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The cause of death of actress Loni Anderson, known for her starring role in “WKRP in Cincinnati,” has been revealed.
In a death certificate obtained by TMZ, Anderson’s cause of death was confirmed to be metastatic uterine leiomyosarcoma, with no other contributing factors listed.
According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders, metastatic uterine leiomyosarcoma “is an extremely rare form of cancer” which starts in the uterus and can spread to other parts of the body, most notably “the lungs and liver often causing life-threatening complications.”
Anderson’s longtime publicist confirmed to Fox News Digital the actress died on Aug. 3 at the age of 79. Anderson died at a Los Angeles hospital following a “prolonged” illness, her publicist, Cheryl J. Kagan, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. She was surrounded by her loving family.
Anderson died at the age of 79 from metastatic uterine leiomyosarcoma. (Manny Hernandez / Getty Images)
‘I DREAM OF JEANNIE’ STAR BARBARA EDEN FEELS VERY LONELY AFTER DEATH OF PAL LONI ANDERSON
“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother and grandmother,” Anderson’s family said in a statement.
Having grown up in St. Paul, Minnesota, Anderson always dreamed of being an actress, and moved to Hollywood in 1975 to start her career. She spent the next few years appearing in various television shows, including “The Love Boat,” “Three’s Company” and “The Incredible Hulk,” before cementing her status as a leading lady as Jennifer Marlowe in “WKRP in Cincinnati” in 1978.
“I remember we all did posters back then. Everybody always asks me, ‘What made you do a poster?’ I would say, ‘Because someday my grandchildren will look at this. And I’ll be able to tell them that I really looked like that. What you saw is what you got,” she told Fox News Digital in 2021.
“But you know, I had this discussion with Ann-Margret. Will there ever be a time when our names won’t be followed by ‘bombshell’ or ‘sex symbol?’ It becomes a part of your name,” she continued. “And you know, I’d never thought I would reach that point. I was so serious. I was doing ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ for 53 weeks on tour. I never thought I would be Loni Anderson, sex symbol. But I embrace it. I think I was lucky enough to have been able to play so many different things and sex symbol was a part of it. I took whatever my career threw at me. So I embrace it. And my granddaughters think it’s a hoot!”
Loni Anderson starred as Jennifer Marlowe on WKRP in Cincinnati. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)
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Following her death, “I Dream of Jeannie” star and longtime friend of Anderson’s, Barbara Eden, told Fox News Digital she feels “very lonely now that she’s not here,” explaining “she was just a very special, kind, sweet, good mother” and that “you can’t say anything bad about her.”
The two met in 1981 while filming a special for comedian Bob Hope. Eden recalled running into Anderson backstage after putting on her costume, which she referred to as “ugly.”
“I walked out of the hallway, and there was Loni. She looked at me and said, ‘You can’t wear those!’” the 93-year-old laughed. “’You’ve got to tell them, go tell them. You’re going to change them.’ I didn’t even know her then. But we had such a good laugh later about it. And I did go and say, ‘I’ll have the skin-colored hosiery, not white!’ I think she was just really what my mother would call ‘a good egg.’”
Eden went on to say that Anderson “is still remembered for being a beautiful, kind, just wonderful human being.”
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Eden and Anderson first met in 1981 while filming a special for Bob Hope. (Vince Bucci/Getty Images)
“I’m so happy that I got to know her and that we were friends. She was just everything fun. You wouldn’t think a glamour girl like Loni would be fun. But she was fun and funny. And she was also a really good mother. Her daughter is a school principal, and her son was just adorable. I’ve met him many times. She just did a good job with everything.”
Anderson adopted her son, Quinton Anderson Reynolds, in 1988, with her then-husband, actor Burt Reynolds.
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