Gail Edwards
Gail June Edwards | |
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![]() Edwards in Key Largo · 2003 | |
Born |
Gail June Edwards September 27, 1952 Coral Gables, Florida |
Residence | Sedona, Arizona, U.S. and Miami, Florida, U.S. |
Occupation | Actress, Singer-songwriter |
Years active | 1973-1994 |
Known for | Appearing in situation comedies throughout the 1980s and 1990s |
Spouse(s) | Robert Decker |
Parent(s) | Dr. and Mrs. Robert V. Edwards |
Gail June Edwards (born September 27, 1952) is a retired American actress best known for her roles as Dot Higgins in ABC's It's a Living,[1] Sharon LeMeure in NBC's Blossom, and Vicky Larson in ABC's Full House.
Early life and career
Edwards, a native Floridian, was raised in Coral Gables and caught the performing bug early in life. She had her father hang the curtain and lights while she choreographed, costumed, and starred in her own neighborhood musicals. In the sixth grade, Edwards played Little Mary on YouTube in The Women at the Coconut Grove Playhouse where famed theater producer-playwright George Abbott came backstage to single out her performance. This appearance became her launching pad for numerous industrial films and local television commercials in South Florida.
In 1975, after graduating from the University of Miami, Cum Laude, Edwards wrote, produced, and starred in the off-Broadway musical Becoming. It won the Miami Herald Critics’ Choice award three times before the musical debuted in New York. While in New York, Edwards signed with the LeMond/Zetter Management Group. Soon afterwards, she landed the role of “Sandy” opposite Peter Gallagher in Broadway's East Coast tour of Grease. After producing and starring in two additional productions, The Good One and Vanities, both earning her the Drama-Logue Critics' Award, Edwards turned her focus toward television.
Upon moving to Los Angeles in 1976, Edwards signed with the Ro Diamond Agency (later with the Gersh Agency) and immediately began landing guest-star roles on such television series as Happy Days, Lou Grant, M*A*S*H and Taxi.
In 1979, Edwards auditioned for a Witt/Thomas production, in which she landed the role of Dot Higgins on ABC’s It’s a Living. The series ran on ABC from 1980 to 1982, and was revived in first-run syndication from 1985 to 1989. Edwards, along with Barrie Youngfellow, Paul Kreppel and the late Marian Mercer, were the only four members of the It's a Living cast who lasted during the network and syndicated runs. After ABC cancelled the show in 1982, Edwards' management was informed by the producers of Happy Days that they were offering her the role of new character K.C. Cunningham, the niece of Howard and Marion Cunningham who was moving in with the family. Without informing Edwards of the offer, her management declined the opportunity, reportedly stating that they did not want Edwards "playing a new character on an old show". Crystal Bernard was then hired for the part. Edwards did not learn of the incident until many years later. In 1985, Edwards and Bernard wound up as co-stars on It's a Living, when the latter resumed production for first-run syndication.
Edwards also appeared in many movies-of-the-week during the 1980s, along with numerous other guest-star appearances in such series as Benson, Buffalo Bill, Doogie Howser, M.D., Knight Rider, Night Court and the premiere episode of Amazing Stories, directed by Steven Spielberg.
In 1990, Edwards was reunited with former Happy Days producers Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett, when she was cast as divorced mother Hilary Kozak on their single-season CBS sitcom The Family Man. Upon the series' cancellation in the summer of 1991, Edwards was asked by Miller and Boyett to join the cast of their hit ABC series Full House. They felt Edwards was right for the role of Vicky Larson, a talk show host who strikes up an affair with Danny Tanner. Edwards made her Full House debut late that year, when the Vicky character first appeared as a substitute host for Rebecca Donaldson, who was on maternity leave, on (the fictional) Wake Up, San Francisco. Vicky and Danny soon embark on a long-term relationship, and are engaged in the show's seventh season. Edwards' co-star on The Family Man, Scott Weinger, was transferred over to Full House along with her, playing Steve Hale, the high school boyfriend of D.J. Tanner.
During her tenure on Full House, Edwards also had the recurring guest role of Sharon LeMeure, the fast-talking mother of Six on NBC’s Blossom. Edwards' work on Blossom reunited her with former It's a Living producers Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas, who produced both series.
Edwards concluded her roles on Full House (with Vicky Larson having a mutual break-up with Danny Tanner) and Blossom in the spring of 1994. She retired from show business at that time and moved to the Southwest.
Filmography
Television / Film Appearances - Alphabetized | ||||
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Title | Director | Role | Airing | Year |
A Quiet Little Neighborhood, A Perfect Little Murder | Anson Williams | Judy Lipton | MOW - ABC | 1990 |
Amazing Stories | Steven Spielberg | Joleen | NBC | 1985 |
Barnaby Jones | Kenneth C. Gilbert | Karen Webster | CBS | 1979 |
Benson | Gilbert Moses | Linda | NBC | 1984 |
Big Brother Jake | Gary Shimokawa | Suzie | Family Channel | 1990 |
Blinded by the Light | John A. Alonzo | Zora | MOW - CBS | 1980 |
Blossom | Bill Bixby, Ted Wass | Sharon Lemure | NBC | 1991 – 1993 |
Brothers | Gary Nardino | Liza | Showtime | 1984 |
Buffalo Bill | Tom Patchett | Reporter | NBC | 1983 |
Danny Thomas: Young & Foolish | Buddy Bregman | Gail | CBS | 1978 |
Doogie Howser, M.D. | Stephen Cragg | Mrs. Fukes | ABC | 1992 |
Duet | Lee Shallat-Chemel | Dr. Dellerton | FOX | 1989 |
Full House | Joel Zwick | Vicky Larson | ABC | 1991 – 1994 |
Get Crazy | Allan Arkush | Willy Loman | Film | 1983 |
Happy Days | Jerry Paris | Loretta | ABC | 1980 |
In Self Defense | Bruce Seth Green | Alice Miller | MOV - NBC | 1987 |
It's a Living / Making a Living | J.D. Lobue, John Bowab, Jay Sandrich | Dot Higgins | ABC - Syndication | 1980 – 1982 / 1985 – 1989 |
J.O.E. and the Colonel • Humanoid Defender | Ron Satlof | Dr. Lena Gant | MOV - ABC | 1985 |
Jennifer Slept Here | John Bowab | Pam Wilson | NBC | 1983 |
Just Married | Bill Foster | Linda Altobello | Pilot - NBC | 1985 |
Knight Rider | Robert Foster | Flannery Roe | NBC | 1983 |
Lou Grant | Alexander Singer | Karen | CBS | 1977 |
M*A*S*H | Charles S. Dubin | Marina Ryan | CBS | 1981 |
New Love, American Style | Lee Bernhardi | Lucy | ABC | 1986 |
Night Court | Jim Drake | Tracy Knight | NBC | 1989 |
Starting Fresh | Bob Claver | Gale | CBS | 1979 |
Taxi | James Burrows | Denise | ABC | 1978 |
The Family Man | Richard Correll | Hilary Kozak | CBS | 1990 – 1991 |
The Last Resort | Asaad Kelada | Beverly | CBS | 1979 |
Three's a Crowd | Lee Shallat-Chemel | Dorothy | ABC | 1985 |
Touched by an Angel | Tim Van Patten | Barbara Archibald | CBS | 1994 |
Tough Cookies | Paul Krasny | Diane Taylor | NBC | 1986 |
When the Whistle Blows | Edward Parone | Jolene Jennings | ABC | 1980 |
Working Stiffs | Norman Abbott | Sandy | CBS | 1979 |
You are the Jury | Burt Brinckerhoff | Maggie Henshaw | NBC | 1986 |
Television Commercials - Alphabetized | ||||
Title | Appearing with | Role | Year | Notes |
Bold Detergent | Solo | Mother | 1978 | |
Canon Copiers | Jack Klugman | Executive | 1988 | |
Dr. Pepper | Chuck McCann | Esmeralda | 1984 | Clio Award |
Johnson's Baby Shampoo | Solo | Teenager | 1976 | |
Kodak | David Copperfield | Pitchwoman | 1984 | |
Sizzler | N/A | Secretary | 1986 | |
Theatre - Alphabetized | ||||
Title | Appearing with | Role | Year | Notes |
Becoming | Anne Sward | Woman 1 | 1975 – 1976 | Miami / Off-Broadway |
Cabaret | Mercedes McCambridge | Sally Bowles | 1973 | Gusman Center |
Grease | Peter Gallagher | Sandy | 1977 | East Coast Tour |
Jacques Brel | Robert J. Lowery | Woman 1 | 1975 | Parker Playhouse |
Mame | Numerous UM performers | Mame | 1996 | Jerry Herman Ring Theatre (Christening) |
The Good One | Penny Peyser | Tura | 1985 | Drama-Logue Critic's Award |
The Wisdom of Eve | Various | Eve | 1983 | In Memory of Dalton Cathey |
The Women | Toby Wing | Little Mary | 1963 | Coconut Grove Playhouse |
To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday | Various | Kevin | 1985 | West Coast Premiere |
Vanities | Annie Potts | Joanne | 1979 | Drama-Logue Critic's Award |
Herself - Alphabetized | ||||
Title | Notes | |||
Celebrity Family Feud | It’s a Living vs. Dallas | |||
E! True Hollywood Story | Blossom biography interview | |||
The John Davidson Show | It's a Living cast interview | |||
TV’s Bloopers & Practical Jokes | Guest Host |
Other points of interest / awards
- Being offered a role without the grueling audition process is the height of tribute in Hollywood. Six such roles included: Anson Williams (A Perfect Little Murder), Steven Spielberg (Amazing Stories), Gary David Goldberg (Family Ties), Don Reo (Blossom), Martha Williamson (Touched by an Angel) and Jerry Herman (Mame)
- Award of Excellence from the American College Theatre Festival at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1972
- Opened for Frank Sinatra at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach on March 24, 1974 benefiting Danny Thomas’ St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
- Backup vocalist for Sergio Franchi’s 1976 US tour
- Upon moving to Los Angeles, Edwards lived with former MGM contract star, Gloria DeHaven from 1977 through 1979
- Bronze Halo award for Outstanding Contribution to the Entertainment Industry from the Southern California Motion Picture Council in 1986
- Inducted alongside Janet Reno and Al Del Greco in the Coral Gables High School Hall of Fame on March 1, 2001
See also
References
- ↑ "The New York Times". The New York Times.
External links
- Gail Edwards Acting Reel on YouTube
- Gail Edwards at the Internet Movie Database
- Gail Edwards at TVGuide.com
- Gail Edwards at TV.com
- Gail Edwards at iTunes
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