It's a Living (1980 TV series)
| It's a Living | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Also known as | Making a Living |
| Created by |
Stu Silver Dick Clair Jenna McMahon |
| Starring |
Barrie Youngfellow Ann Jillian Gail Edwards Crystal Bernard Louise Lasser Marian Mercer Sheryl Lee Ralph Wendy Schaal Susan Sullivan Earl Boen Paul Kreppel |
| Theme music composer | George Aliceson Tipton |
| Opening theme | "It's a Living" performed by Leslie Bricusse |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 120 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Paul Junger Witt Tony Thomas |
| Producer(s) |
Joel Zwick R.J. Colleary Marc Sotkin Gloria Banta Greg Antonacci Paul Kreppel |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Witt/Thomas Productions |
| Distributor | Golden West Television (1985–1986) Lorimar-Telepictures (1986–1989) Warner Bros. Television Distribution (1989–present) |
| Release | |
| Original network |
ABC (1980–1982) Syndication (1985–1989) |
| Original release | October 30, 1980 – April 8, 1989 |
It's a Living (also known as Making a Living) is an American sitcom set in a restaurant at the top of the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. 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 from September 28, 1985 to April 8, 1989. The series was created by Stu Silver, Dick Clair and Jenna McMahon and produced by Witt/Thomas Productions, later in association with Golden West Television (1985–86) and Lorimar-Telepictures (1986–89).
The show follows the lives of the waitresses at the posh restaurant Above the Top, located at the top of the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, California. At the helm was supervisor Nancy Beebe (Marian Mercer), the restaurant's maître d’, who sometimes fraternized with the girls but usually gave orders. More often than not the scheme of the week involved upsetting Nancy in some way because all she wanted was an orderly wait staff. Adding to the chaotic working environment was a wisecracking pianist named Sonny Mann (Paul Kreppel), who made rude comments to the women, Nancy included, and got insulted in return. The kitchen was the domain of Chef Mario (Bert Remsen), then Dennis Hubner (Earl Boen), and finally Howard Miller (Richard Stahl), who eventually married Nancy.
Like many other sitcoms that aired during the 1980–81 television season, It's a Living felt the effects of the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists strike that occurred in 1980. This caused the show to have an abbreviated first season and thus it was not a success. The series was retooled extensively, with two of the five waitresses from the first season, actresses Susan Sullivan and Wendy Schaal, who played waitresses Lois Adams and Vicki Allen, respectively, being replaced with actress Louise Lasser, who portrayed waitress Maggie McBurney. Airing in 1981 under the name Making a Living, this iteration did not catch on either, and the show was canceled after two seasons. In syndication, the second season airs under the title It's a Living.
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