Popular 1980s Actress Loni Anderson of Hit TV Series ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’ Dies at 80

Loni Anderson at the "It's A Wonderful Lifetime" event honoring Blue Star Families military spouses at the Maybourne Beverly Hills in Beverly Hill, Calif., on Nov. 28, 2023. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES—Loni Anderson, who played a struggling radio station’s empowered receptionist on the hit TV comedy “WKRP in Cincinnati,” died Sunday, just days before her 80th birthday.

Anderson died at a Los Angeles hospital following a prolonged illness, said her longtime publicist, Cheryl J. Kagan.