Two-time Emmy nominee Loni Anderson, who starred as the “smartest person in the room” radio station receptionist Jennifer Marlowe on WKRP in Cincinnati, died Sunday two just days before her 80th birthday.
According to a spokesperson, her passing comes following “an acute prolonged illness.”
Loni Anderson, ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’ Star, Dies at 79 https://t.co/4Ab9rzdVvJ
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) August 3, 2025
From The Hollywood Reporter:
After appearing on such series as “S.W.A.T.,” “Police Woman,” “Barnaby Jones” and “Phyllis” and auditioning to play Chrissy Snow on “Three’s Company,” Anderson in 1978 read for Jennifer on MTM Enterprises’ “WKRP in Cincinnati,” created by Hugh Wilson.
Anderson liked the concept of the sitcom but had a problem with her role, “so I refused,” she explained in a 2020 interview.
“I went in and sat on my little soapbox and said, ‘I don’t want to play this part because she’s just here to deliver messages and is window dressing.’ Then Hugh said, ‘Well, how would you do it?’ … He said, ‘Let’s make her look like Lana Turner and be the smartest person in the room.’”
The Minnesota native also portrayed doomed Hollywood sex sirens in two telefilms: 1980’s “The Jayne Mansfield Story” — alongside an untested Arnold Schwarzenegger as her second husband, Mickey Hargitay — and 1991’s “White Hot: The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd.”
Rest in peace Loni Anderson.
There was something so wonderful about her role of Jennifer Marlowe on WKRP. She had the looks, brains and always the upper hand.
From Turkeys Away. pic.twitter.com/LKqMGtZQcH
— Danny Deraney (@DannyDeraney) August 3, 2025
After dating for several years, Anderson married movie star Burt Reynolds on April 29, 1988.
The marriage came to a very public end when Reynolds served her with divorce papers in June 1993 and the two exchanged venomous accusations in the tabloids.
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