Before attending the yearly Dragon Con in Atlanta during Labor Day weekend in 2011, the actress gave an interview to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
According to Anderson, she was convinced to attend by her friend, I Dream of Jeannie actor Barbara Eden, who had a great time in 2010.
Former Atlanta advertising executive Hugh Wilson founded WKRP in 1978. He drew inspiration for some of the show’s characters and antics from 790/WQXI-AM, a dominant top-40 station in Atlanta that was known as Quixie in Dixie in the 1960s and 1970s. (The station changed its name to sports talk, but it now speaks Korean.)
According to Anderson, he was our insane genius.
WKRP ran for four seasons and was a mediocre hit for CBS.
As the calm secretary Jennifer Marlowe, Anderson protected the clumsy boss Arthur Big Guy Carlson from damage as she repelled the persistent attempts of blustery salesperson Herb Tarlek.
Anderson received three Golden Globe nods and two Emmy Award nominations for the role.
Anderson asked that her character not portray a ditzy blonde, which was the norm at the time, despite Wilson telling the AJC at the time that he chose her for her appearance.
Wilson claimed that she was the location’s oracle. She never required me to rework a line. She looked very determined.
According to Anderson, no one was a huge star when the show premiered.
We were all at the same starting point. Like a first kiss, there was a genuine sense of intimacy and companionship. It was unique.
Anderson’s trademark was always the show: I believe women admired my intelligence and sexiness. Not many women were doing both in comedy when we first appeared in 1978, which may seem absurd to folks today.
A brief appearance in the 1966 movie Nevada Smith, which starred Steve McQueen, was her first acting performance. With early cameos on S.W.A.T. and Police Woman in the 1970s, she spent the majority of her career on television.
Following WKRP, Anderson starred in the short-lived comedy series Easy Street and made appearances in TV movies such as White Hot: The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd and A Letter to Three Wives.
She costarred with Linda Gray, Donna Mills, Morgan Fairchild, and Nicollette Sheridan in Lifetime’s Ladies Of The 80s: A Divas Christmas in 2023.
Thanks to AP
Thanks to AP
In 1984, Anderson costarred in Stroker Ace alongside Burt Reynolds. In the 1980s and 1990s, her turbulent marriage to Reynolds—a strong Georgia supporter who filmed many of his biggest movies in the state—became the subject of tabloids.
There was so much tabloidy in the start of our relationship, I guess. We were constantly nothing more than a spectacle. And in that environment, it was difficult to be in a relationship. Three years after Reynolds’ passing, Anderson told The Associated Press in 2021, “And somehow, we did it through many ups and downs.”
After their divorce, she led a much more quiet existence. In 2008, she wed musician Bob Flick, who was one of the original members of the folk group The Brothers Four.
This story was covered by the Associated Press.
