Lily Tomlin in New Jersey

From an article on Lily Tomlin's appearance next Sunday in Harvey Cedars, NJ:

"Since 2002, Tomlin has had a recurring role as the president's sometimes eccentric but dynamic executive secretary, Deborah Fiderer, on NBC's "The West Wing."
A dedicated fan of the series since it began in 1999, Tomlin said she lobbied the show's creator, Aaron Sorkin, for a role.
"I adored the show, I said, this is a great show, I want to be on this show," she said.
Tomlin said Fiderer is one character she can't take credit for creating.
"Certainly, Aaron wrote a real interesting character to begin with," Tomlin said, noting that while Fiderer had a distinguished professional resume, she was also prone to odd career choices like alpaca farming and professional gambling.
As a semi-regular in the series, Tomlin was contracted to appear in 10 episodes per season since the September 2002 arrival of the character. However, with President Bartlet's second term coming to a close, Tomlin said she expects to appear in about half as many shows in the upcoming seventh season."