Vapid but memorable ABC TV series from 1980. Susan Sullivan as Lois the married mom who works to stay active with younger women. Barrie Youngfellow as Jan. Middle aged mom working while going back to college. Ann Jillian as Cassie, a 30 yr old whore with a smart mouth. Gail Edwards as Dot. An air headed aspiring actress. Wendy Schaal as Vicki. Dumb and naive from a shit state. Marian Mercer as Nancy the old hostess. Paul Kreppel as Sonny the singer/pianist and Bert Remsen as Mario the chef. They all worked at a rotating restaurant called Over The Top which rotates on top of the iconic Bonadventure Hotel in LA.
They work nights as waitresses in high heels and still fraternize with each other after work and solve each other’s sex life complications, living situations, family problems, money problems, etc.
by Anonymous | reply 1 | May 30, 2023 6:53 PM |
OP thinks that life's the Riviera.
by Anonymous | reply 2 | May 30, 2023 6:55 PM |
This show is one of my guilty pleasures.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | May 30, 2023 6:56 PM |
It's A Living Theme Song
Title: "It's A Living"
By: "George Tipton and Leslie Bricusse"
Life's not the French Riviera
Believe me, Life's not a charity ball.
It isn't all a great, big bed of roses
It's not like showbiz
But the main thing I suppose is
We're not the people you envy
Believe me, We know we're doing okay
We may be less than wealthy
But better yet, We're young and healthy
And anyone who's young and healthy knows
That that's the way the traffic flows
We've no misgivings
It's a living.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | May 30, 2023 6:59 PM |
The hotel is Bonaventure not Bonadvrnture
by Anonymous | reply 5 | May 30, 2023 7:02 PM |
Here is the pilot episode season 1 ep 1 October 1980
Notice the skimpy ass swimsuit tops they wore while working with food.
by Anonymous | reply 6 | May 30, 2023 7:07 PM |
Barrie Youngfellow, along with Susan Sullivan and Pamela Sue Martin, was awarded an honorary Emmy for Best Pivot in a Credit Sequence.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | May 30, 2023 7:11 PM |
Gee ... I wonder why we've never discussed this before.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | May 30, 2023 7:13 PM |
43 years ago. There must be a fresh perspective to discuss. Oh right Datalounge.....
by Anonymous | reply 11 | May 30, 2023 7:25 PM |
R7 Blasphemy! That went and always goes to Ellen Travolta in "Makin' It".
by Anonymous | reply 12 | May 30, 2023 7:27 PM |
Forgot all about this show!!!! Used to watch it sometimes as a kid. The theme song..ha!
by Anonymous | reply 13 | May 30, 2023 7:31 PM |
R13 I know I’m gay because as a child I found this show and watched at least the first season episodes and found it fascinating. I was 7 or 8 yrs old and would pretend I was Cassie the slut.
by Anonymous | reply 14 | May 30, 2023 8:11 PM |
I loved this show
by Anonymous | reply 15 | May 30, 2023 8:58 PM |
I know my ass ain’t the French Rivera so just eat it anyway
by Anonymous | reply 16 | May 30, 2023 8:59 PM |
Ann Jillian was touted as a new sex symbol at ABC in the wake of the Suzanne Sommers fiasco that summer. She had a poster too.
by Anonymous | reply 17 | May 30, 2023 9:08 PM |
Her agent really tried to shove Ann Jillian down our throats to be the next big thing in TV throughout the 80s. I guess he and her agent thought they could make her the new Suzanne Sommers. But it really didn't work out for her. Then she vanished in the 90s - 00s.
by Anonymous | reply 18 | May 30, 2023 9:08 PM |
She filled the blonde smart bimbo role, r17/r18 ...
by Anonymous | reply 19 | May 30, 2023 9:11 PM |
Thursday night is premiere night on ABC. First an all new season of Barney Miller followed by a brand new series about five ladies trying to make it in the big city - It’s a Living.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | May 30, 2023 9:18 PM |
top 10 TV theme song
by Anonymous | reply 22 | May 30, 2023 9:21 PM |
The show tried to be funny, but it just wasn't funny enough. They needed better writers and better characters.
BTW - does every sitcom involving a restaurant have to have an 'airhead waitress' ? Bad enough we had 'Vera' on "ALICE", but must every restaurant sitcom have to use this stereotype ?
by Anonymous | reply 23 | May 30, 2023 9:22 PM |
I liked that theme song.
Do ANY sitcoms now have theme songs with words? I know Big Bang Theory did; though I hated that one. The Nanny is the only really cute one I can remember and that was decades ago.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | May 30, 2023 9:23 PM |
Young Sheldon has one though it's not written for the show. A pop song by the Blue's Clues guy that sort of fit the theme of the show
by Anonymous | reply 25 | May 30, 2023 9:35 PM |
Crystal Bernard was in this too.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | May 30, 2023 9:39 PM |
They dropped theme songs - especially those with lyrics - a long time ago, and I miss them.
Supposedly, they dropped them for two reasons:
1 - It saves production a lot of money to hire the songwriters and lyricists to write the song, and then to hire singers and musicians to perform. And saves on future royalties, too.
2 - By jumping right into the action of the show (without the opening song and credits) , it encourages people not to change the channel. If you're done watching one show, chances are you will stick with the network you're watching and not change. When they had 'opening themes' in the 'old days', it gave viewers a chance to get up and switch channels - or gran the remote and switch to another channel.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | May 30, 2023 9:42 PM |
Believe me, life’s not a charity ball.
by Anonymous | reply 28 | May 30, 2023 10:25 PM |
Someone posted a link a while back to every season’s intro…and I watched it 3-4 times in a row. Mesmerized. Why? Why did I do this?
by Anonymous | reply 29 | May 30, 2023 10:53 PM |
Because it's showtune quality, r29.
by Anonymous | reply 30 | May 30, 2023 10:55 PM |
R30: Ah, you’re right. That explains it. Thank you. It’s in my head again now.
by Anonymous | reply 31 | May 30, 2023 11:08 PM |
It’s because you’re gay
by Anonymous | reply 32 | May 30, 2023 11:30 PM |
I've been in the Bonaventure and it looks like the Death Star. It's also in a SHIT part of LA. Not glamorous at all, contrary to what you might think.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | May 30, 2023 11:33 PM |
Ann Jillian was all over the place in the 80s. She was on every fucking tv show and talk show. Nobody really knows why.
by Anonymous | reply 34 | May 30, 2023 11:35 PM |
The Landers sisters (Audrey and Judy) were also everywhere in the 80s, they were always on tv. They looked like a couple of cheap trashy whores who'd suck your dick for $10 but they were really given a big push for stardom in that decade.
by Anonymous | reply 35 | May 30, 2023 11:38 PM |
Wasn’t the show also called Making a Living?
by Anonymous | reply 36 | May 30, 2023 11:44 PM |
[quote]I've been in the Bonaventure and it looks like the Death Star. It's also in a SHIT part of LA. Not glamorous at all, contrary to what you might think.
Were you there 40 years ago, r33?
by Anonymous | reply 37 | May 30, 2023 11:45 PM |
r36 yeah I think they changed the title after a few seasons.
by Anonymous | reply 38 | May 30, 2023 11:46 PM |
The series was retooled after the first season and when the second season aired in 1981 it was under the title "Making a Living". The title was changed back to "It's a Living" in 1985 for the third season. The second season episode reruns now have this title.
by Anonymous | reply 39 | May 30, 2023 11:49 PM |
Season 2 was Making a living. They fired Susan Sullivan, Wendy Schall and hired Louise Lasser (Mary Hartman). Her addition was a mistake and the show was canceled at ABC
by Anonymous | reply 40 | May 30, 2023 11:49 PM |
[quote]Were you there 40 years ago, [R33]?
Within the last decade.
by Anonymous | reply 41 | May 30, 2023 11:55 PM |
r40 then all 27 episodes went into syndication and got great ratings so ABC brought it back.
by Anonymous | reply 42 | May 31, 2023 12:07 AM |
Yeah no shit r42.
by Anonymous | reply 43 | May 31, 2023 12:08 AM |
r43 it's a living
by Anonymous | reply 44 | May 31, 2023 12:13 AM |
Sullivan was a whopping 38 years old in 1980; I guess that makes her mom to the young 'uns.
Harding Lemay called her Another World's most popular star after George Reinholt and Jacquie Courtney.
by Anonymous | reply 45 | May 31, 2023 12:17 AM |
I love Marian Mercer.
Especially her voice.
by Anonymous | reply 46 | May 31, 2023 12:18 AM |
I was at the Bonaventure in 2016 for the Daytime Emmys.
It wasn't that bad.
(Well, the soaps sure could be better.)
They were supposed to be there again this year till the WGA strike.
by Anonymous | reply 47 | May 31, 2023 12:19 AM |
Weren’t there protests from conservative religious groups during the first season claiming the show was immoral and ‘pornographic’? Was that the reason for the second season title change?
by Anonymous | reply 48 | May 31, 2023 12:30 AM |
[quote]Weren’t there protests from conservative religious groups during the first season claiming the show was immoral and ‘pornographic’?
No
by Anonymous | reply 49 | May 31, 2023 12:34 AM |
Christ! Ann Jillian looked like one real cheap, fuckin' whore with that shitty bleach job.
I'm surprised the bitch didn't go bald by the end of the season.
"Cassie" always looked like a walking case of scorching herpes. No way I'd let anyone like that near my food.
by Anonymous | reply 50 | May 31, 2023 12:37 AM |
Weren't they all really whores and Marian Mercer was their madam? The waitressing was just a cover for what they were really doing to make a living.
by Anonymous | reply 51 | May 31, 2023 12:39 AM |
Cassie had a really low-cut outfit. Then when Ann had her mastectomy it became far more modest.
by Anonymous | reply 52 | May 31, 2023 12:40 AM |
When I was 22 in the mid 1980s I was a cocktail waitress at a restaurant / night club attached to a Holiday Inn in a suburb of Los Angeles. I have to say it was a time in my life where (for about a year anyway) everything was pretty fun and hopeful. I really had fun with all of my fellow waitresses and bartenders. Almost all of us were going to school and we were all “young and healthy.” We had fun uniforms and we all did the hair and make up and hose and heels and hot rollers. It was like getting ready “for a show” each night. Ugh - GREAT MONEY!! If I could make $$ that easily again. Anyway - It’s a Living AND the theme song always takes me back to that time.
by Anonymous | reply 53 | May 31, 2023 12:43 AM |
Loved this show in syndication as a kid on Saturday nights
by Anonymous | reply 54 | May 31, 2023 1:01 AM |
Why the hell did Barrie Youngfellow get the "And Barrie Youngfellow as 'Jan'" credit as if we knew who she was? That spot is usually reserved for celebrated or veteran actors in a secondary or limited role. With Ann Jillian, at least we knew her from "Babes in Toyland,""Gypsy" and "The Twilight Zone."
by Anonymous | reply 55 | May 31, 2023 1:24 AM |
Barrie Youngfellow must have been fucking Witt, Thomas *and* Harris. Often at the same time.
She was not cute, funny, or appealing, and her line delivery was quite wooden.
But she was someone the networks kept trying to make happen from the mid-'70s on.
by Anonymous | reply 56 | May 31, 2023 1:34 AM |
Barrie had a lot of previous credits including 3 Women.
by Anonymous | reply 57 | May 31, 2023 1:35 AM |
My favorite Barrie Youngfellow performance was Valerie (scenes deleted) in Filthy Rich.
by Anonymous | reply 58 | May 31, 2023 1:35 AM |
I know that you are going to tell me that Google is my friend - but who was the gal that played Joanie “the actress” on Eight is Enough? Barrie Youngfellow always reminded me of Joanie.
by Anonymous | reply 59 | May 31, 2023 1:56 AM |
R25 Steve is such a pocket hottie.
by Anonymous | reply 61 | May 31, 2023 2:02 AM |
That is a *STAR* pivot, r60...
by Anonymous | reply 62 | May 31, 2023 2:03 AM |
Laurie Walters played Joanie on EIE. I can see a resemblance to Barrie Youngfellow but I also got a bit of Carrie Snodgress.
by Anonymous | reply 63 | May 31, 2023 2:09 AM |
Susan Sullivan is the poor man's Jill Clayburgh.
by Anonymous | reply 64 | May 31, 2023 2:12 AM |
Gail Edwards and Wendy Schaal are the same type.
by Anonymous | reply 65 | May 31, 2023 2:13 AM |
Susan Sullivan never had a problem with bone structure.
by Anonymous | reply 66 | May 31, 2023 2:22 AM |
They really did a poor job in developing the first version of the show—multiple cases of doubling-up characters.
But Witt-Thomas(-Harris) generally committed hara-kiri that season.
It's a Living took Soap's timeslot, pushing it to Wednesdays, where it was beaten by Facts of Life. Susan Harris was distracted by the ill-fated Diana Canova show I'm a Big Girl Now, and Soap's quality went into the toilet. Robert Guillaume walked off the set of Benson in a contract dispute and almost killed it. All four shows died in the ratings.
Barrie Youngfellow was a pox on that production company.
by Anonymous | reply 67 | May 31, 2023 2:36 AM |
[quote](and) Barrie Youngfellow (as Jan) was a pox on that production company.
fixted it for you, r67.
by Anonymous | reply 68 | May 31, 2023 2:46 AM |
I loved Barrie Youngfellow as Joan Crawford in "The Scarlett O'Hara Wars," the third segment of a mini-series based on Garson Kanin's "Moviola."
by Anonymous | reply 69 | May 31, 2023 2:58 AM |
R17 r18 right!
by Anonymous | reply 70 | May 31, 2023 3:34 AM |
R17 r18 yes, they did!
by Anonymous | reply 71 | May 31, 2023 3:34 AM |
Wendy Schaal voices Francine on American Dad.
Loved It’s a Living. So glamorous. And quite funny, especially Marion Mercer ? in the hostess role. Ann Jillian was very attractive.
by Anonymous | reply 72 | May 31, 2023 3:43 AM |
[quote]Wendy Schaal voices Francine on American Dad.
Did not know that.
by Anonymous | reply 73 | May 31, 2023 3:47 AM |
Because of her voiceover work, Wendy Schaal might have ended up the wealthiest alumna of IAL.
by Anonymous | reply 74 | May 31, 2023 3:50 AM |
[quote]Because of her voiceover work, Wendy Schaal might have ended up the wealthiest alumna of IAL.
All that and having Rhoda as a stepmother, r74.
by Anonymous | reply 75 | May 31, 2023 4:02 AM |
R63 Thank you!! Laurie Walters! How did that not come up into my brain. I used to have all my good trivia at the front of my brain. …. Now I see Barrie Youngfellow is much prettier. It they could be in the same family.
by Anonymous | reply 76 | May 31, 2023 4:06 AM |
R62, it's okay. I've seen better.
by Anonymous | reply 77 | May 31, 2023 4:14 AM |
Is Ann Jillian's line in the pilot about last night getting her teeth cleaned for free meant to imply with cum?
by Anonymous | reply 78 | May 31, 2023 4:46 AM |
If it's supposed to be a chic restaurant with a pianist why are the waitresses dressed liked they are at Hooters?
by Anonymous | reply 79 | May 31, 2023 4:50 AM |
Didn't the name change from Making A Living or vise versa? Also, wasn't Louise Lasser in this at some point?
by Anonymous | reply 80 | May 31, 2023 11:11 AM |
Now I know where Virgin Atlantic gets it’s color themes from. The old bugger must’ve loved this show.
by Anonymous | reply 81 | May 31, 2023 11:40 AM |
r48 they "retooled" the show and the phrase "it's a living" seemed negative, whereas "making a living" was more of a positive statement. Similar to what happened to Facts of life where they retooled it down to just Blaire, Tootie and Natalie and added Jo. It didn't work for Making a Living and the show was cancelled. They sold all 27 episodes in syndication and it was getting big ratings. ABC brought it back as It's A Living again.
by Anonymous | reply 82 | May 31, 2023 1:57 PM |
R23 yes, better concept than execution. Like Angie, the opening credits were the best part of the show…filled with promise.
by Anonymous | reply 83 | May 31, 2023 2:17 PM |
[Quote] She was not cute, funny, or appealing, and her line delivery was quite wooden
Barrie (Barry) shitfellow. And Louise Lasser on this series stuck out like 2 warts
by Anonymous | reply 85 | May 31, 2023 6:17 PM |
R50 - I feel the same way about Bert Remsen as the cook. Yuck.
by Anonymous | reply 86 | May 31, 2023 8:16 PM |
Worst opening in sitcom history.
by Anonymous | reply 87 | May 31, 2023 8:19 PM |
Chloe Grace Moretz should do The Ann Jillian Story remake.
by Anonymous | reply 88 | May 31, 2023 8:20 PM |
^^Not
by Anonymous | reply 89 | May 31, 2023 9:41 PM |
Barrie Youngfellow reminds me how Cecil B DeMille called Gloria Swanson Young Fella.
by Anonymous | reply 90 | June 1, 2023 1:20 PM |
TV was so strange back then. This show was one of several comedies that would air first run episodes on some random UHF channel at, like, 4:30 PM on a Saturday afternoon. And these shows would go on for YEARS like that. It was a viable model. Who the hell was home to watch this stuff?
by Anonymous | reply 91 | June 1, 2023 1:33 PM |
Ann Jillian had long blonde hair in Sugar Babies.
by Anonymous | reply 92 | June 1, 2023 1:38 PM |
[quote] Ann Jillian had long blonde hair in Sugar Babies.
And then I had her canned!
by Anonymous | reply 93 | June 1, 2023 1:41 PM |
Ann Miller the stage production monster
by Anonymous | reply 94 | June 1, 2023 5:22 PM |
Theme show singers don’t get paid royalties, apparently.
I’m told Barenaked Ladies, for example, which wrote the BBT open, got paid once and that’s it.
by Anonymous | reply 95 | June 1, 2023 5:32 PM |
[quote]This show was one of several comedies that would air first run episodes on some random UHF channel at, like, 4:30 PM on a Saturday afternoon. And these shows would go on for YEARS like that. It was a viable model. Who the hell was home to watch this stuff?
You may not have noticed this, r91, but most TV stations broadcast at 4:30 on Saturday afternoons.
by Anonymous | reply 96 | June 1, 2023 5:45 PM |
I think Ann Jillian lasted in Sugar Babies for a while. The IBDb says 6 months.
by Anonymous | reply 97 | June 1, 2023 6:29 PM |
A couple of Lithuanian chicks sitting around talking...
by Anonymous | reply 98 | June 1, 2023 6:33 PM |
I thought Ann had a husband. When did she become a lesbian?
by Anonymous | reply 99 | June 1, 2023 6:42 PM |
I found a season episode where you see Louise Lasser in the opening credits. That short do does her no favors.
by Anonymous | reply 100 | June 1, 2023 7:44 PM |
Louise Lasser was only a couple of years removed from her peak-level of fame when she was on IAL and in her early 40s and looked to be in her mid-60s.
by Anonymous | reply 101 | June 1, 2023 8:39 PM |
^4 yrs. I think she was miscast for IAL
by Anonymous | reply 102 | June 1, 2023 9:19 PM |
“But then again we're young and healthy. And anyone who's young and healthy knows…”
by Anonymous | reply 103 | June 1, 2023 9:48 PM |
I loved this show
by Anonymous | reply 104 | June 1, 2023 10:45 PM |
The whole series is streaming on Freevee.
Looking at IMDB, I was surprised to see Sheryl Lee Ralph was in more episodes than Ann Jillian.
by Anonymous | reply 105 | June 1, 2023 11:50 PM |
The Season 2 dresses in R100 look like Snow White. And Louise Lasser's makeup looks like it was done by a mortician with that face whiter than the neck style.
by Anonymous | reply 106 | June 3, 2023 11:37 AM |
Season 3 intro has Ann Jillian getting top billing and her own twirl.
by Anonymous | reply 107 | June 3, 2023 5:41 PM |
The theme song was sung by Diana Lee, Edie Lehmann, Linda Harmon and Susie McCune. The song's music was by George Aliceson Tipton and the lyrics by Leslie Bricusse.
by Anonymous | reply 108 | June 3, 2023 6:40 PM |
That is kitchen salad bar always befuddled me.
by Anonymous | reply 109 | June 3, 2023 8:39 PM |
r109 that salad bar was very efficient
by Anonymous | reply 110 | June 4, 2023 11:18 AM |
Too bad Tony Thomas couldn’t get Marlo to pop by the lounge.
by Anonymous | reply 111 | June 5, 2023 3:49 PM |
Not exactly a TV theme song that tells the story..but, nonetheless very catchy
by Anonymous | reply 112 | June 5, 2023 4:47 PM |
R112 off subject. There is recent Phyllis thread that was foisted for weeks.
by Anonymous | reply 113 | June 5, 2023 6:09 PM |
When Paul Kreppel lost the perm and cut his hair short in later seasons he could get it
by Anonymous | reply 114 | June 5, 2023 8:59 PM |
R114 he’s no Bert Convy.
by Anonymous | reply 115 | June 6, 2023 3:19 AM |
Those women in the opening credits taking up the entire pavement would get cancelled today.
by Anonymous | reply 116 | June 6, 2023 5:46 PM |
Ann Jillian related - Jennifer Slept Here opening credits.
by Anonymous | reply 117 | June 8, 2023 4:40 AM |
It never occured to me until now but as a child in the 1980s, I had a real devotion to Ann Jillian. Not only did I watch It's a Living on the regular in syndicated reruns, but I also watched Jennifer Slept here for the brief time it was on the air. Add to that I was a HUGE fan of The Ann Jillian Show which aired in the late 1980s and introduced the world to the long-forgotten Lisa Rieffel who portrayed her daughter and also (briefly) replaced Kristy McNichol as the third daughter on Empty Nest.
by Anonymous | reply 118 | June 8, 2023 5:05 AM |
hi r119 I respect your Ann Jillian fandom. Please respect my Shelley Hack fandom.
by Anonymous | reply 120 | June 8, 2023 11:22 AM |
For those who might be interested....80's TV Ladies just did podcast about "It's A Living".
by Anonymous | reply 121 | August 3, 2023 12:08 AM |
And yet another 80s TV Ladies podcast about "It's A Living" -- with guest Paul Kreppel!
by Anonymous | reply 122 | August 16, 2023 7:44 PM |
OP was this show about prostitution whores?
by Anonymous | reply 123 | August 16, 2023 7:45 PM |