. He entered into a private financial settlement with Scott in 1973 but steadfastly maintained he was not Dale's father.
In 1991, Scott was sentenced to three months' probation following a guilty verdict of "harassing" Everett for 18 years, including death threats against him and his wife.
Here is a summary of the key events:
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| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Chad Everett's sexist comment on "The Dick Cavett Show" | March 31, 1972 |
| Lily Tomlin walks off "The Dick Cavett Show" in response to Everett's comment | March 31, 1972 |
| Sheila Scott initiates paternity suit against Chad Everett | 1973 |
| Court of Appeals rules in favor of Everett in paternity suit | 1984 |
| Sheila Scott sentenced for harassing Everett | 1991 |
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