Actress Loni Anderson, who starred as receptionist Jennifer Marlowe in sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati,” died on Sunday following a battle with a prolonged illness. She was 79.
She became a household name due to the series, portraying Jennifer as an ultra-capable employee who defied the ‘dumb blonde’ stereotype. For her work, she scored two Emmy nominations.
She went on to star in the 1983 film “Stroker Ace” with Burt Reynolds. The pair married in 1988 and divorced rather publicly in 1994. Anderson also starred in dozens of TV movies in her time and guest-starred on numerous series.
Anderson isn’t the only passing to report on today. Jonathan Kaplan, a noted film and TV director who scored five Emmy nominations for his 50+ episode work on “ER,” has died from advanced liver cancer. He was 77.
The son of film composer Sol Kaplan and actress Frances Heflin, Kaplan directed multiple films, with the most famous being the Jodie Foster-led sexual assault drama “The Accused”.
Other notable films included the Kurt Russell thriller “Unlawful Entry,” the Michelle Pfeiffer-led “Love Field,” the James Woods and Glenn Close-led “Immediate Family,” and the poorly reviewed Thailand-set jail drama “Brokedown Palace”.
On TV, he also directed multiple episodes of shows like “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Without a Trace,” and “Brothers and Sisters”.
