Beautiful Stars Of The 70s And How They’re Looking 50 Years Later

By | May 21, 2021

Loni Anderson's Calendar Made 'WKRP In Cincinnati' A Success

The '70s was a magical decade for beauty and glamor, and the female stars who emerged have an allure we'll never recapture. We saw women taking charge as never before, and it was, frankly, quite sexy. Linda Ronstadt and Stevie Nicks showed us that a woman can rule the biggest stages in rock music, while dynamic cover girls like Beverly Johnson, Cheryl Tiegs and Cybill Shepherd proved there was more to modeling than holding still and looking pretty. We also thrilled to the sight of the first female action heroes -- Pam Grier on the big screen and Lynda Carter on the tube.

There are many paths that lead to adulation and stardom, but in the '70s there was none more effective than the hot poster. A young starlet with a hot poster could count on getting some serious buzz and better paying jobs. It worked for Lynda Carter, Farrah Fawcett, Cheryl Tiegs, Catherine Bach, Heather Thomas, Heather Locklear -- and it worked like crazy for Loni Anderson.

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Source: Reddit

In fact, Loni Anderson's red swimsuit poster didn't just help her to succeed -- the poster helped WKRP In Cincinnati to succeed. It's what got Anderson the job of Jennifer Marlowe on the sitcom, which premiered in 1978, and the promise of Jennifer Marlowe was a major incentive for viewers to tune in every week. The other characters -- Dr. Johnny Fever, Venus Flytrap, Les Nessman, Herb Tarlek -- would all grow on audiences and contribute to WKRP becoming a beloved show. But without Jennifer Marlowe, without "that girl from the poster" coming into your living room, who knows whether WKRP would have gotten off the ground?

Loni Anderson Plays A Martini-Swilling Vamp Of A Grandma

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Loni Anderson with Wendy Bryan Michaels and Terry Ray on 'My Sister Is So Gay.' Source: IMDB

"I carry the ice bucket and all the makings for a martini in my purse," she said of her character, in an interview with Huffington Post. "I’m promiscuous and wear tiny little mini-skirts and have plunging necklines and animal prints."