Biography
Gail Edwards was born and raised in Coral Gables, Florida. In 1975, after graduating from the University of Miami cum laude, Gail Edwards wrote, produced, and starred in the off-Broadway musical 'Becoming'. It won the Miami Herald Critics' Choice award three times before debuting in New York. While in New York, Edwards signed with the LeMond/Zetter Management Group. Soon afterward, she landed the role of Sandy opposite Peter Gallagher in an East Coast tour of the very long-running musical '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 (1974), Lou Grant (1977), M*A*S*H (1972), and Taxi (1978). 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 (1980). The series ran on ABC from 1980-82, and was revived in first-run syndication from 1985-89. 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 that show was canceled in 1982, her management was informed by the producers of Happy Days (1974) 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 (1980) when it resumed production for first-run syndication. She appeared in many movies-of-the-week during the 1980s, along with numerous other guest-star appearances in such series as Benson (1979), Buffalo Bill (1983), Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989), Knight Rider (1982), Night Court (1984), and the premiere episode of Amazing Stories (1985), directed by Steven Spielberg.
In 1990, Edwards was reunited with former Happy Days (1974) producers Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett, when she was cast as divorced mother "Hilary Kozak" on the short-lived CBS sitcom The Family Man (1990). Upon that series' cancellation in mid-1991, Edwards was asked by Miller and Boyett to join the cast of their hit ABC series Full House (1987), feeling Edwards was just right for the role of "Vicky Larson", a talk show host who strikes up a relationship with Danny Tanner. Edwards made her debut late that year, when the Larson character first appeared as a substitute host on the fictional morning show "Wake Up, San Francisco". Vicky and Danny soon embarked on a long-term relationship and were engaged by the seventh season. Edwards' co-star on 'The Family Man', Scott Weinger, was also transferred over to Full House as "Steve Hale", D.J.'s high school boyfriend. During her tenure on Full House, Edwards also had a recurring guest role on NBC's Blossom (1990) as "Sharon LeMeure", the fast-talking mother of "Six LeMeure" (best-friend of the series' titular character).
Edwards concluded her roles on Full House (1987) (with Vicky and Danny breaking up) and Blossom (1990) in 1994. She retired from show business and relocated to Sedona, Arizona. Twenty-three years later, she reprised her role as "Vicky Larson" on the reboot of "Full House" titled Fuller House (2016) for a 2017 episode reasoning that "Once an actress is always an actress". Three years later, she would reprise the role again for the series finale. In 2022, she shared warm memories of working with her leading man Bob Saget to the media, upon learning of his sudden death.
