It's a Living

I have always liked Amy Bernard since I loved watching Wings so much. But since it first aired on prime time in the early 1980s, it's hard not to imagine changes with cast members. Marian Mercer who plays the restaurant hostess and piano player Paul Kreppel who plays Sonny remained from the beginning to the end. There was three years between the network cancellation and it's remergence in syndication so of course there were changes to the cast. In fact, it got better as the show progressed. Sheryl Lee Ralph joined the cast as well. I'm not saying it was one of the best shows but I remember their black and white outfits, their heartaches, and triumphs on the series in both network and syndication. I miss syndicated comedies. If you're like me and you liked the show on prime time and missed it too, you'll just be happy to get it back in any form.

This was one of my favorite television shows as a teen.

It was different - in as much as it centered in on the lives of waitresses at the an upscale restaurant which I knew was the Bonneventure Hotel in Los Angeles. The ABC Network used this as a vehicle for actress Ann Jillian and casted around her red head actress Barrie Youngfellow, Gail Edwards Susan Sullivan and Wendy Schaal. Then after a season, Louise Lassiter came in and left. The program was allegedly plagued by low ratings, and went into the new medium of "first run syndication". First run syndication was the new idea that was to let folks know there was an audience for material but not as large as needed for Network TV. Network TV never thought it would last. This was one of the pioneer programs that set into motion that it could.

"It's A Living" on the ABC Network (I do remember Danny Devito from the show Taxi, as his scum bag character Louie DePama, promoting the series with platinum blonde Ann Jillian) turned into "Making a Living" for a season and then turned back into "It's A Living" for syndication to my memory.

Whether in syndication or on Network, the women came from all walks of life and wanted to become all sorts of things: actresses, artists, singers, dancers, teachers and to make money - they were waitresses.In it's syndication, the women were more career oriented and you understood that their waitressing was "just a living". The series followed them, their lives, their jobs at the "Above the Top" upscale restaurant. The waitress uniforms were designed interestingly - and they had several.

Under syndication, "It's a Living" came up with a new and younger cast with Barrie Youngfellow, Gail Edwards, Wendy Schall staying and adding what is now very familiar faces: lovely Crystal Bernard, and Sheryl Lee Ralph. In syndication, the scripts were more light hearted, funnier, a bit younger, and there was more interaction - a camaraderie lets say - between the waitresses and their lives. The Hostess, actress Marian Mercer, was a great constant between both series - she took the job very seriously and in the syndicated version was more of a "strict den mom" than in the ABC Network version more of the Hostess being a "snotty upper class twit" and letting long term waitress Barrie Youngfellow take over sometimes in the Hostess duties was nice to watch as well.

The additional comedy came from the piano player character, Sonny, who was a wonderful comic foil and gave the series its air of a "upscale restaurant" complete with live lounge-lizard singer.

I got a better understanding of being a waitress and what they go through by watching this series: waitressing didn't bring in the worst people in the world or wasn't the worst job in the world -- it's only a living.

This show was about a group of waitresses working in a restaurant in Los Angeles. It introduced me to Ann Jillian and several other actresses still working in the industry. I loved the theme song and still can remember it now. Like many of the shows I grew up with I can't find it on DVD anywhere. "Alice"(the TV show) is getting a DVD. Where are some of the others that I remember so well? "One Day at a Time" also comes to mind. I know that it was also called "Making a Living" for a season and can find all kinds of information on it. Why do they release all the crap that passes for entertainment, and don't release some of the shows that we grew up in the '80's with!

Since this is such an excellent database, I was surprised at the glaring omission of this show's initial history. "It's a Living" first ran on the ABC network for two seasons before it popped up in syndication three years later. The show always centered around the lives of the waitresses who worked at Above the Top, a posh restaurant in Los Angeles. The five original waitresses were Ann Jillian (Cassie Cranston), Barrie Youngfellow (Jan Hoffmeyer), Gail Edwards (Dot Higgins), Susan Sullivan (Lois Adams), and Wendy Schaal (Vicki Allen). At the end of the 1980-1981 season, Susan Sullivan and Wendy Schaal were gone. Louise Lasser ("Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman") was cast the next year as a new waitress named Maggie McBurney and she lasted for just that season. At this time the show was renamed "Making a Living."

When the show started its run in syndication, it was known as "It's a Living" again and much of the original cast was back. Ann Jillian left after the 1985-1986 season.

Marian Mercer, who played authoritarian supervisor Nancy Beebe, and Paul Kreppel, who played egotistical lounge pianist Sonny Mann, were with the show from the beginning and remained throughout its entire run.

Though it was never as immensely popular in its original run as it could have been, the show was light and humorous with a talented, comedic ensemble cast. I agree with the previous comment regarding Marian Mercer. She is truly an underrated comedienne and anytime she is in a scene it is 100 times funnier. Marian Mercer could read the telephone book and it would be hilarious! (Catch her in the comedy movie "9 to 5" with Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin. She has a secondary role as ditzy Missy Hart; she plays the wife of Dabney Coleman's character, Franklin Hart, the boss who makes life hell for his office staff.) Paul Kreppel was also very funny. I especially liked the sparring between the characters of Nancy and Dot, who disliked each other. Actually, all the waitresses hated Nancy, who was their supervisor, and they were always exchanging verbal barbs with her.

FYI... For you true "TV Trivia" fans, here is an update on the two waitresses who left after the first season. Susan Sullivan went on to star in the CBS prime time serial "Falcon Crest" as Maggie Gioberti for almost its entire run. More recently, she appeared on "Dharma & Greg" as Greg's mother. And let's not forget those Tylenol commercials she did! Wendy Schaal starred for one season (1981-1982) as Mr. Roarke's god-daughter, Julie, on Fantasy Island. She shared hosting duties with Tattoo, played by Herve Villechaize (who was in several Dunkin' Donuts commercials featuring mini donuts--a career highlight, I'm sure!--before he committed suicide). Julie and Tattoo were both replaced in the next and final season by Lawrence, played by Christopher Hewett, who later starred as "Mr. Belvedere" and on and on it goes...

Score: 6/10

REVIEW OF SEASONS 1-3 ONLY

There's nothing wrong with this show. It's well-written, funny, well-performed, with fully realized characters. There's nothing about it that makes it special, but there's nothing about it that is sub-par. Watching this made me remember how stale the sitcom formula had become and why shows like Seinfeld were so revolutionary (and took so long to catch fire). Nevertheless, It's a Living is a well-executed, if typical, sitcom.

Gail Edwards, Barrie Youngfellow, Marian Mercer, Paul Kreppel, and Ann Jillian are mainstays of the cast through the 3 full seasons. Ann Jillian, in particular, is fantastic as Cassie Cranston. Marian Mercer is also impeccable as the hostess/manager, Nancy Beebe. And Paul Kreppel, as Sonny Mann, is an incredible talent. Although It's a Living is a perfectly average sitcom, there is an impressive amount of talent on display.

It is unfortunate that Louise Lasser, who joined the cast in Season 2, did not remain--she was a real boost to the cast. Her comedic sensibility was perfect for the Maggie McBurney character. Though I was VERY disappointed that both Susan Sullivan AND Wendy Schaal did not return from Season 1, Louise Lasser was terrific.

In summary, It's a Living is not an outstanding, genre-defining sitcom. It's an average sitcom from the 80s. Your life will be no poorer for having never seen it; however, there's a lot here to like and if you give it a chance it will grow on you.

It's a Living, Seasons 1-3, is currently airing on Tubi. Unfortunately, they only have a handful of episodes from Season 4 and nothing from later seasons.

Score: 6/10

0-3 Don't waste your time 4-6 Good 7-9 Great 10 Outstanding.