Sitcom star Loni Anderson dies at 79
Loni Anderson died shortly before her 80th birthday. She became famous for her role on the CBS TV sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati.”
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“WKRP in Cincinnati” star Loni Anderson battled cancer for years before her death at 79 years old.
Two days before her 80th birthday, Anderson died the afternoon of Aug. 3 at a Beverly Hills, California, hospital. Her cause of death was metastatic uterine leiomyosarcoma, a rare cancer that forms in the muscles of the uterus, according to a death certificate obtained by USA TODAY.
Her husband, Bob Flick, was listed as the informant. Within a week of her death, Anderson was buried at the historic Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Anderson’s longtime publicist, Cheryl J. Kagan, said in an Aug. 3 statement to USA TODAY that Anderson “was surrounded by her living family” at the time of her death, which was due to “an acute prolonged illness.”
Kagan said the actress was “facing her diagnosis with determination” when she worked on Lifetime’s “Ladies Of The 80’s: A Divas Christmas,” which was released in December 2023.
An “Avengers”-style collection of glam 1980s TV actresses – including “Knots Landing” stars Donna Mills and Nicollette Sheridan; Morgan Fairchild, of “Falcon Crest” fame; and “Dallas” star Linda Gray – starred in the holiday movie.
Anderson, who played radio station receptionist Jennifer Marlowe in “WKRP in Cincinnati,” earned two Emmy nominations and three Golden Globe nods for her performance during the CBS comedy’s four-year run.
The “My Life In High Heels” author also had a “passionate lifetime commitment” to raising awareness of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Kagan said.
The “Queen of Made-for-TV Movies,” who’d moved to Los Angeles in 1975 to pursue a career on the screen, also played the titular role in 1980’s “The Jayne Mansfield Story” and acted in 1998’s “A Night at the Roxbury” as well as the ’90s NBC sitcom “Nurses.”
What is metastatic uterine leiomyosarcoma?
According to the National Cancer Institute, “Uterine sarcoma is a very rare kind of cancer that forms in the uterine muscles or in tissues that support the uterus.”
Uterine sarcomas include leiomyosarcomas, which are malignant tumors of smooth muscle cells. The fact that the cancer had metastasized means the malignant cells had spread to other parts of the body, forming tumors.
Anderson is survived by her husband, daughter Deidra, son Quinton, stepson Adam Flick and four grandchildren.
Contributing: Edward Segarra, USA TODAY