Continued, The Midnight Show
To: DL Walker—Director of Features
From: Madeline Cohen
Subject: Pitch—What Really Happened to Lillian Martin
DL,
I’ve got a longer feature pitch for you—maybe even a cover story (?).
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Midnight Show breakout star Lillian Martin’s death.
She was the gold standard in sketch comedy, a guiding light for entire generations of female comedians, and yet nearly every TMS history/documentary/op-ed out there casts Martin’s story in shadow, reducing her legacy to her tragic demise instead of her obvious talent.
Consider the primary source on this subject:
Perhaps the greatest contribution Lillian Martin made to The Midnight Show (however taboo it may be to suggest) is the air of danger and mystique her shatteringly short stint lent to the institution early on: a coupling of cutting-edge comedy with a sense of living on the edge.
—Philip Horton,
It Started at Midnight: A TMS History
As a conflicted TMS fan, I hope to tell a more complicated story.
This piece would consider Lillian’s life and legacy in the context of an industry that categorizes, commodifies, dismisses, and discards funny women—both at that time and pervasively today—and ultimately, how the comedy world contributed to her fall.
Feels like it could be timely. Let me know what you think.
All best,
Madeline
Culture Writer
Rolling Stone