"God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."
If you know that line, you probably still have the catchy, piano-heavy theme song stuck in your head. WKRP in Cincinnati was one of those rare sitcoms that felt more like a real workplace than a TV set. It wasn't just about a struggling radio station; it was about a group of misfits who somehow became a family.
But honestly, the cast of WKRP in Cincinnati has lived lives far more complicated than their 22-minute episodes suggested. Most people think they just faded into the background after the show was canceled in 1982. They didn't. Some found massive success, others felt trapped by their characters, and sadly, we’ve lost several of the "big guys" recently.
The Straight Man Who Felt Pigeonholed: Gary Sandy
Gary Sandy played Andy Travis, the program director with the tight jeans and the "fellow kids" energy who moved to town to fix the station. He was the glue. The straight man.
You’ve gotta feel for Gary, though. In a 2021 interview with The Hamilton Spectator, he admitted that being the "sane" one on such a wacky show basically cost him the career he wanted. He was pigeonholed immediately. If a role called for a guy in boots and denim, he got the call. But those serious, "big" movie roles? They never quite materialized the way he hoped.
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Instead of moping, Sandy went back to his first love: the stage. He did The Pirates of Penzance and Arsenic and Old Lace. He basically traded the small screen for the theater lights and never really looked back. Now 80 years old, he’s living a quiet life in Kentucky, occasionally appearing at reunions but mostly staying out of the Hollywood grind.
The Passing of a Legend: Loni Anderson
For years, Loni Anderson was the face of the show. As Jennifer Marlowe, she flipped the "dumb blonde" trope on its head. She was the smartest person in the room, the highest-paid person at the station, and the only one who actually knew how to run things.
It’s actually pretty heartbreaking to talk about Loni in the past tense now. She passed away in August 2025, just a few days before her 80th birthday. Her death from a prolonged illness hit the fan community hard because she had always seemed so... timeless.
People forget that she wasn't just a poster girl. She was a powerhouse who managed a messy, 22-year-long public divorce from Burt Reynolds while still working her tail off in TV movies like The Jayne Mansfield Story. She was a brunette art teacher before the show started, and she only went blonde because she realized it was her ticket to the top. It worked, but she always insisted she was a "serious brunette actor" at heart.
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The DJs: Johnny Fever and Venus Flytrap
Howard Hesseman and Tim Reid were the "cool" factor of the cast of WKRP in Cincinnati.
Hesseman, who played the perpetually fried Dr. Johnny Fever, was a real-life counterculture icon. He didn't just play a DJ; he was one in San Francisco before the show. When he passed away in 2022 from surgery complications, it felt like the end of an era. Johnny Fever was the guy who told the truth when everyone else was lying.
Then you have Tim Reid. Venus Flytrap was smooth, stylish, and—interestingly—one of the few characters with a secret back story (he was a schoolteacher named Gordon Sims who deserted the Army).
Reid is arguably the most successful of the bunch post-WKRP. He didn't just stick to acting in shows like Sister, Sister. He and his wife, Daphne Maxwell Reid, actually opened the first African-American-owned film studio in the U.S. since the 1930s. New Millennium Studios in Virginia was a huge deal, hosting productions for movies like Lincoln. Tim is 81 now and still out there being an absolute boss in the industry.
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The Newsroom and the Sales Office
We can't talk about the cast without the guys who provided the cringe comedy long before The Office existed.
- Richard Sanders (Les Nessman): The man with the bandages. Les was the five-time winner of the Buckeye News Hawk Award, and Sanders played him with such earnestness that you almost felt bad for him. Sanders is 85 now, living in Washington state. He actually co-wrote several episodes of the show and its 90s revival. He’s been retired for a long while, enjoying a life far away from the "hog reports."
- Frank Bonner (Herb Tarlek): The man in the loud plaid suits. Herb was the character everyone loved to hate, but Bonner made him human. Sadly, Frank passed away in 2021 due to complications from Lewy body dementia. It’s a tough way to go, but his legacy as the king of bad taste remains untouched.
- Jan Smithers (Bailey Quarters): The shy girl who found her voice. A lot of fans actually preferred Bailey to Jennifer because she felt more "real." Smithers left Hollywood in 1987 to focus on her family. She’s 76 now and leads a very private life, only occasionally popping up for events like the 2014 Paley Center reunion.
Why the WKRP Legacy Still Holds Up
The reason we still care about this specific group of actors is that the show was authentic. It used real music—The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Blondie—at a time when most shows used generic stock tracks. This actually caused a huge legal mess later with DVD releases, but it’s why the show felt so grounded in the 70s.
The cast of WKRP in Cincinnati wasn't just a collection of actors; they were a snapshot of a specific time in American media. They represented the transition from the old-school "Big Guy" management of Gordon Jump (who died in 2003) to the rock-and-roll rebellion of the 80s.
If you're looking to revisit the magic, your best bet is seeking out the "Shout! Factory" DVD sets. They’re the only ones that managed to clear most of the original music rights. Watching it with a generic synth soundtrack just isn't the same. It loses the soul that the cast worked so hard to build.
To truly honor the legacy of these actors, take a moment to look past the plaid suits and the turkey drops. Most of them fought hard against being typed, struggled with the industry’s whims, and yet, they always spoke of their time at the station with genuine love.
Start by watching the "Turkeys Away" episode—it's still the gold standard for sitcom writing. From there, check out Tim Reid’s work in Frank’s Place or Loni Anderson’s final performance in Ladies of the '80s: A Divas Christmas. It’s a great way to see how they evolved beyond the radio booth.