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Barbara Eden is mourning the loss of her beloved pal Loni Anderson.
The actress, who starred in « WKRP in Cincinnati, » died on Aug. 3 at a Los Angeles hospital following a prolonged illness. She was 79.
« I feel very lonely now that she’s not here, » the « I Dream of Jeannie » star admitted to Fox News Digital. « I miss her – I really miss her. I miss everything about Loni. She was just a very special, kind, sweet, good mother. You can’t say anything bad about her. »
LONI ANDERSON, ‘WKRP IN CINCINNATI’ STAR, DEAD AT 79
Barbara Eden, left, of « I Dream of Jeannie » fame shared a decadeslong friendship with Loni Anderson. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images | Bob D’Amico /American Broadcasting Companies via Getty Images)
The two women first met in 1981. At the time, they were filming a Bob Hope special alongside « Dynasty » star Linda Evans.
« He was doing a big deal about the blondes in Hollywood, » Eden chuckled. « They had put the costumes out for us in different rooms, of course. They’d given me white hosiery for a nurse costume. I looked at them and I thought, ‘Oh my God, how ugly.’ But I just put them on. »
Loni Anderson starred as Jennifer Marlowe on « WKRP in Cincinnati. » (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)
« 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.’ »
« She was a friend, » said Eden. « She saw something she didn’t like and spoke up right then and there. »
Loni Anderson, left, and Barbara Eden attend the tribute « Red Buttons: A Celebration of Life and Laughter » on Aug. 7, 2006 at The Century Club in Los Angeles. (Vince Bucci/Getty Images)
The women became fast friends.
« Barbara probably knew her better than most – they were really good friends, » publicist Harlan Boll told Fox News Digital. « When I produced Barbara’s tribute, Loni was one of my speakers. »
Eden said she admired Anderson’s talent and dedication to motherhood.
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Loni Anderson and Burt Reynolds shared a son named Quinton Anderson Reynolds. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
« She is still remembered for being a beautiful, kind, just wonderful human being, » said Eden. « 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. »
Morgan Fairchild shared a similar sentiment.
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« Loni and I did Bob Hope specials together back in the day, and recently did a Lifetime movie, ‘Ladies of the ’80s: A Diva’s Christmas’ together, » the actress told Fox News Digital. « She was lovely, kind, always gracious, and just one of the nicest people I’ve ever had the honor of working with in all my years in the business. »
From left to right, Linda Gray, Morgan Fairchild, Donna Mills, Loni Anderson and Nicollette Sheridan attend a holiday celebration with the stars of « It’s a Wonderful Lifetime, » joining together to honor military spouses with Blue Star Families and DirectTV at The Maybourne Beverly Hills on Nov. 28, 2023. (Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Lifetime / A+E Networks)
The « Falcon Crest » alum said one recent memory of the late star continues to make her smile.
« In our TV movie, her character ended up with a gray wig, and she looked so fabulous with the gray hair, » the 75-year-old recalled. « We all tried to convince her to go with that in real life, whenever the time came. However, she said that producers would only cast her as a blonde. She had tried to go back to her natural dark hair at one point, and they told her she had to be ‘the blonde’ to get cast. »
Loni Anderson died on Aug. 3, 2025. She was 79. (Getty Images)
« She was radiant in that gray wig, and she was a radiant soul in real life, » said Fairchild. « I am just devastated to lose her. She was such a talent and such a terrific lady. She was the sweetest person. I [still] can’t believe she’s gone. »
Loni Anderson, left, and Morgan Fairchild. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Eden and Fairchild were among the first to speak out following Anderson’s death.
« Like many, I am absolutely stunned and heartbroken, » Eden wrote on X at the time. « Our friendship has spanned many years, and news like this is never easy to hear or accept. What can I say about Loni that everyone doesn’t already know? She was a real talent, with a razor-smart wit and a glowing sense of humor… but, even more than that, she had an impeccable work ethic. »
« Loni was a darling lady and a genuinely good person, » wrote Eden. « I am truly at a loss for words… Loni, you were one in a trillion, my friend, and even a trillion more. »
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Morgan Fairchild, left, and Barbara Eden are mourning the loss of their friend Loni Anderson. (Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Marcel Remus)
Back in 2021, Anderson spoke to Fox News Digital about being « the blonde. »
« I was a brunette actress in ’75, » she said at the time. « So if you see old reruns, you can see the transformation of my hair. I was every color in the rainbow. I even tried to be a redhead. But the blonde thing happened because the cameraman kept telling me my hair was too dark. It absorbed the light, and it was like an ink blob. And so, I started experimenting with different colors from the drugstore. And the lighter my hair got, the more work I got. »
Loni Anderson holds a pin-up poster of herself in Los Angeles circa 1979. (Michael Brennan/Getty Images)
« When the ‘WKRP’ pilot came along, I wasn’t quite blonde, » Anderson shared. « Hugh Wilson, who created the show, said, ‘Let’s make her look like Lana Turner and be the smartest person in the room.’… I then went to a professional hairstylist and said, ‘Make me a blonde.’ And that’s how my blondeness began. I always thought, ‘I’ll go back to my dark hair.’ But it just didn’t happen. I was who I was, and I was a blonde. »
Loni Anderson previously told Fox News Digital she embraced the role of sex symbol. (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
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« I remember I went to Grant Tinker, the head of NBC, when we did ‘WKRP’ and said, ‘I really want to do this movie. Could I do it with black hair?’ And he said, ‘No – I didn’t hire Loni Anderson to have black hair, » she continued. « I realized I had created this image. »
Anderson admitted she didn’t expect to be seen as a sex symbol, but welcomed the role.
« I had this discussion with Ann-Margret, » said Anderson. « 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. And you know, I’d never thought I would reach that point… I never thought I would be Loni Anderson, sex symbol. But I embrace it. »
