Actress Loni Anderson, best known for her breakout role on the CBS sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati” as well as her tempestuous marriage to Burt Reynolds, died at the age of 79 on Sunday.
No cause of death was given, but Anderson publicist Cheryl J. Kagan told The Associated Press she passed away in a Los Angeles hospital after what was described as a “prolonged illness.”
“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother and grandmother,” said the Anderson family in a statement.
While it only ran for four seasons between 1978 and 1982, “WKRP in Cincinnati” — involving a struggling radio station in the Ohio city attempting to reinvent itself via a rock format — brought Anderson both fame and critical plaudits as receptionist Jennifer Marlowe.
Anderson’s Marlowe broke mold by playing against her stereotypical blonde bombshell looks, instead serving as the station’s resident cynic and the most intelligent member of the crew.
As The Hollywood Reporter noted, this was at Anderson’s urging; she liked the concept of “WKRP” but thought the original role as a dim sex siren was trite, “so I refused.”
“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,’” she said about her discussion with series creator Hugh Wilson.
“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.’”
As THR noted, that’s what happened: “With Jennifer refusing to take dictation, type letters or make coffee as the opposite of the ‘dumb blond’ stereotype that blanketed TV back then, Anderson starred on all but one of the show’s 90 episodes during its four-season run through April 1982.”
She also starred as the titular character in “The Jayne Mansfield Story,” a 1980 television biopic in which a then relatively unknown Arnold Schwarzenegger played her husband.
full story at https://www.westernjournal.com/loni-anderson-70s-star-2nd-wife-burt-reynolds-died/
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