SHERMAN OAKS—On August 3, actress Loni Anderson, who was best known for her role as Jennifer Marlowe on WKRP in Cincinnati, passed away. Anderson’s publicist, Cheryl J. Kagan, confirmed the star’s death, stating that she died in a Los Angeles Hospital “following a prolonged illness.” She died just two days shy of her 80th birthday.
Loni Anderson was a famed actress of the 70s and 80s, winning an Emmy and two Golden Globe nominations for her role in the CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati that ran from 1978-1982. She portrayed a ditzy-blond receptionist of the local radio station when in all actuality, she was born the daughter of a chemist and a model.
Her fame did not start or end with WKRP. She began her career in 1975 playing “Peaches” in Vigilante Force.
She held numerous roles in her lifetime. Her acting career continued through 2017 when she landed a role as TV Pilot, “Jean Carlyle-Dixon.”
Loni Anderson was both beautiful and smart. Her parents were smokers, though. She did suffer the effects of that later in life as she suffered from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
She was married four times, first to Real Estate developer Bruce Hasselberg from 1964-1966, Actor Ross Bickell from 1974-1981, actor Burt Reynolds from 1988-1994, and actor and musician Bob Flick from 2008 to present.
In 1995, Anderson wrote an autobiography, “My Life in High Heels.” In an interview with the Associated Press, it was about “The growth of a woman, a woman who survives. It’s about my childhood, the death of my parents, my career, my divorces, and my children. Then, of course, the trauma of my marriage to Burt.
I think if you’re going to write about yourself, you have to do it with warts and all. You may not even tell the nicest things about yourself, because you’re telling the truth.”
Anderson is survived by her husband, Bob Flick, daughter Deidra Hasselberg Hoffman(Charlie), son Quinton Anderson Reynolds, grandchildren McKenzie and Megan Hoffman, Stepson Adam Flick(Helene), and step-grandchildren Felix and Maximillian.
