Written by Krista Kleiner
Photographs by JL Cederblom
Gracing the screens since the late 70s, Loni Anderson has achieved notoriety as a certified “bombshell”. Her groundbreaking role as the sexy and smart Jennifer Marlowe on the CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati earned her three Golden Globe and two Emmy Award nominations. Born in Minnesota with jet black hair, this daughter of a scientist and a model transformed herself into a knockout that brought back the platinum-blonde allure of Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield.
With a love life that garnered its own interest, her marriage to megastar Burt Reynolds was once the talk of the town. Their high-profile twelve-year relationship largely involved their mutual love of art. Flying across America to explore galleries, Burt generously surprised her with whatever seemed to catch her eye. In complete adoration, he commissioned countless paintings and sculptures of Loni in every style one could imagine. The collection included a bikini pose turned nude painting that he proudly insisted hang over their living room fireplace – that is of course until a delivery man was left stunned at the sight.
Early Days
Beyond the glam of Loni’s life and success is a lifelong journey through the arts. A doodler since she was a child, she imagined her future to be that of a cartoonist or an animator. This born artist and showbiz girl was a model since she can remember and started musical theater by age ten. Her business savvy, on the other hand, appeared even sooner as she charged her neighbors a nickel to see her sing and dance in their garage at the tender age of five.
Loni wanted to be an actress – an artform that combined a variety of her interests. But as a divorced mom by age 19, she followed her parents’ guidance to attend college and get a degree as a means of being practical and having a backup plan. In college she took every art class she could, studying clay sculpting, woodshop, block printing, oil painting, watercolor, chalk, metal sculpting and architecture. She also tried every phase of theater from working in the box office, designing sets, building scenery, doing makeup, creating costumes, and even puppeteering.
"In your craft, you should appreciate
everybody who is a part of the team.
They are all a part of your art, and
you need to appreciate and understand
what it is that they do to help you excel."
In order to support herself and her baby daughter, Loni was a high school student teacher while completing college. Looking even younger than her 21 years, these efforts were not surprisingly challenged by the inability of 16/17-year-old boys to see her as an authority figure and take the class seriously. Tired of their inappropriate overtures and attempts to ask her out, she moved to an all-girl’s finishing school where she was met with a refreshing change. Supported by their genuine interest, Loni incorporated both her vast artistry and sense of style into her work with them.
Set on making her dreams come true, Loni moved to Los Angeles to pursue film and television work. Her process to create a character often starts by discovering something that sparks a personal connection through a past experience. This became easier later in life as she had more to draw from. She also used wardrobe as a tool. Loni found that sometimes a simple wig or piece of clothing would help her feel immersed in the character and make things click. From there, she would be free to allow her imagination to propel her. “In your craft, you should appreciate everybody who is a part of the team. They are all a part of your art, and you need to appreciate and understand what it is that they do to help you excel. You’re all in it together,” she shares.
The Power of Art
Before she had money to collect art, high schooler Loni would hang her own art and go to poster shops where she could purchase a copy of a masterpiece to frame herself. “So much goes into being a well-rounded person,” says Loni. “Surrounding yourself with pleasing images in your home makes such a big difference in how you feel about yourself and your environment. It prepares you to go out into the world if you have an environment that brings you joy.”
With a taste for French impressionists and glam, Loni now has a vast art collection that ranges from Icart, Mucha, Vargas Girls, Erte, Robert Clarke and Ira Reines. It’s her taste for art that showcases a strong female character that appears closest to her heart as she proudly described a painting of a mermaid in her bedroom. “You can feel her strength,” Loni said as she touched the painting. “She is calm, beautiful, and completely in charge. It makes me feel peaceful to have her right by the bed.”
As her taste in art has expanded over the years, certain important guidelines continue to influence her selections – it is all about an emotional connection and the movement of the piece. One of the things Loni loves about art is that it is a gift that keeps on giving. Not only does she enjoy the process of discovering art and artists before they bring new life into her home, but she also finds joy in seeing it inspire her loved ones. “You can always leave people art in a will, but sometimes you want to see them enjoy it while you’re still here,” she says. It’s this thinking that has led her to gift pieces to friends and family, including her daughter Deidra and son Quinton.
Art has played a special role in helping Loni as a mother. When her daughter was little, Loni created hand puppets and put on shows to help Deidra come out of her shell. Together, they visited assisted living centers and children’s hospitals where they performed puppet theater. They would take puppets to the doctor and dentist where her daughter would talk things over with them. “It’s a wonderful tool for parents,” Loni says.
It was also art that brought Loni and her husband Bob Flick of The Brothers Four together. After meeting at an album signing in 1963 when Loni was still in high school, they kept in touch for a while before she maintained a crush on him from afar. Reconnecting in the early 2000s while she traveled as spokesperson for COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), a lung disease caused by smoking, they bonded over their love of music and art – including a shared history in puppet theater. “I’m the oldest living groupie,” she joked. “And I got my man. I finally got him.”
Erte Glamour
Looking Back on Burt
Despite it being no secret that Loni faced difficulties with Burt, she recalled him and their time together with the utmost peace and grace. “Without Burt, there would be no Quinton. My son is very important in my life,” she said. A person with no regrets, she has realized that if you like how your life is now, you must appreciate everything that went into making it what it is. “I choose to remember the good and all of the wonderful things we gained as a couple.”
After Burt’s death in 2018, his ashes were placed at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Loni and Quinton picked out a spot under a palm tree by the water in memory of their shared love of the water. Surrounded by other icons that he admired, artist Caroline PM Jones is sculpting a monument in his honor – a four-foot pillar and two-foot bust with his famous mustache and cowboy hat. In appreciation of his adoring fans, they plan to have an unveiling ceremony in September.
Giving Back
It’s clear to Loni that studying art played an important role in her becoming the math champion of her elementary school through its correlation with spatial awareness. Understanding the relationship between art and learning causes her concern and sadness as art classes have been cut from public schools. Channeling this, Loni has supported the likes of Sir Daniel Winn and Randy Slavin, whom she sees as both inspiring and representative of young artists. Feeling strongly about art of all kinds playing an important role in honing other skills, she hopes to see people in communities everywhere step up to support art in general, as well as the artist within each of us. -