August 5, 2025 • 4 mins
Loni Anderson, the actress known for her breakout role as Jennifer Marlowe on WKRP in Cincinnati, has passed away at the age of 79. She died on August 3rd in a Los Angeles hospital following a prolonged illness, just shy of her 80th birthday. Anderson rose to fame in the late 1970s for portraying the witty and glamorous receptionist, earning multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Her career extended into numerous made-for-TV films, and she was widely recognized for her marriage to actor Burt Reynolds, with whom she adopted son Quinton. She is survived by her husband Bob Flick, daughter Deidra, son Quinton, and four grandchildren. A private service will be held at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, with a public celebration of life planned in the coming weeks.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Deep Dive. We're dedicating today's conversation to
someone truly special and actress whose presence really lit up
the screen for so many of us. Lonie Anderson.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Yeah, there was some sad news recently August third that's
resonated quite a bit. Lonie Anderson passed away as she
was seventy nine, almost eighty. Actually it happened in Los
Angeles at a hospital after well what sources described as
a prolonged illness. So our mission today really is to
kind of unpack her impact, her life, her career, and
especially that you know, that one role that just made
(00:29):
her a.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Household name, right, And it's interesting how quickly she became
such a recognizable figure, almost defining a TV era. You
could say that role, of course, Jennifer Marlowe on WKP
in Cincinnati, that really set the stage for everything else.
And you know, she wasn't just playing the glamorous receptionist stereotype.
Loney gave Jennifer this amazing sharp wit, yes, and this
(00:52):
intelligence that well, it really pushed back against that whole
blonde bombshell thing people expected.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
That's so true. In a way, she became aim almost
a kind of subversive feminist figure before people were really
talking about it like that, you know, m that's a
great point, and that performance it earned her multiple Emmy
and Golden Globe nominations back in the late seventies. It
absolutely catapulted her into well much wider fame.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
It's incredible, isn't it how one character can get so
intertwined with who an actor is in the public eye,
especially one that felt so different for its time. But
like you touched on, her career was definitely more than
just WKRP.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Absolutely were there other things she did, other projects that
really showed a different facet of her talent.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Yeah, definitely. I mean Jennifer Marlowe was well iconic, no doubt.
But Lonie Anderson she really demonstrated her versatility in quite
a few made for TV movies, okay, and she often
picked roles that seemed to deliberately, you know, challenge that
bombshell image she had, like what, for instance, Well, a
great example is her performances Jane Mansfield Jane Mansfield Story.
(02:01):
It got critical acclaim. Actually, yes, it showcased a dramatic
depth that I think surprised a lot of people who
only knew her from the sitcom, and then, of course
thinking about her public life more broadly, Well, everyone knew
about her marriage to Burt Reynolds.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Oh yeah, that was huge news back then. It wasn't
just two stars getting married. It felt like, I don't know,
a whole pop culture event exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
It almost set the template for those huge celebrity relationships
in the eighties. The media was just relentless, constantly watching them.
Precisely that relationship was always in the headlines. It added
this whole other layer to her public persona. And eventually
they adopted their son, Quintin, which was also a very
public news, followed of course by their very public divorce.
(02:46):
It really kind of highlighted the intense pressure you that
public figures were under back then and frankly still are today.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Yeah. That hasn't changed much, has it. And you know,
as we think about her very public life, it's also
right to acknowledge the personal side the family she leaves.
She's survived by her husband, Bob Flick, her daughter Deidre,
her son Quintin, and four grandchildren. And we understand they'll
be a private service in Hollywood Forever Cemetery, but also
plans for a pulx celebration of her life in the
(03:17):
coming weeks.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
That's good to hear.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
So as we wrap up this deep dive, maybe you
can just briefly recap the sweep of her career again
beyond WKRP, the TV films, that whole public context. Sure.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
I mean you had the breakout, defining role with Jennifer
marlow the Emmy nominations, the Golden Globe nods, then this
pivot into numerous TV movies, often exploring different kinds of characters,
and woven through all that, this incredibly high profile public life,
particularly that marriage to Bert Reynolds, the adoption. It all
(03:48):
contributed to this very specific, very eighties kind of stardom.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Yeah, it really makes you reflect, doesn't it. How certain
performers like Loni Anderson, they just leave this indelible mark,
often through one single unforgettable character. Maybe Jennifer Marlowe feels
timeless because Loni managed to blend that, you know, that
glamor and femininity with real comedic skill in this almost
like pragmatic intelligence.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
That's a great way to put it. That blend.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
It was a rare mix and it still kind of resonates.
I think it really makes you wonder, though, what is
that secret ingredient you know? What does it take for
a character, for a performance to truly last and connect
across generations? Something to think about.
Welcome to the Deep Dive. We're dedicating today's conversation to
someone truly special and actress whose presence really lit up
the screen for so many of us. Lonie Anderson.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Yeah, there was some sad news recently August third that's
resonated quite a bit. Lonie Anderson passed away as she
was seventy nine, almost eighty. Actually it happened in Los
Angeles at a hospital after well what sources described as
a prolonged illness. So our mission today really is to
kind of unpack her impact, her life, her career, and
especially that you know, that one role that just made
(00:29):
her a.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Household name, right, And it's interesting how quickly she became
such a recognizable figure, almost defining a TV era. You
could say that role, of course, Jennifer Marlowe on WKP
in Cincinnati, that really set the stage for everything else.
And you know, she wasn't just playing the glamorous receptionist stereotype.
Loney gave Jennifer this amazing sharp wit, yes, and this
(00:52):
intelligence that well, it really pushed back against that whole
blonde bombshell thing people expected.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
That's so true. In a way, she became aim almost
a kind of subversive feminist figure before people were really
talking about it like that, you know, m that's a
great point, and that performance it earned her multiple Emmy
and Golden Globe nominations back in the late seventies. It
absolutely catapulted her into well much wider fame.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
It's incredible, isn't it how one character can get so
intertwined with who an actor is in the public eye,
especially one that felt so different for its time. But
like you touched on, her career was definitely more than
just WKRP.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Absolutely were there other things she did, other projects that
really showed a different facet of her talent.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Yeah, definitely. I mean Jennifer Marlowe was well iconic, no doubt.
But Lonie Anderson she really demonstrated her versatility in quite
a few made for TV movies, okay, and she often
picked roles that seemed to deliberately, you know, challenge that
bombshell image she had, like what, for instance, Well, a
great example is her performances Jane Mansfield Jane Mansfield Story.
(02:01):
It got critical acclaim. Actually, yes, it showcased a dramatic
depth that I think surprised a lot of people who
only knew her from the sitcom, and then, of course
thinking about her public life more broadly, Well, everyone knew
about her marriage to Burt Reynolds.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Oh yeah, that was huge news back then. It wasn't
just two stars getting married. It felt like, I don't know,
a whole pop culture event exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
It almost set the template for those huge celebrity relationships
in the eighties. The media was just relentless, constantly watching them.
Precisely that relationship was always in the headlines. It added
this whole other layer to her public persona. And eventually
they adopted their son, Quintin, which was also a very
public news, followed of course by their very public divorce.
(02:46):
It really kind of highlighted the intense pressure you that
public figures were under back then and frankly still are today.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Yeah. That hasn't changed much, has it. And you know,
as we think about her very public life, it's also
right to acknowledge the personal side the family she leaves.
She's survived by her husband, Bob Flick, her daughter Deidre,
her son Quintin, and four grandchildren. And we understand they'll
be a private service in Hollywood Forever Cemetery, but also
plans for a pulx celebration of her life in the
(03:17):
coming weeks.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
That's good to hear.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
So as we wrap up this deep dive, maybe you
can just briefly recap the sweep of her career again
beyond WKRP, the TV films, that whole public context. Sure.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
I mean you had the breakout, defining role with Jennifer
marlow the Emmy nominations, the Golden Globe nods, then this
pivot into numerous TV movies, often exploring different kinds of characters,
and woven through all that, this incredibly high profile public life,
particularly that marriage to Bert Reynolds, the adoption. It all
(03:48):
contributed to this very specific, very eighties kind of stardom.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Yeah, it really makes you reflect, doesn't it. How certain
performers like Loni Anderson, they just leave this indelible mark,
often through one single unforgettable character. Maybe Jennifer Marlowe feels
timeless because Loni managed to blend that, you know, that
glamor and femininity with real comedic skill in this almost
like pragmatic intelligence.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
That's a great way to put it. That blend.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
It was a rare mix and it still kind of resonates.
I think it really makes you wonder, though, what is
that secret ingredient you know? What does it take for
a character, for a performance to truly last and connect
across generations? Something to think about.
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