A bittersweet entry this time. Today is Loni Anderson's birthday and, as you are no doubt aware, she passed away on August 3rd of this year, just two days away from her 80th birthday.

In the first of her connections to the world of MST3K, she was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, just 22 miles from Eden Prairie (the entertainment capital of the world, and home of Best Brains, Inc). Her father was a chemist and her mother was a former model, and Loni herself got into acting soon after graduating high school. Though her first role, in the 1966 film Nevada Smith, was a bit of a false start -- it took another ten years before she would act professionally again (in the 1976 film Vigilante Force as "Peaches").

She went back and forth between film and television for the next few years, before her breakout role as Jennifer in the hit show "WKRP in Cincinnati," at last giving her an opportunity to showcase her devastating beauty and impeccable comic timing, and racking up several Emmy nominations.

After the end of "WKRP" she continued to work regularly in film and television, and in surprisingly decent projects, too. Experiment #1304, Munchie however stands out as a low point. She gives a good performance in it, but WOW that puppet is horrifying, eh? It's also a comedy that's... really not that funny. Oh well, they can't all be home runs. We all get a little Munchie, sometimes.

But of course, she will be remembered for better things, thank goodness. RIP to Loni Anderson, one of the good ones.