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 \u201cprolonged\u201d 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 1978-1982 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 the sexy and smart Jennifer Marlowe.<\/p>\n
As the station\u2019s receptionist, the blonde and high-heeled Jennifer used her sex appeal to deflect 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 divorcing in 1994.<\/p>\n
Anderson wrote a 1995 autobiography, \u201cMy Life in High Heels,\u201d which she said was about \u201cthe growth of a woman, a woman who survives. It\u2019s about my childhood, the death of my parents, my career, my divorces, and my children. Then of course, the trauma of my marriage to Burt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think if you\u2019re going to write about yourself, you have to do it warts and all,\u201d Anderson told The Associated Press. \u201cYou may not even tell the nicest things about yourself, because you\u2019re telling the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anderson is survived by her husband Bob Flick, daughter Deidra and son-in law Charlie Hoffman, son Quinton Anderson Reynolds, grandchildren McKenzie and Megan Hoffman, stepson Adam Flick and wife Helene, step-grandchildren Felix and Maximilian.<\/p>\n
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