The world’s most famous radio station receptionist has died

Anyone who works in radio knows that the most powerful person in the building is the receptionist. She (and it’s almost always a woman) is the first person anyone sees upon entering the lobby, the guardian of all things that go on within. Immaculately dressed, she knows the comings and goings of everyone on staff, including, I might add, a lot of secret and clandestine stuff. No one knows more about what’s happening at the station than the receptionist.

The most radio station receptionist of them all had to be the fictional Jennifer Marlowe of the equally fictional WKRP/Cincinnati. If you’re a fan of the show, you’ll know that she’s the one who kept it all together while also somehow being one of the highest-paid members of the staff. (Another fiction, sadly, for receptionists everywhere.)

Loni Anderson, who played Jennifer, was selected for the role by show creator Hugh Wilson when he saw a poster of her in a red bathing suit, a shot similar to the iconic Farah Fawcett poster of the era. She was nominated for three Golden Globes and two Emmys. There was also a period where she wasn’t seen on the show because, as a main draw for viewers, she wanted more money. The producers eventually gave in.

WKRP in Cincinnati was canceled in 1982 but continues to live on as one of the more accurate (or at least kinda sorta accurate) for the depection of the kind of personalities who work in radio.

Loni continued to work well into her 70s, outliving former husband Burt Reynolds (and yes, she did have a brief affair with Gary Sandy, the actor who played program director Andy Travis.

Loni passed away on Sunday (August 3), two days short of her 80th birthday.