Loni Anderson wasn't supposed to be a blonde bombshell. Back in the mid-70s, she was a brunette from Minnesota, a former Sunday school teacher doing bit parts on shows like Barnaby Jones. Then came the hair dye. Then came the red swimsuit. Suddenly, her face—and everything else—was plastered on bedroom walls across America.
If you grew up in the late 1970s, you knew the Loni Anderson bikini poster. It was everywhere. It sat on the shelf right next to Farrah Fawcett’s iconic red one-piece and Cheryl Tiegs’ pink bikini. But Loni’s appeal was a little different. While Farrah was the "girl next door" who happened to be a superstar, Loni was the sophisticated, untouchable Jennifer Marlowe from WKRP in Cincinnati.
The poster was a marketing masterstroke. It essentially launched her career. In fact, the producers of WKRP reportedly offered her the role of the station's hyper-intelligent receptionist specifically because they saw her in that red swimsuit.
The Story Behind the Red Swimsuit
Hollywood loves a good "overnight success" story, even if it actually took years of grinding. For Loni, the pivot point was 1978. She’d been working, sure, but she hadn’t arrived.
The poster changed that.
The most famous version features Loni in a vibrant red one-piece (often referred to as the bikini poster despite being a very high-cut swimsuit). She’s leaning back, blonde hair perfectly coiffed, sporting high heels that would make most people trip just looking at them. It was pure, unadulterated 70s glamour.
Kinda wild when you think about it. Today, a celebrity might break the internet with an Instagram post. In 1978, you had to sell physical paper at three bucks a pop. And sell she did. While Farrah Fawcett still holds the record with over 12 million copies sold, Loni was one of the few who could actually compete in that stratosphere.
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Why the Jennifer Marlowe Connection Matters
You can't talk about the poster without talking about WKRP in Cincinnati.
Jennifer Marlowe was a revolutionary character. She was the highest-paid person at the radio station, smarter than everyone in the room, and she knew it. She wasn’t the "dumb blonde" trope that Hollywood had been recycling for decades.
The Loni Anderson bikini poster played into this duality. It gave the fans the "sex symbol" they wanted, while the show gave them a character they actually respected. It’s probably why the poster didn’t just appeal to teenage boys; it was a symbol of a woman who was totally in control of her own image.
She once mentioned in an interview—and later in her book My Life in High Heels—how much she leaned into the blonde persona. She knew it was a costume. She knew it was a brand. The poster was the ultimate advertisement for that brand.
Variations: White Bikinis and Studio Magic
While the red suit is the "Gold Standard," there are a few other versions that collectors hunt for today.
- The White Bikini: Usually shot during the same era, often featuring her in a more traditional two-piece. These are rarer than the red swimsuit version.
- The Blue Backdrop: Many of the original Dargis/Klaymaxx prints from 1978 use a deep blue background to make the red of the suit and the blonde of her hair pop.
- The Sitcom Promotional Prints: Later on, posters were released that were more "in character," sometimes featuring the WKRP logo.
Honestly, if you find an original 1978 Klaymaxx #3599 in good condition, you’re looking at a legitimate piece of TV history. These aren't just pieces of paper; they're artifacts of a time when the "pin-up" was the peak of celebrity marketing.
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Dealing with the Legacy (and the Critics)
Not everyone loved the poster. During the height of the show's run, there was a lot of talk about whether such imagery undermined "serious" acting.
Loni didn't seem to care.
She was notoriously protective of her image. There’s a famous story from the production of the WKRP episode "Filthy Pictures." The script originally called for Loni and her co-star Jan Smithers (who played Bailey Quarters) to both be in swimsuits. Loni reportedly refused to do the scene if Jan wore one too. Not because of a feud, but because Loni knew her "brand" was the bombshell. If everyone was a bombshell, nobody was.
That’s the kind of business savvy that kept her on top for years.
Buying an Original Today
If you're looking to grab a Loni Anderson bikini poster now, you've got to be careful. The market is flooded with "new" reprints that look okay from a distance but lack the color depth of the originals.
- Check the dimensions: Most originals were 23x35 or 24x36 inches.
- Look for the printer marks: Seek out the Klaymaxx or Dargis labels in the bottom corners.
- Condition is everything: Because these were often taped to walls or pinned up with tacks, finding one without "tack holes" is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Prices for vintage originals can range anywhere from $50 for a beat-up copy to over $200 for a linen-backed, preserved version.
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What Most People Get Wrong
People often lump Loni in with the "poster girls" of the era as if she was just a lucky face. That's a mistake.
She was a mother, a teacher, and a classically trained actor long before she put on that red suit. The poster was a tool. She used it to get into the room, and then she used her talent to stay there for four seasons of a hit show and decades of a career.
Basically, the poster was the invitation, but Loni Anderson was the main event.
If you're building a collection of 70s memorabilia, this is a cornerstone piece. It represents the bridge between the classic Hollywood glamour of the 50s and the high-energy, syndicated TV era of the 80s.
Actionable Insights for Collectors:
If you want to preserve a vintage poster, do not use Scotch tape. It will yellow the paper and ruin the value within a few years. Instead, look into linen backing. It’s an archival process that flattens the paper and provides a buffer against acidity. If you're buying for investment, always ask for a photo of the copyright line at the bottom to ensure it's a 1970s original and not a 1990s "nostalgia" reprint.