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NZ Herald
04-08-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Loni Anderson, star of ‘WKRP in Cincinnati' who married Burt Reynolds, dies at 79
The show, which aired on CBS from 1978 to 1982, was about an easy-listening local radio station in Cincinnati that switched to a rock format. Her role earned her three Golden Globe nominations as well as two Emmy Award nominations. She later appeared in two episodes of a sequel, The New WKRP in Cincinnati, which aired from 1991 to 1993. Anderson's seemingly ditsy, bombshell character was anything but, and her performance as Jennifer showed that looks and smarts could go together. 'I was against being like a blonde window dressing person, so I made my feelings known,' she said on Australian television in 2017. 'And as we know, Jennifer was the smartest person in the room.' 'She just turned into a great groundbreaking kind of character for women to be glamorous and smart,' Anderson added. Her trademark blond locks were not her natural hair colour, and she initially had conflicted feelings about them. Anderson had been a brunette for most of her life, including during her early acting career, and worried that she would not be taken seriously as an actress if she dyed her hair. 'I was very much on the fence about it,' she said in the interview. She entered into a relationship with actor Burt Reynolds, who would become her third husband, in 1982 when they were filming Stroker Ace, a comedy surrounding car racing. Anderson played a 'rather sweet, Marilyn Monroe-like turn as a virginal public relations woman' who was the love interest of Reynolds' character, according to The New York Times' review of the film. The couple married in 1988 and adopted a son, Quinton Reynolds. The union ended in 1993, in one of the most acrimonious splits Hollywood had seen, and one that would serve as tabloid filler for decades to come, with both Reynolds and Anderson jabbing at each other over the years in interviews. In 2015, the gossip website TMZ reported that Reynolds had finally paid off his settlement to Anderson. 'It was one of the longest and nastiest divorces in Hollywood history,' the website wrote. 'The truth is,' Reynolds wrote in a memoir released that same year, 'I never did like her.' The two seemed to have patched things up before Reynolds' death in 2018. 'We were friends first and friends last,' Anderson said in 2019. 'It's time to move on.' In 2008, Anderson married her fourth husband, musician Bob Flick, who was a founding member of the 1960s folk group the Brothers Four. The pair had met more than four decades before, as part of a fan photo opportunity for Flick's band on May 17, 1963. Exactly 45 years later, they cut into a wedding cake decorated with that first photo of them. In addition to Quinton Reynolds and Flick, Anderson is survived by her daughter, Deidra Hoffman, her stepson, Adam Flick, two granddaughters and two step-grandchildren. Over the decades, Anderson amassed more than 60 acting credits. In 1980, Anderson starred in the biographical drama and made-for-TV movie The Jayne Mansfield Story about the actor of the same name opposite a young Arnold Schwarzenegger as Hungarian actor and bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay. She continued working well into her 70s. In 2023, she appeared in the Lifetime movie Ladies of the '80s: A Divas Christmas, which follows five soap opera actresses who reunite to shoot a Christmas episode. Anderson remained true to her early television persona well into her later years, still donning a well-kept head of bleach-blond hair. At the premiere for the 2023 film, she reflected on acting in the 1970s and '80s versus in more recent times. Young actors in the 21st century could be 'chameleon-like,' she said, whereas in her generation, 'everybody had an image and you stuck with your image.' She added: 'We were kind of put into our image. Into our Loni-suit.' This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Written by: Claire Moses ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
Hindustan Times
04-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
WKRP in Cincinnati cast: Where are they now in 2025?
Actress Loni Anderson died on Sunday, just days before her 80th birthday. According to her publicist, she passed away at a Los Angeles hospital following a "prolonged illness," the Associated Press reported. Actress Loni Anderson died in Los Angeles.(AP) 'We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother and grandmother,' Anderson's family said in a statement. Anderson was best known for playing Jennifer Marlowe, the confident and quick-witted receptionist at a struggling radio station, in the hit TV comedy WKRP in Cincinnati. She appeared in all 90 episodes of the original series, and later reprised the role briefly in The New WKRP in Cincinnati. Her other notable credits include Partners in Crime (1984–1985), Melrose Place, and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. Also Read: Loni Anderson dies at 79: Details on her husbands, children, and net worth Where are the rest of the WKRP cast now? Gary Sandy (Andy Travis) Sandy played the radio station's program director, hired to turn around the struggling station. After WKRP, he made appearances in Murder, She Wrote, L.A. Law, and a five-episode arc on The Young and the Restless in 2001. He is currently 79 years old. Howard Hesseman (Dr. Johnny Fever) Hesseman portrayed the rebellious DJ and fan-favorite, Dr. Johnny Fever. He later starred in Head of the Class (1986–1990) and had guest roles in That '70s Show, Fresh Off the Boat (2017), Chicago Med, and Mike & Molly. Hesseman passed away on January 29, 2022, at age 81 due to complications from colon surgery. Gordon Jump (Arthur Carlson) Jump played the bumbling station manager. After WKRP, he appeared in shows like Soap, Growing Pains, and Seinfeld (as George Costanza's boss). He died in 2003 at age 71 from pulmonary fibrosis. Tim Reid (Venus Flytrap) Reid portrayed the stylish and smooth-talking DJ. He later starred in Frank's Place (1987–1988) and appeared in That '70s Show, Grey's Anatomy, Dolly Parton's Heartstrings, and Swagger. He is 80 years old. Jan Smithers (Bailey Quarters) Smithers played the shy but capable reporter who grew more confident throughout the show. After WKRP, she appeared in Murder, She Wrote and the series The Columnist (1984–1985). Her final role was in Mr. Nice Guy (1987). She is now 76 years old.
