Arts & Entertainment
Lily Tomlin to be honored with foot and handprint ceremony at Chinese Theatre
A bona fide LGBTQ icon is soon to join the ranks of some of the greatest stars in the history of Hollywood by having her hand and footprints imprinted in the world-famous courtyard of the TCL Chinese Theatre.
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) announced last week that it will honor veteran acress and comedian Lily Tomlin with a hand and footprint ceremony at the landmark movie house during the network’s upcoming TCM Classic Film Festival. The Tony, Grammy, eight-time Emmy and two-time Peabody Award winner will be honored on Friday, April 7.
The hand-and-footprint tradition began in 1927, when then-owner Sid Grauman honored stars Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford at the first ever ceremony. Since then, though the theater has changed owners, the ceremonies have continued, and the forecourt outside the main entrance has long been one of Hollywood’s most-visited spots for fans looking to stand in the footprints of their favorite stars.
TCM began holding ceremonies at the theatre in 2011, honoring actor Peter O’Toole during their second annual Classic Film Festival. They have honored a different Hollywood legend each consecutive year since then, including Kim Novak, Jane Fonda, Cicely Tyson, and Billy Crystal.
Tomlin will be the tenth star to be honored by the network.
Ben Mankiewicz, TCM’s primetime anchor and official host of the TCM Classic Film Festival, had this to say about the actress:
“Lily Tomlin’s talent has endured for fifty years because she knows who she is. She’s managed to play broadly drawn roles alongside more nuanced characters without a hint of falseness. Not long ago, Tomlin told The New York Times, ‘I wanted people to see the characters as human beings. And see themselves in them, too.’ The humanity she finds in the women she plays has enabled her to transition, seemingly with ease, from groundbreaking work on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” to four Emmy nominations for “Grace and Frankie,”where she co-stars alongside another seminal artist, Jane Fonda. There’s a consistent richness to her work, in comedy and drama, as well as on stage in her innovative one-woman show, “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe,”and on the big screen. Whether your favorite Lily Tomlin performance is “The Late Show,”or “9 to 5,” or “Nashville” …wait, I’m not done… or “All of Me,” “Flirting with Disaster,” “I Heart Huckabees,”or “A Prairie Home Companion,”you know all of those pictures were made more memorable because Lily Tomlin was among the cast. It’s hard to imagine a more deserving artist to have her hand and footprints cemented outside Hollywood’s signature classic movie house.”
In addition to her decades-long career as a performer, Tomlin has long been a respected and visible member of the LGBTQ community, as many LGBTQ media outlets, like LGBTQ Nation, have been quick to point out. She has been with her partner, film producer and writer Jane Wagner for nearly fifty years (the couple married in 2013), and they are staunch advocates and activists for LGBTQ rights and other causes. They are both benefactors of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. In December, the actress was arrested at “Grace and Frankie” co-star Fonda’s weekly “Fire Drill Fridays” climate change protest in Washington, D.C.
The 2020 TCM Classic Film Festival takes place Thursday, April 16 – Sunday, April 19, 2020. It will feature an extensive lineup of classic movies, appearances by legendary stars and filmmakers, presentations and panel discussions, special events and more.
For more information and tickets visit the TCM website.
History
Julius’ Bar ‘sip-in’ laid groundwork for Stonewall
Tuesday marked 60 years since four gay activists held protest
While Stonewall is widely considered the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ rights movement in the U.S., a lesser-known protest inside a Greenwich Village bar three years earlier helped lay critical groundwork for what would follow.
Tuesday marked 60 years since the Julius’ Bar “sip in.”
On April 21, 1966, four gay rights activists — Dick Leitsch, Craig Rodwell, John Timmons, and later Randy Wicker — walked into Julius’ Bar and staged what would become known as a “sip-in” to challenge state liquor regulations on serving alcoholic beverages to gay men — with a drink.
Modeled after the sit-ins that challenged racial segregation across the American South, the protest was designed to confront discriminatory practices targeting LGBTQ patrons in public spaces.
At the time, the Mattachine Society — one of the country’s earliest gay rights groups — was actively pushing back against policies enforced by the New York State Liquor Authority. One of those policies could have resulted in the loss of liquor licenses for serving known or suspected gay men and lesbians. The participants had visited multiple establishments, openly identified themselves as homosexual, and requested a drink — with the anticipation of being denied.
Their final stop was Julius’, where reporters and a photographer had gathered to document the moment. When Leitsch declared their identity, the bartender covered their glasses and refused service, reportedly saying, “I think it’s against the law.” The next day, the New York Times ran a story with the headline, “3 Deviates Invite Exclusion by Bars,” cementing the moment in the public record.
Though initially framed with disrespect — the term “sip-in” itself was coined as a play on civil rights protests — the action marked a turning point. It brought national attention to the systemic discrimination LGBTQ people faced and helped catalyze changes in how liquor laws were enforced. In the years that followed, the protest contributed to the emergence of licensed, more openly gay-friendly bars, which became central social and organizing spaces for LGBTQ communities.
The Washington Blade originally covered when the bar was officially added to the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
Today, historians and advocates increasingly recognize the “sip-in” as a key pre-Stonewall milestone. According to the New York City LGBTQ Historic Sites Project, the protest not only increased visibility of the early LGBTQ rights movement but also exposed widespread surveillance and entrapment tactics used against the community.
Marking the 60th anniversary of the event, commemorations have taken place in New York and across the country. Reflecting on its enduring legacy, Amanda Davis, executive director of the NYC LGBTQ Historic Sites Project, spoke about the event.
“Julius’ Bar is a place you can visit and viscerally connect with history,” said Davis. “We’re thrilled to have solidarity locations across the country join us in commemorating the ‘sip-in’’s 60th anniversary and the queer community’s First Amendment right to peaceably assemble.”
For current stewards of the historic bar, the responsibility of preserving that legacy remains front of mind.
“It’s a privilege and a responsibility to be the steward of a place so important to American and LGBTQ history,” said current owner of Julius’ Bar, Helen Buford. “The events of the 1966 Sip-In here at Julius’ resonated across the country and inspired countless others to stand proud for their rights.”
The timing couldn’t have come at a more important moment, Kymn Goldstein, executive director of the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives, explained.
“At a time when our community faces renewed challenges, coming together in resilience and solidarity reminds us of the power in our collective resistance,” Goldstein said.
The American Civil Liberties Union, an organization dedicated to defending rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution, is currently tracking 519 anti-LGBTQ bills across the U.S. The majority are targeted at restricting transgender rights — particularly related to gender-affirming care, sports participation, and the use of public bathrooms.
Some additional groups and bars that held their own “sip-in” as solidarity events to uplift this historic milestone are from across the country include:
Alice Austen House at Steiny’s Pub, Staten Island, N.Y.
Bellows Falls Pride Committee at PK’s Irish Pub, Bellows Falls, Vt.
Brick Road Coffee, Mesa, Ariz.
Brick Road Coffee, Tempe, Ariz.
Dick Leitsch’s Family at Old Louisville Brewery, Louisville, Ky.
The Faerie Playhouse & LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana at Le Cabaret, New Orleans
Harlem Pride & John Reddick at L’Artista Italian Kitchen & Bar, New York
JOYR!DE KiKi at Loafers Cocktail Bar, New York
Matthew Lawrence & Jason Tranchida / Headmaster at Deadbeats Bar, Providence, R.I.
Mazer Lesbian Archives at Alana’s Coffee, Los Angeles
New Hope Celebrates at The Club Room, New Hope, Pa.
Queer Memory Project at the University of Evansville Multicultural Student Commons / Ridgway University Center, Evansville, Ind.
Sandy Jack’s Bar, Brooklyn, N.Y.
St. Louis LGBT History Project at Just John Club, St. Louis
The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch was held at Salamander Washington DC on Sunday, April 19. Gov. Andy Beshear (D-Ky.) was presented with the Allyship Award.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The umbrella LGBTQ sports organization Team D.C. held its annual Night of Champions Gala at the Georgetown Marriott on Saturday, April 18. Team D.C. presented scholarships to local student athletes and presented awards to Adam Peck, Manuel Montelongo (a.k.a. Mari Con Carne), Dr. Sara Varghai, Dan Martin and the Centaur Motorcycle Club. Sean Bartel was posthumously honored with the Most Valuable Person Award.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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