''It's a Living'' (renamed for season two as ''Making a Living'') is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

television series set in a restaurant at the top of the Bonaventure Hotel in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. The show aired on ABC from October 30, 1980, until June 11, 1982. After the series was canceled by ABC, new episodes aired in

first-run syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...

from September 28, 1985, to April 8, 1989. The series was created by Stu Silver,

Dick Clair Dick Clair (November 12, 1931 – December 12, 1988) was an American television producer, actor and television and film writer, best known for the television sitcoms '' It's a Living'', '' The Facts of Life'', and ''Mama's Family''. Early life ...

and Jenna McMahon and produced by

Witt/Thomas Productions Witt/Thomas Productions is an American television and movie production company run by TV producers Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas. The company was consistently productive between its founding in 1973 and 1999, but is still active, producing a ...

, later in association with Golden West Television (1985–86) and

Lorimar-Telepictures Lorimar-Telepictures Corporation was an entertainment company established in 1985 with the merger of Lorimar Productions, Inc. and Telepictures Corporation. Headquartered at the former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (now Sony Pictures Studios) ...

(1986–89). Currently, the series is distributed by Paul Brownstein Productions and Warner Bros. Television Distribution.

Synopsis

The show follows the lives of the waitresses at the posh restaurant Above the Top, located at the top of the Bonaventure Hotel in

, California. At the helm is supervisor Nancy Beebe (

Marian Mercer Marian Ethel Mercer (November 26, 1935 – April 27, 2011) was an American actress and singer. Career Born in Akron, Ohio, Mercer was the daughter of Samuel and Nellie Mercer. She graduated from the University of Michigan, then spent several ...

), the restaurant's

maître d’ ''Maître'' (spelled ''Maitre'' according to post-1990 spelling rules) is a commonly used honorific for lawyers, judicial officers and notaries in France, Belgium, Switzerland and French-speaking parts of Canada. It is often written in its abbr ...

, who sometimes fraternizes with the girls but usually gives orders. More often than not the scheme of the week involves upsetting Nancy in some way. Adding to the chaotic working environment is a wisecracking pianist named Sonny Mann (

Paul Kreppel Paul Kreppel (born June 20, 1947) is an American actor and director. On television, he was best known as pianist Sonny Mann on the show '' It's a Living''. In his work as theater director-producer-creator, he received the 2007 Tony Award for '' J ...

), who makes rude comments to the women, Nancy included, and gets insulted in return. The kitchen is first the domain of Chef Mario (

Bert Remsen Herbert Birchell "Bert" Remsen (February 25, 1925 – April 22, 1999) was an American actor and casting director. He appeared in numerous films and television series. Biography Remsen was born in Glen Cove, New York, on Long Island, the son o ...

), then Dennis Hubner ( Earl Boen), and finally Howard Miller ( Richard Stahl), who eventually marries Nancy.

Cast

Richard Kline Richard Kline (born April 29, 1944) is an American actor and television director. His roles include Larry Dallas on the sitcom '' Three's Company'', Richie in the later seasons of '' It's a Living'' and Jeff Beznick in ''Noah Knows Best''. Early ...

also appeared as recurring character Richie, Jan's new husband, in seasons 3 through 6.

Episodes

The show's two broadcast seasons produced 27 episodes. An additional 93 episodes were produced for the syndication run, making a total of 120 episodes.

Title changes

Like many other sitcoms that aired during the 1980–81 television season, ''It's a Living'' felt the effects of the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

and

American Federation of Television and Radio Artists The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording a ...

strike that occurred in 1980. This caused the show to have an abbreviated first season of only thirteen episodes. The series was not a ratings success. For season 2 the cast was retooled extensively and the series was given a new title. Two of the five waitresses from the first season—Lois Adams and Vicki Allen, played by actresses

Susan Sullivan Susan Michaela Sullivan (born November 18, 1944) is an American actress. Sullivan is best known for her roles as Lenore Curtin Delaney on the NBC daytime soap opera '' Another World'' (1971–76), as Lois Adams on the ABC sitcom '' It's a Livin ...

and Wendy Schaal, respectively—were replaced with waitress Maggie McBurney, portrayed by actress

Louise Lasser Louise Marie Lasser (born April 11, 1939) is an American actress, television writer, and performing arts teacher and director. She is known for her portrayal of the title character on the soap opera satire ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.'' She was ...

. Airing in 1981 under the new title ''Making a Living'', this iteration did not catch on either, and the show was canceled at the end of the season. In syndication, the second season airs under the original title ''It's a Living''. Of all the cast, only Gail Edwards (Dot Higgins),

(Nancy Beebe Miller),

Barrie Youngfellow Barrie Youngfellow Freed (born Barrie Sarah Rivchun; October 22, 1946 – March 28, 2022) was an American actress. She was the wife of stage and screen actor Sam Freed. Career Youngfellow began her career in the early 1970s in a small role in a ...

(Jan Hoffmeyer Gray), and

(Sonny Mann) lasted through the show's network and syndicated runs.

Ann Jillian Ann Jillian (born Ann Jura Nauseda; January 29, 1950) is a retired American actress and singer whose career began as a child actress in 1960. She is best known for her role as the sultry Cassie Cranston on the 1980s sitcom '' It's a Living''. ...

(Cassie Cranston) appeared during the network run and the first year of syndication.

Crystal Bernard Crystal Lynn Bernard (born September 30, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for her roles as Helen Chappel-Hackett on the sitcom ''Wings'' (1990-1997), Amy on '' It's a Living'' (1985–1989), and K.C. Cunningham on ...

and Richard Stahl were on for the entire syndicated run.

Syndication

While the show was never a hit on network TV, its fortunes would later turn in 1983 when all 27 episodes went to

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

. The series began to attract a following along with surprising ratings for the reruns, which prompted the producers and Golden West Television to bring it back. Another factor in its sudden rediscovery was Ann Jillian's public disclosure that she had been diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

in 1984, the same year as the announcement of the show's revival. In 1985, the show was revived under its old name for the syndicated market. Most of the cast remained intact from the former version. A new waitress, Amy Tompkins (Crystal Bernard), arrived at the restaurant and was immediately accepted by the group. When Jillian decided to leave the show in 1986 (she had agreed to do only one season in syndication, plus she needed to continue her treatments for breast cancer), her character was written out as having married and started a family. She was replaced by Ginger St. James (Sheryl Lee Ralph). With these core cast members in place, the show continued to produce episodes for syndication until it ended in 1989. From 2000 to 2001,

TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division. Originally a spinoff of Nick at Nite consisting exclusively of classic television shows, the channel now airs a combination of recent and cl ...

aired the series occasionally for special programming blocks. In April 2018,

Logo TV Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progr ...

began to carry the series in

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair di ...

form several times a month.

Antenna TV Antenna TV is an American digital television network owned by Nexstar Media Group. The network's programming consists of classic television series, primarily sitcoms, from the 1950s to the 1990s. Antenna TV's programming and advertising operatio ...

ran the series from January 2, 2020 to August 30, 2021. The show as of September 13, 2022 airs on

Rewind TV Rewind TV is an American digital television network owned by Nexstar Media Group, and is a spinoff/sister network of Antenna TV. The network's programming consists of classic television series, primarily sitcoms, from the 1980s to the early 20 ...

Paul Kreppel and Gail Edwards at the Hollywood Show

References

External links

* * * {{cite web , url= http://gailedwards.com/living.htm , url-status= unfit , title= It's a Living , website= Gail Edwards , archive-date= Jan 18, 2013 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130118220134/http://gailedwards.com/living.htm 1980 American television series debuts 1982 American television series endings 1980s American sitcoms 1985 American television series debuts 1989 American television series endings 1980s American workplace comedy television series American Broadcasting Company original programming American television series revived after cancellation English-language television shows First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television shows set in Los Angeles Television series set in restaurants Television series by Lorimar-Telepictures