Loni Anderson, who famously portrayed receptionist Jennifer Marlowe in the comedy “WKRP in Cincinnati,” has died. She was 79.
Anderson died at a Los Angeles hospital following a “prolonged” illness, her longtime publicist, Cheryl J. Kagan, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. She was surrounded by her loving family.
“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother and grandmother,” Anderson’s family said in a statement.
Over four decades, Anderson starred in various TV shows and films, including “Swat,” “Three on a Date,” “Three’s Company,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “The Love Boat,” “The Bob Newhart Show,” and more.
Growing up in St. Paul, Minnesota, Anderson’s greatest ambition was to be an actress. In 1975, Anderson moved to Los Angeles, where she quickly began making a name for herself.
She landed the role of the titillating and intelligent Jennifer Marlowe in 1978 and cemented her status as a beloved TV sex symbol.
LONI ANDERSON REFLECTS ON BECOMING A SEX SYMBOL AFTER ‘WKRP IN CINCINNATI’ FAME: ‘I EMBRACE IT’
“I remember we all did posters back then. Everybody always asks me, ‘What made you do a poster?’ I would say, ‘Because someday my grandchildren will look at this. And I’ll be able to tell them that I really looked like that. What you saw is what you got,” she told Fox News Digital in 2021.
“But you know, I had this discussion with Ann-Margret. Will there ever be a time when our names won’t be followed by ‘bombshell’ or ‘sex symbol?’ It becomes a part of your name,” she continued. “And you know, I’d never thought I would reach that point. I was so serious. I was doing ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ for 53 weeks on tour. I never thought I would be Loni Anderson, sex symbol. But I embrace it. I think I was lucky enough to have been able to play so many different things and sex symbol was a part of it. I took whatever my career threw at me. So I embrace it. And my granddaughters think it’s a hoot!”
In 1982 she co-starred in “Stroker Ace,” a feature film with then-future husband Burt Reynolds. Loni and Burt adopted their son Quinton Anderson Reynolds in August 1988.
In 2019, Anderson said she and Reynolds – who died in 2018 from a heart attack – made peace before his death with the help of their son.
“We were friends first and friends last,” Anderson told Closer Weekly at the time. “It’s time to move on.”
The “WKRP in Cincinnati” actress insisted she and Reynolds put aside the hostility they endured when the marriage came to an end for the sake of Quinton.
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“We have this wonderful child together,” she said. “Having a son was a big event in our lives and so everything revolved around him.”
On top of TV and film, Anderson was a prominent member of the musical theater community and became a New York Times best-selling author with her 1995 autobiography, “My Life In Hells.”
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“Loni was a class act. Beautiful. Talented. Witty. ALWAYS a joy to be around,” Steve Sauer, President/CEO Media Four and Anderson’s manager for 30 years, said in a statement. “She was the ultimate working mother. Family first…and maintained a great balance with her career. She and I had wonderful adventures together that I shall forever cherish. I will especially miss that infectious chuckle of hers. She will be forever missed.”
On May 17, 2008, Anderson married Bob Flick, a founding member of the 1960’s folk group The Brothers Four.
Anderson is survived by her husband, daughter Deidra and son-in law Charlie Hoffman, son Quinton Anderson Reynolds, grandchildren McKenzie and Megan Hoffman, stepson Adam Flick and his wife Helene, step-grandchildren Felix and Maximilian.
A private family service will be held at The Hollywood Forever Cemetery followed by A Celebration of Life at a future date.
Fox News Digital’s Stephanie Nolasco contributed to this post.
