LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 Loni Anderson, who played a struggling radio station\u2019s empowered receptionist on the hit TV comedy \u201cWKRP in Cincinnati,\u201d died Sunday, just days before her 80th birthday.<\/p>\n
Anderson died at a Los Angeles hospital following a prolonged illness, said her longtime publicist, Cheryl J. Kagan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother and grandmother,\u201d Anderson\u2019s family said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWKRP in Cincinnati\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
As the station\u2019s receptionist, the blonde and high-heeled Jennifer routinely deflected unwanted business calls for her boss, Mr. Carlson. Her efficiency often kept the station running in the face of others\u2019 incompetence.<\/p>\n
The role earned Anderson two Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe nominations.<\/p>\n
Anderson starred on the big screen alongside Burt Reynolds in the 1983 comedy \u201cStroker Ace,\u201d and the two later married and became tabloid fixtures before their messy breakup in 1994.<\/p>\n
Their son, Quinton Reynolds, was \u201cthe best decision that we ever made in our entire relationship,\u201d she said during the unveiling of a bronze bust at Reynolds\u2019 Hollywood grave site in 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n Anderson detailed their tumultuous marriage in the 1995 autobiography, \u201cMy Life in High Heels,\u201d which she said was about \u201cthe growth of a woman, a woman who survives.”<\/p>\n \u201cI think if you\u2019re going to write about yourself, you have to do it warts and all,\u201d Anderson told the AP while promoting the book. \u201cYou may not even tell the nicest things about yourself, because you\u2019re telling the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n She married four times, most recently to Bob Flick in 2008.<\/p>\n Anderson was born Aug. 5, 1945, in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her father was an environmental chemist, and her mother was a model.<\/p>\n Her first role as an actress was a small part in the 1966 film \u201cNevada Smith,\u201d starring Steve McQueen. Most of her career was spent on the small screen with early guest parts in the 1970s on \u201cS.W.A.T.\u201d and \u201cPolice Woman.\u201d After \u201cWKRP,\u201d Anderson starred in the short-lived comedy series \u201cEasy Street\u201d and appeared in made-for-TV movies including \u201cA Letter to Three Wives\u201d and \u201cWhite Hot: The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2023 she co-starred in Lifetime\u2019s \u201cLadies Of The 80s: A Divas Christmas\u201d with Linda Gray, Donna Mills, Morgan Fairchild and Nicollette Sheridan.<\/p>\n