This year’s AARP The Magazine’s Movies for Grownups Awards career achievement award goes to Lily Tomlin. The AARP’s annual Best Movies and TV for Grownups ceremony will celebrate the 82-year-old actress, comedian, and star of “Grace and Frankie” and “9 to 5”, the group said Wednesday. Alan Cumming will host the 20th-anniversary virtual event, which will air on PBS’ “Great Performances” on March 18th.
In a statement, AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins said, “We are thrilled to award Lily Tomlin, a pioneer whose six-decade career as an actress, comedian, writer, and advocate continues to break through boundaries today.” “She continues to shatter obsolete assumptions in her current role on ‘Grace and Frankie,’ in which she portrays issues of aging with respect, originality, and comedy.”
Tomlin responded with the catchphrase of her child sketch character from TV’s “Laugh-In,” Edith Ann. “The world has a scarcity of adults. I am happy to be one of them. I feel myself to be not only an adult, but also mature for my age, and that is the truthhhhh!” In a statement, Tomlin stated. The AARP’s Movies for Grownups program promotes movies that appeal to those aged 50 and up, while also fighting ageism in the entertainment industry.
Tomlin, whose credits include “Nashville,” “Short Cuts,” and “The West Wing,” has won six Emmys, two Tonys, a Grammy, and a Screen Actors Guild lifetime achievement award. Michael Douglas, Shirley MacLaine, Morgan Freeman, George Clooney, Annette Bening, Helen Mirren, and Susan Sarandon are among the previous winners of the prize.
