Latest news with #TheBobNewhartShow
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Family left ‘heartbroken' after death of Loni Anderson (79)
Anderson, also remembered for her much-publicised storybook marriage to actor Burt Reynolds in 1988 and their tabloid-fixated divorce six years later, died on Sunday at a Los Angeles hospital 'following an acute prolonged illness,' her family said. 'We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother and grandmother,' the family said in a statement, adding that she was surrounded by loved ones. Anderson, a native of St Paul, Minnesota, and natural brunette who competed in local beauty pageants and got her showbiz start in community theatre, dyed her hair platinum blonde after moving to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s. A flurry of television work followed, with appearances on such prime-time series as The Bob Newhart Show, Police Story, The Incredible Hulk, The Love Boat and Three's Company. She had auditioned for the role of one of the two female lead characters, Chrissie, on Three's Company, but the part ultimately went to Suzanne Somers. Anderson's big break came soon after when she landed the co-starring role of Jennifer Marlowe on WKRP in Cincinnati, persuading the show's producers to let her play the part against the stereotype of a bubble-headed blonde. Instead, her character was written as the deceptively shrewd receptionist who refused to take dictation or fetch coffee but turns out to be the smartest person in the room, keeping the fictional Ohio radio station afloat despite the shortcomings of male bosses. The show ran for four seasons, from 1978 to 1982, on the CBS network, and earned Anderson two prime-time Emmy nominations. She also played two real-life, ill-fated sex sirens of earlier Hollywood eras in a pair of made-for-TV-movies – The Jayne Mansfield Story and The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd. In all, Anderson starred in six television series, seven feature films, 19 television movies and two mini-series during a four-decade career she chronicled in her best-selling autobiography, My Life in High Heels. She and Reynolds first met in 1981 as guests on a television talk show, began dating a year later and co-starred in the 1983 race car-themed romantic comedy film Stroker Ace. They wed in 1988, she for the third time, he for the second. Anderson is survived by her adopted son, Quinton Anderson Reynolds, and her fourth husband, Bob Flick, a member of the 1950s-60s folk-singing group the Brothers Four.
Express Tribune
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Loni Anderson dies aged 79
Actress Loni Anderson, who won acclaim for her US television sitcom role as the brainy, glamorous radio station receptionist defying workplace sexual stereotypes on WKRP in Cincinnati, died on Sunday at age 79, according to her publicist. Anderson, also remembered for her much-publicized storybook marriage to actor Burt Reynolds in 1988 and their tabloid-fixated divorce six years later, died at a Los Angeles hospital "following an acute prolonged illness," her family said. "We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother and grandmother," the family said in a statement, adding that she was surrounded by loved ones. Anderson, a native of St. Paul, Minnesota, and natural brunette who competed in local beauty pageants and got her showbiz start in community theatre, dyed her hair platinum blonde after moving to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s. A flurry of television work followed, with appearances on such prime-time series as The Bob Newhart Show, Police Story, The Incredible Hulk, The Love Boat and Three's Company. She had auditioned for the role of one of the two female lead characters, Chrissie, on Three's Company, but the part ultimately went to Suzanne Somers. Anderson's big break came soon after when she landed the co-starring role of Jennifer Marlowe on WKRP in Cincinnati, persuading the show's producers to let her play the part against the stereotype of a bubble-headed blonde. Instead, her character was written as the deceptively shrewd receptionist who refused to take dictation or fetch coffee but turns out to be the smartest person in the room, keeping the fictional Ohio radio station afloat despite the shortcomings of male bosses. The show ran four seasons, 1978-1982, on the CBS network, and earned Anderson two prime-time Emmy nominations. She also played two real-life, ill-fated sex sirens of earlier Hollywood eras in a pair of made-for-TV-films – The Jayne Mansfield Story, co-starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as her bodybuilder husband during the 1950s, and The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd, set in the 1930s. In all, Anderson starred in six television series, seven feature films, 19 television movies and two mini-series during a four-decade career she chronicled in her best-selling autobiography, My Life in High Heels. She and Reynolds first met in 1981 as guests on a television talk show, began dating a year later and co-starred in the 1983 race car-themed romantic comedy film Stroker Ace. They wed in 1988, she for the third time, he for the second. Anderson is survived by her adopted son, Quinton Anderson Reynolds, and her fourth husband, Bob Flick, a member of the 1950s-60s folk-singing group the Brothers Four. Reuters
New Straits Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
'WKRP in Cincinnati' actress Loni Anderson passes away at 79
LOS ANGELES: Actress Loni Anderson, who won acclaim for her US television sitcom role as the brainy, glamorous radio station receptionist defying workplace sexual stereotypes on "WKRP in Cincinnati," died on Sunday at age 79, according to her publicist. Anderson, also remembered for her much-publicised storybook marriage to actor Burt Reynolds in 1988 and their tabloid-fixated divorce six years later, died at a Los Angeles hospital "following an acute prolonged illness," her family said. "We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother and grandmother," the family said in a statement, adding that she was surrounded by loved ones. Anderson, a native of St. Paul, Minnesota, and natural brunette who competed in local beauty pageants and got her showbiz start in community theater, dyed her hair platinum blonde after moving to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s. A flurry of television work followed, with appearances on such prime-time series as "The Bob Newhart Show," "Police Story," "The Incredible Hulk", "The Love Boat" and "Three's Company." She had auditioned for the role of one of the two female lead characters, Chrissie, on "Three's Company," but the part ultimately went to Suzanne Somers. Anderson's big break came soon after when she landed the co-starring role of Jennifer Marlowe on "WKRP in Cincinnati," persuading the show's producers to let her play the part against the stereotype of a bubble-headed blonde. Instead, her character was written as the deceptively shrewd receptionist who refused to take dictation or fetch coffee but turns out to be the smartest person in the room, keeping the fictional Ohio radio station afloat despite the shortcomings of male bosses. The show ran four seasons, 1978-1982, on the CBS network, and earned Anderson two prime-time Emmy nominations. She also played two real-life, ill-fated sex sirens of earlier Hollywood eras in a pair of made-for-TV-movies - "The Jayne Mansfield Story," co-starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as her bodybuilder husband during the 1950s, and "The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd," set in the 1930s. In all, Anderson starred in six television series, seven feature films, 19 television movies and two mini-series during a four-decade career she chronicled in her best-selling autobiography, "My Life in High Heels." She and Reynolds first met in 1981 as guests on a television talk show, began dating a year later and co-starred in the 1983 race car-themed romantic comedy film "Stroker Ace." They wed in 1988, she for the third time, he for the second. Anderson is survived by her adopted son, Quinton Anderson Reynolds, and her fourth husband, Bob Flick, a member of the 1950s-60s folk-singing group the Brothers Four.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Beans Morocco, ‘Used Cars' and ‘Eating Raoul' Actor, Dies at 90
Beans Morocco, the comic character actor who showed up in everything from Blazing Saddles, Used Cars and Eating Raoul to episodes of Mork & Mindy, The Bob Newhart Show and Growing Pains, has died. He was 90. Morocco died May 29 in Bakersfield, California, his friend Ryan Wise told The Hollywood Reporter. For his final film, he starred as an ex-con on his own after decades in the Federal Witness Protection Program in Killing Cookie (2024), a comedy that Wise wrote and directed. More from The Hollywood Reporter Ananda Lewis, Former MTV VJ and TV Show Host, Dies at 52 Harris Yulin, Actor in 'Scarface,' 'Training Day' and 'Ozark,' Dies at 87 Elton John, Bob Dylan, John Stamos, John Cusack and More Pay Tribute to Brian Wilson: "The Maestro Has Passed" 'He was always performing — always entertaining — and he made everyone feel good,' Wise said. Going by birth name Dan Barrows until he adopted his quirky stage name in the late 1980s, the pint-sized actor also appeared in such other noteworthy films as Clint Eastwood's Any Which Way You Can (1980), Howard Storm's Once Bitten (1985), Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) and Rob Reiner's The American President (1995). After he played one of the Rock Ridge townsfolk in Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles (1974), he was a guy named Stanley Dewoski, who's lured by Kurt Russell's Rudy Russo to a lot across a dangerously busy street by a 10-dollar bill on a fishing line in Robert Zemeckis' Used Cars (1980). He then donned a kids' jumpsuit to portray a guy looking for kinky sex from Mary Woronov's character — 'I've been very bad, haven't I, Mommy? Are you going to teach me a good lesson?' — in Paul Bartel's classic Eating Raoul (1982). Daniel Ernest Barrows was born in Cincinnati on June 8, 1934. After graduating from Walnut Hills High School, he attended Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, then served in the U.S. Navy, where he became a pilot. (He would fly private planes for many years.) In San Francisco, he studied comedy acting under Del Close, who brought him into The Committee, where he performed alongside the likes of Howard Hesseman, Carl Gottlieb, Peter Bonerz and Alan Myerson. Barrows made his onscreen debut in Tom Laughlin's Billy Jack (1971) in a cast that included Myerson and Hesseman, then appeared in Michael Ritchie's The Candidate (1972) and on a 1973 first-season episode of The Bob Newhart Show, where his character needs therapy to deal with people treating him like a 'pipsqueak.' (Bonerz, of course, played an orthodontist on the sitcom.) Also in 1973, Barrows had a role in Myerson's feature directorial debut, the comedy crime film Steelyard Blues, working alongside Donald Sutherland, Jane Fonda and Peter Boyle. He participated in the Ritchie-helmed mockumentary Smile (1975) and in parody skits for Tunnel Vision (1976) and Loose Shoes (1978), then reunited with Myerson for Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (1988) and with Bonerz, now directing, for Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989). When he learned that his friend, cartoonist M.K. Brown, had created a character named Beans Morocco for National Lampoon magazine, he asked her if he could use it. By either name, he appeared on two episodes of Mork & Mindy and six of Growing Pains, and his vast TV résumé included guest spots on The Mary Tyler Moore Show; Harry O; Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman; Hesseman's WKRP in Cincinnati; Eight Is Enough; Soap; Laverne & Shirley; The Fall Guy; Matlock; Star Trek: Voyager; Murphy Brown; Clueless; and, as the world's slowest grocery bagger, Scrubs. He lived in Pine Mountain Club, California, where he performed in plays, rode his horses in parades, dressed as Santa for the kids and was elected honorary mayor. 'Unfortunately, he was quickly impeached … and convinced everyone to storm the gazebo. That was the joke he used to tell,' Wise recalled. Survivors include his wife of more than 50 years, Diane; his sister, Nancy; and his cousins, Gail and William. His son, Justin, died in March 2024 at age 37. Enjoy his work in his acting reel here. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
Los Angeles Times
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Experts break down the worst Emmy snubs of all time
After every Emmys, it's de rigueur to write about shows that were 'snubbed.' But let's put it in perspective: If 'The Bob Newhart Show' never won an Emmy, why should you? Then again, why didn't CBS' 1970s sitcom ever win an Emmy? Or 'The Wire,' for that matter? Or 'Better Call Saul,' 'New Girl,' 'Parks and Recreation,' 'My So-Called Life,' 'Better Things,' 'The Good Place,' 'BoJack Horseman' and numerous other beloved shows? In many cases, shows shut out at the Emmys have stood the test of time, if not the test of voters at the time. So why do some series — including still-eligible titles like 'NCIS,' 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' and 'Yellowstone' — fall through the cracks? It happens at the Academy Awards too, of course. 'But with the Oscars, you only have one crack at it — if something else got the momentum, there's nothing you can do,' says Jason Lynch, curator at New York's Paley Center for Media. 'For TV, theoretically, if something goes for several seasons, you get multiple cracks at it, so if a series still hasn't received any Emmys, that discrepancy is more glaring and apparent. You can't just say that was a crazy year.' 'Better Call Saul' is a vivid example. 'It went 0 for 53 nominations,' Lynch says. 'There was this drumbeat, the final season, where journalists are reminding Emmy voters, 'This is your last chance, please'' — to no avail. That's another way the Emmys differ from the Oscars, notes Irving Belateche, professor of the practice of cinematic arts at USC. 'With the Oscars, you can point to times when people finally get a kind of career award, even if it's not for that role or that film. In the Emmys, they don't do that, where they say, 'Let's finally give 'Better Call Saul' a win.' That, I don't understand.' Then again, Belateche adds, the series was up against stiff competition: ''Game of Thrones' four times and 'Succession' twice. There are so many good, popular shows you're competing against, it's not so cut and dried.' Similarly, 'The Bob Newhart Show' faced off against 'All in the Family,' 'MASH' and 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show.' Still, even strong fields can't explain away the Emmys' treatment of 'The Wire' — often listed among the greatest TV shows of all time — which not only never won in five seasons but was only nominated twice. 'And 'Parks and Recreation' is absolutely one of the top three comedies of the 21st century,' Lynch says. 'To never win a single Emmy is unfathomable.' Genre bias is another concern, Belateche says. 'That worked against some of the shows that were overlooked, like 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer.'' Although 'Buffy' did win two Creative Arts Emmys, for makeup and music composition, it was up against episodes of 'The Sopranos' and 'The West Wing' — the sort of prestige dramas that traditionally do well with voters — when it was nominated in 2000 for writing. 'Sometimes the format and the tone work against it,' says Belateche. 'Obviously that's true of 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.'' Set to premiere its 17th season in July, 'Sunny' has received only three nods for stunt coordination. 'It's super quirky and really popular among the younger crowd, like my students.' 'BoJack Horseman's' six surreal seasons likewise yielded just three nods. The nomination process itself can present a challenge. 'You're only submitting one episode,' Lynch points out. 'When we're thinking about award-worthy performances, we're thinking about entire seasons, or multiple seasons, but a voter is only watching whatever episode is submitted, which could be a great showcase for a scene or two but is not giving you all the context you need to appreciate that show. And I don't know how to fix that. To their credit, the Television Academy has tried. Every couple of years they do change the voting procedures, and sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn't.' Plus, voters may lack much time to focus on anything but their own work: 'If you ask showrunners and producers what they're watching, they say, 'I'm so busy I don't have time to watch anything.' That's a problem as well,' says Lynch. 'The other thing that we've seen, even more so the past couple of years, is that Emmy voters are often reflexively voting for whatever they voted for the previous years,' he adds. 'Something like a 'Modern Family' was winning every year. And now we're getting a lot of sweeps, which became most apparent in 2020 when 'Schitt's Creek' ran the board. It's harder for other shows to get in there when you have only a small handful of shows hoovering up all of the awards.' And if shows don't score wins early in their run, it's all the harder for them to break through later. Lynch would love to see a way for TV Academy members to vote for shows once they're clearly seen as part of the pantheon. 'It's only time that's going to give you that sense of a show's legacy. But this is a TV business; nobody's going to watch an Emmy show in 2025 that's giving away trophies to shows from 2015.' Then again, the Emmys' Governors Award has occasionally been given to shows, and the entire 'Star Trek' franchise won a Governors Award in 2018 in recognition of its lasting impact, finally celebrating that first Emmy-less series (along with six others). There may be hope for 'The Wire' yet.
