Gail Edwards
Gail Edwards | |
|---|---|
 Edwards in 2017 | |
| Born | Gail June Edwards September 27, 1952 |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1973–1994 |
| Spouse | Robert Decker (1986–present) |
| Website | gailedwards |
Gail June Edwards (born September 27, 1952) is a retired American actress. She is known for her roles as Dot Higgins in ABC's It's a Living, Sharon LeMeure in NBC's Blossom, and Vicky Larson in ABC's Full House.
Early life
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 in The Women at the Coconut Grove Playhouse where famed theatre producer-playwright George Abbott came backstage to single out her performance.[1] This appearance became her launching pad for numerous industrial films and local television commercials in South Florida.
Career
In 1975, after graduating from the University of Miami cum laude, Edwards wrote, produced, and starred in the off-Broadway musical Becoming.[2] 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 canceled 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 a relationship 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.[3]
Edwards concluded her roles on Full House (with Vicky Larson having a mutual breakup with Danny Tanner) and Blossom in the spring of 1994. She retired from show business at that time and moved to the Southwest.
Retirement
Edwards has used her celebrity to support/participate in many charities – one of which is performing for the Veterans Administration playing her Ukulele that she learned just for this purpose. While in Miami, Edwards had an impromptu visit with Romero Britto who generously painted her beloved ukulele,[4] for which she thanked him in song via YouTube. [5]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Lou Grant | Karen | Episode: "Hooker" |
| 1978 | Taxi | Denise | Episode: "Men Are Such Beasts" |
| 1978 | Danny Thomas: Young & Foolish | Gail | CBS movie |
| 1979 | Barnaby Jones | Karen Webster | Episode: "Girl on the Road" |
| 1979 | Starting Fresh | Gale | CBS movie |
| 1979 | The Last Resort | Beverly | Episode: "Here Comes the Bride" |
| 1979 | Working Stiffs | Sandy | Episode: "Looking for Mr. Goodwrench" |
| 1980 | When the Whistle Blows | Jolene Jennings | Episode: "Love Is a Four-Letter Word" |
| 1980 | Blinded by the Light | Zora | CBS movie |
| 1980 | Happy Days | Loretta | Episode: "A Potsie Is Born" |
| 1980–82 1985–89 |
It's a Living/ Making a Living |
Dot Higgins | ABC/ Syndication |
| 1980 | Celebrity Family Feud | Herself | "It's a Living vs. Dallas" |
| 1981 | M*A*S*H | Marina Ryan | Episodes: Parts 1 & 2 "That's Show Biz" |
| 1983 | Buffalo Bill | Reporter | Episode: "The Interview" |
| 1983 | Get Crazy | Willy Loman | Film |
| 1983 | Jennifer Slept Here | Pam Wilson | Episode: "The Tutor Who Came to Dinner" |
| 1983 | Knight Rider | Flannery Roe | Episode: "Nobody Does It Better" |
| 1984 | Benson | Linda | Episode: "Double Date" |
| 1984 | Brothers | Liza | Episode: "Liza" |
| 1985 | Three's a Crowd | Dorothy | Episode: "A Friend in Deed" |
| 1985 | Amazing Stories | Joleen | Episode: "Ghost Train" |
| 1985 | J.O.E. and the Colonel • Humanoid Defender | Dr. Lena Gant | ABC movie |
| 1986 | Tough Cookies | Diane Taylor | Episode: "Ships in the Night" |
| 1986 | You are the Jury | Maggie Henshaw | Episode: "The State of Arizona vs. Dr. Evan Blake" |
| 1986 | TV’s Bloopers & Practical Jokes | Herself | Guest Host |
| 1986 | New Love, American Style | Lucy | Episode: "Love and the End" |
| 1987 | In Self Defense | Alice Miller | NBC movie |
| 1989 | Night Court | Tracy Knight | Episode: "Attack of the Mac Snacks" |
| 1989 | Duet | Dr. Dellerton | Episode: "On the Nose" |
| 1990 | A Quiet Little Neighborhood, A Perfect Little Murder | Judy Lipton | ABC movie |
| 1990–91 | The Family Man | Hilary Kozak | 3 episodes |
| 1991–93 | Blossom | Sharon Lemure | 10 episodes |
| 1991–94 | Full House | Vicky Larson | 15 episodes |
| 1992 | Doogie Howser, M.D. | Mrs. Fukes | Episode: "The Big Sleep... Not!" |
| 1994 | Touched by an Angel | Barbara Archibald | Episode: "Manny" |
| 2004 | E! True Hollywood Story | Herself | Blossom Interview |
TV commercials
| Year | Product | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Johnson's Baby Shampoo[6] | Teenager | |
| 1978 | Bold Detergent[7] | Mother | |
| 1984 | Dr. Pepper[8] | Esmeralda | Clio Award |
| 1984 | Kodak[9] | Pitchwoman | with David Copperfield |
| 1986 | Sizzler[10] | Secretary | |
| 1988 | Canon Copiers | Executive | with Jack Klugman |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | The Women | Little Mary[11] | Coconut Grove Playhouse |
| 1973 | Cabaret | Sally Bowles | Olympia Theater (Miami) |
| 1975 | Jacques Brel | Woman 1 | Parker Playhouse |
| 1975–76 | Becoming | Woman 1 | Miami / Off-Broadway |
| 1977 | Grease | Sandy | East Coast Tour |
| 1979 | Vanities | Joanne | Drama-Logue Critic's Award |
| 1983 | The Wisdom of Eve | Eve | |
| 1985 | The Good One | Tura | Drama-Logue Critic's Award |
| 1985 | To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday | Kevin | West Coast Premiere |
| 1996 | Mame | Mame | Jerry Herman Ring Theatre (Christening) |
Awards and honors
- 1972: Award of Excellence from the American College Theatre Festival at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts[citation needed]
- 1986: Bronze Halo award for Outstanding Contribution to the Entertainment Industry from the Southern California Motion Picture Council[citation needed]
- 2001: Inducted alongside Janet Reno and Al Del Greco in the Coral Gables High School Hall of Fame.
Points of Interest
- 1974: Opened for Frank Sinatra at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach on March 24, benefiting Danny Thomas’ St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
- 1976: Backup vocalist for Sergio Franchi's U.S. tour
- 1978: Upon moving to Los Angeles, Edwards lived with former MGM contract star, Gloria DeHaven
- Being offered a role without the grueling audition process is the height of tribute in Hollywood. Six such roles: 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). As referenced by Edwards in the Fuller House Podcast.
See also
References
- ^ "Gail Edwards: "The Women" w/ Audio Commentary".
- ^ "Gail Edwards".
- ^ "The New York Times". The New York Times.
- ^ "Romero Britto paints Gail Edwards' ukulele". 26 August 2016.
- ^ "Gail Edwards thanks Romero Britto in song". 18 August 2016.
- ^ Gail Edwards appearing in Johnson's Baby Oil commercial. 16 June 2009 – via YouTube.
- ^ Bold 3 Detergent Commercial (Circa '80s). 6 May 2007 – via YouTube.
- ^ Gail Edwards appearing in Clio-Award-winning Dr. Pepper commercial. 14 June 2009 – via YouTube.
- ^ Gail Edwards appearing in Kodak commercial. 21 June 2009 – via YouTube.
- ^ Gail Edwards appearing in Sizzler commercial. 15 June 2009 – via YouTube.
- ^ Gail Edwards: "The Women" w/ Audio Commentary. 1 July 2011 – via YouTube.
External links
- Gail Edwards Acting Reel on YouTube
- Gail Edwards “Fuller House” interview - 2017 • Edwards talks: “Happy Days,” “Gary David Goldberg,” “Steven Spielberg’s, “Amazing Stories,” “Blossom,” “Full House" and more...
- Gail Edwards at IMDb
- Gail Edwards on TVGuide.com
- Gail Edwards on TV.com
