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MARIAN MERCER  In this photo of the cast of "It's A Living," Marian Mercer is second from the left and Ann Jillian is just to the right of her. |
A co-star and friend says
farewell to Marian Mercer
By ANN JILLIAN
of TheColumnists.com
IT was such sad
news on what was an otherwise beautiful day: Actress Marian Mercer
had passed away.
Marian Mercer was a consummate professional, and I had the pleasure
of working with her in the 1980's series, "It's A Living".
Watching her in action was a delight. She was always on time,
knew her lines (breathing life and her own unique brand of humor
into them), focused, graceful, and wonderfully talented. Everyone
loved her, she was the stable anchor in a "series arena"
that can commonly be fraught with backstage politics. Having
a sense of strong stage discipline, she was simply too experienced,
mature and dignified to ever get involved with any nonsense.
Marian came to television from Broadway where she had won a Tony award for her role in "Promises, Promises" and had starred opposite Sammy Davis, Jr. in the 1978 revival of "Stop the World! I Want To Get Off!"
In "It's A Living," which ran on ABC from 1989-82 and then went into first-run syndication from 1985-89, Marian played Nancy, the supervisor of waitresses at a posh restaurant. I played Cassie, the "brassy" waitress. I loved Marian's delivery of a good line. She'd always make it the best it could be, and sometimes even better. Every script was customarily read around a large table with writers, producers, directors, etc. before we would "put it on its feet" on the set. I found myself waiting to hear what she was going to do with her lines, and she never disappointed. Marian's love of her craft was evident.
There were opportunities during our breaks to chat about anything and everything and one time the subject was our "at-home" activities. I remember she was in the process of decorating her home and was totally in love with the color she had just chosen, celadon, a pale green hue that appealed to her because of its soothing, calming effect, which surprised me because I thought she was always calm already. If she was concerned over something, she didn't bring it to work. If love of her craft was obvious, it could only be outdone by her love of home, family and friends.
Marian died at home in Newbury Park on April 27 from complications of Alzheimer's Disease. She was 75. She was living with her husband, Patrick Hogan.
It is with sorrow that I say goodbye to a talented, beautiful, gracious lady that blessed my life for the short time I knew her. The entertainment industry has lost a superbly gifted member.
I add my deepest sympathy to Marion's family.
You are in our hearts and will be greatly missed, Marian.
©2011 by Ann Jillian Murcia. The cast photo is courtesy of ABC. This column first posted Jan. 9, 2011.
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