The Ann Jillian Fan Page

[ClassyCo]

Small screen icon this time. Ever since I started watching IT'S A LIVING a couple of years ago, I've grown to have a soft spot for Ann Jillian. I've done some research on her life and career, and I appreciate her more.

I like how she overcame breast cancer and she played herself in the TV movie THE ANN JILLIAN STORY in 1988, for which she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. Her other work is surprisingly sparse, by my standards anyway. She did several television movies (some of which are on YouTube and I currently have on my laptop), and she sometimes ventured into doing other sitcoms. She did JENNIFER SLEPT HERE, where she played a dead movie star stalking the house where she once lived and befriending the son of the family currently residing there. She later starred in the self-titled ANN JILLIAN, as a widow raising her 14-year-old daughter after the death of her husband. Both shows were critical and ratings failures, lasting just a couple of months before being snatched from there airways.

I just wish there was more for me "to sink my teeth into" concerning Ann Jillian and her career. I have her IT'S A LIVING episodes, and I have four of her telefilms saves on my laptop. I'll probably see if I cannot get my hands on JENNIFER SLEPT HERE and ANN JILLIAN, even those shows are gawd-awful, if only to simply have them either on my laptop.

Any fans of Ann Jillian out there?

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[ClassyCo]

This thread has been sitting out there with crickets chippering for almost three months. I know Ann Jillian might not been someone everybody would hold in their corner, but I have a little nugget set aside for her. I wish she would've stuck it out and stayed with IT'S A LIVING, but she had it in her contract that she wasn't going to do more than one season in first-run syndication. She secured top billing for that season, which is arguably the best season of the sitcom.

I just wish Jillian's filmography wasn't so slim. I guess she wasn't the most popular actress overall, whether in films or on TV, but she did have a likability quotient with audiences. Her TV movies, to the best of my understanding, were quite well-received and generated decent Nielsen ratings. I've theorized whether or not she would've been a good replacement for Delta Burke on DESIGNING WOMEN in 1991, and here recently, I've wondered how it might've worked had she been brought in to stir up trouble on FALCON CREST or one of the other night-time soaps popular in the early-to-late-'80s.

There's got to be someone here that's got something to say about Ann Jillian.

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[Crimson]

I had fondness for Ann Jillian as a kid. I liked her in MISTER MOM (as a redhead) and the sitcom IT'S A LIVING. She made a great Mae West in the TV-movie, and I've always had very specific memories of her playing a good twin/bad twin dual role in KILLER IN THE MIRROR.

I know she battled cancer in her mid-30s, but it's odd that she so thoroughly retired in 2000. To be honest, I didn't even realize she was still alive; but she's still quite lovely as of this year.

 

[DallasFanForever]

It’s weird cause I remember her being everywhere you looked in the 80s yet for some reason I don’t recall much of what she did. I think she’s definitely one of those stars that was talented yet for some reason flew under the radar mostly.

I can see her replacing Delta Burke on DW in 1991 but would it have been the same? I’d have to say no but I don’t think that would’ve been any fault of her own.

 

[ClassyCo]

I had fondness for Ann Jillian as a kid. I liked her in MISTER MOM (as a redhead) and the sitcom IT'S A LIVING. She made a great Mae West in the TV-movie, and I've always had very specific memories of her playing a good twin/bad twin dual role in KILLER IN THE MIRROR.

I know she battled cancer in her mid-30s, but it's odd that she so thoroughly retired in 2000. To be honest, I didn't even realize she was still alive; but she's still quite lovely as of this year.

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Ann did make a good Mae West in 1982 when she played her in a very good TV movie. That movie used to be online, but I haven't been able to find it in a while (I haven't look for it either). If memory serves me right, I think I watched that movie the first time without even knowing who Ann Jillian was or her claim to fame. It was during one of my Mae West kicks, and I watched the movie merely out of curiosity. It's pretty well-done, but I expected it would be in an era when TV seemed to pride themselves in making good TV movies.

(This is off the subject, but I recall reading somewhere once that Dolly Parton was originally approached to play Mae West, but those negotiations fell through.)



Ann's practically the only reason I started to watch IT'S A LIVING, and she's by far my favorite cast member. I haven't much interest in the final three seasons when Sheryl Lee Ralph was brought on to fill the gap Ann left when she left the show. It was still a decent enough show I guess, but in my mind, Ann Jillian is IT'S A LIVING and I watch that show to see her. Without Cassie in the ensemble, something just seems to be missing.

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[ClassyCo]

It’s weird cause I remember her being everywhere you looked in the 80s yet for some reason I don’t recall much of what she did. I think she’s definitely one of those stars that was talented yet for some reason flew under the radar mostly.

She seems to have had clout without anything substantial to back it up. Not even IT'S A LIVING, the role she's probably best-known for, was a big hit. ABC tried two different variations of the show, replacing Susan Sullivan as head waitress in the first season with Louise Lasser for the second season. The ratings were so low, however, that the network axed the show after 27 episodes. Even when the show was brought back in syndication in 1985 (thanks in part to the publicity Ann generated because of her cancer battle), it still never got the same exposure of shows like MAMA'S FAMILY and CHARLES IN CHARGE, which were the most successful sitcoms in syndication.​

I can see her replacing Delta Burke on DW in 1991 but would it have been the same? I’d have to say no but I don’t think that would’ve been any fault of her own.

In my head, a perfect re-cast for Delta Burke would've been Ann Jillian. I've often defended the decision of Julia Duffy being brought in for Season 6, but I think it would've worked better had Ann been allowed to tackle the role. Had Ann been brought on instead of Duffy, I think it might've urged the writers to make Allison (the character) more likeable to the audience. And then perhaps DESIGNING WOMEN wouldn't have needed another re-cast for Season 7 and it might've sustained its popularity and lasted a season or so longer than it did.​

 

[Daniel Avery]

Dredging up this thread just to post an update of sorts.....

You ever notice how much more enjoyable an interview can be when the interviewer is a genuine fan?