Loni Anderson, Star of ‘WRKP in Cincinnati,’ Dies at 79

She also earned headlines in the ’80s for what she called a ‘tabloidy’ marriage to Burt Reynolds

Associated Press

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Published August 04, 2025

Loni Anderson, who earned Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for her work on "WKRP in Cincinnati," died Sunday. She was 79.

Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Lifetime / A+E Networks

Loni Anderson, who played a struggling radio station’s empowered receptionist on the hit TV comedy WKRP in Cincinnati, died Sunday, just days before her 80th birthday.

Anderson died at a Los Angeles hospital following a prolonged illness, said her longtime publicist, Cheryl J. Kagan.

“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother and grandmother,” Anderson’s family said in a statement.

WKRP in Cincinnati aired from 1978 to 1982 and was set in a flagging Ohio radio station trying to reinvent itself with rock music. The cast included Gary Sandy, Tim Reid, Howard Hesseman, Frank Bonner and Jan Smithers, alongside Anderson as Jennifer Marlowe, whose good looks were matched by her intelligence.

The role earned Anderson two Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe nominations.

In 2021, AARP named “Turkeys Away” from WKRP in Cincinnati’s 1978 season as one of its “15 Hilarious TV Sitcom Thanksgiving Episodes.”

Anderson starred on the big screen alongside Burt Reynolds in the 1983 comedy Stroker Ace, and the two later married and became tabloid fixtures before their messy breakup in 1994.

Their son, Quinton Reynolds, was “the best decision that we ever made in our entire relationship,” she said during the unveiling of a bronze bust at Reynolds’ Hollywood grave site in 2021.

“I think back to the beginning of our relationship, it was so, oh, gosh, tabloidy. We were just a spectacle all the time. And it was hard to have a relationship in that atmosphere. And somehow, we did it through many ups and downs,” Anderson told The Associated Press.

Anderson detailed their tumultuous marriage in the 1995 autobiography, My Life in High Heels, which she said was about “the growth of a woman, a woman who survives.”

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the cast members of wkrp in cincinnati stand in a clockwise position around loni anderson

The cast of the beloved CBS sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati,” which aired from 1978 to 1982. (Back row from left) Richard Sanders, Gordon Jump, Tim Reid. (Middle row) Frank Bonner, Gary Sandy. (Front row) Anderson, Howard Hesseman, Jan Smithers.

MTM Television/Everett Collection

“I think if you’re going to write about yourself, you have to do it warts and all,” Anderson told the AP while promoting the book. “You may not even tell the nicest things about yourself, because you’re telling the truth.”

She married four times, most recently to Bob Flick in 2008.

Anderson was born August 5, 1945, in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her father was an environmental chemist, and her mother was a model.

Her first role as an actress was a small part in the 1966 film Nevada Smith, starring Steve McQueen. Most of her career was spent on the small screen with early guest parts in the 1970s on S.W.A.T. and Police Woman. After WKRP, Anderson starred in the short-lived comedy series Easy Street and appeared in made-for-TV movies including A Letter to Three Wives and White Hot: The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd.

In 2023 she co-starred in Lifetime’s Ladies Of The 80s: A Divas Christmas with Linda Gray, Donna Mills, Morgan Fairchild and Nicollette Sheridan.

“I am heartbroken to hear of the passing of the wonderful Loni Anderson!” Fairchild wrote on X. “The sweetest, most gracious lady! I’m just devastated to hear this.”

Anderson is survived by Flick, her daughter Deidra and son-in law Charlie Hoffman, son Quinton Anderson Reynolds, grandchildren McKenzie and Megan Hoffman, stepson Adam Flick and wife Helene, and step-grandchildren Felix and Maximilian.

A private family service is planned at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Kagan said.