Loni Anderson dies at 79
Loni Anderson, the beloved actress best known for her role as the quick-witted receptionist Jennifer Marlowe on the hit sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, has died. She passed away Sunday in a Los Angeles hospital following a prolonged illness, just days before her 80th birthday, her longtime publicist Cheryl J. Kagan confirmed.
“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother, and grandmother,” Anderson’s family said in a statement, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Anderson rose to fame in the late 1970s through her portrayal of Jennifer Marlowe, a glamorous and highly competent receptionist at a struggling Ohio radio station in WKRP in Cincinnati. The show aired from 1978 to 1982 and gained a devoted following. Her performance earned her two Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe nominations.
"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.
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.
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