Baby boomers first encountered Lily Tomlin on Laugh-In as Ernestine the telephone operator, with her ‘40-style hair and pinched face, her hand fiddling down the top of her blouse. Ever since in her ...

Lily Tomlin doesn’t perform her Ernestine the Operator sketch too often any more. And that’s likely a good thing. The character doesn’t connect well with the kids: What’s a telephone operator? And ...