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Loni Anderson Of WKRP In Cincinnati Is Gone
Another TV icon has left the set. This time, it's Loni Anderson, whose portrayal of Jennifer Marlowe, the sexy anything-but-dumb blonde receptionist at WKRP in Cincinnati, made her a household name.
The actress had been suffering from some undisclosed health issues for some time. She was just days away from her 80th birthday when she passed on Sunday.
Popular 1980s actor Loni Anderson of the hit TV series ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’ has died
- betaylored
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some WKRP clips with Jennifer Marlowe and her radio family, I can't imagine anyone else in the role, in any of these roles really
RIP Loni, you successfully redefined what it meant to be a blonde bombshell with brains and heart.
- DOPEfm
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One from yours truly (Daddy J of DOPEfm 93.3 / Amplitude 1220) around the campfire (in a location closer to Ohio than the GTHA - this one from Tillsonburg,ON)
On a side note, caught some decent local radio (New Country 107.3, near and after transition)
And some random Erie HDs and Erie/Ohio AM/FM.
Last edited by DOPEfm (August 3, 2025 11:30 pm)
- TomTV
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From the news, they mentioned she had auditioned to be Chrissy on Three's Company. I can't imagine how different the show would've been if she'd gotten the role.
Anderson didn’t land the Three’s Company gig because “she was too beautiful, too savvy,” John Ritter said in Chris Mann’s 1998 book, Come and Knock on My Door. “No one would believe she couldn’t live in her own apartment, that she would have to struggle to get the rent paid.” Suzanne Somers, of course, would gain fame as Chrissie.
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I never knew that Ms. Anderson was a) originally a redhead and didn't want to be a blonde on TV and b) almost turned down the part that made her a household name.
Loni Anderson Nearly Turned Down the Acting Role That Made Her Famous
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The before and current pics are a bit sad.
Who’s Still Alive From ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’?
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Thread Starter- Binson Echorec
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^The current pic of Gary Sandy looks like AI and I don't care what anyone says, the 70th birthday pic of Jan Smithers is wonderful.
- Leslieville Bill
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Just like Jamie Curtis Curtis, I really appreciate Jan Smithers for not going the plastic surgery route -- in my opinion, both were and continue to be very attractive women.
Last edited by Leslieville Bill (August 5, 2025 2:23 pm)
- Not an industry person. Just a guy with a love of Toronto radio.
- Binson Echorec
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Leslieville Bill wrote:
Just like Jamie Curtis Curtis, I really appreciate Jan Smithers for not going the plastic surgery route -- in my opinion, both were and continue to be very attractive women.
Ah, a fellow connoisseur, I see.
- Hansa
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If the news of Loni Anderson's death at 79 doesn't already make you feel old, consider:
*In terms of the show's age, watching WKRP today is the equivalent of watching movies from the late 1930s/early 1940s in the years WKRP originally aired.
*The 70s/80s rock music aired on WKRP after the format switch that began the series is older now than much of the Big Band/standards fare that the Carlson's preferred before losing the station flipped.
Although it seems to me that 70s/80s rock, while less popular than it was, is more popular today, even among younger people than Big Band music was in the early 80s - though that may be my cognitive bias talking.
- Paul Jeffries
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Re: Loni Anderson Of WKRP In Cincinnati Is Gone
If the news of Loni Anderson's death at 79 doesn't already make you feel old, consider:
*In terms of the show's age, watching WKRP today is the equivalent of watching movies from the late 1930s/early 1940s in the years WKRP originally aired.
*The 70s/80s rock music aired on WKRP after the format switch that began the series is older now than much of the Big Band/standards fare that the Carlson's preferred before losing the station flipped.
Although it seems to me that 70s/80s rock, while less popular than it was, is more popular today, even among younger people than Big Band music was in the early 80s - though that may be my cognitive bias talking.
Listening to '70s and '80s music nowadays would be about the equivalent of listening to Gershwin back in the time WKRP originally aired. 
Another fun fact about WKRP and age: Did you realize that Richard Sanders, who played Les Nessman, was only 38 years old when the show premiered?
PJ
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