Director of Loni Anderson’s Final Movie Calls Her ‘Courageous’ in Touching Tribute

Among the colleagues and fans remembering Hollywood legend Loni Anderson upon the news of her death on August 3, 2025, frequent Hallmark director Christie Will Wolf wrote a touching tribute about working with the former “WKRP in Cincinnati” actress on her last project.

Wolf directed the 2023 Lifetime movie “Ladies of the 80s: A Divas Christmas,” starring Anderson, Linda Gray, Donna Mills, Morgan Fairchild, and Nicollette Sheridan. Looking back on their time together in a lengthy Instagram post, Wolf marveled at Anderson’s “brains, beauty and wit” and called her a “courageous” woman.

Christie Will Wolf Says She ‘Learned So Much’ From Loni Anderson

Anderson’s publicist told the Associated Press that the Emmy died at age 79 in a Los Angeles hospital, following a long illness.

Wolf, who has been directing Hallmark movies for the last decade including 2024’s “Believe in Christmas” and another holiday film slated for 2025, shared a collage of photos with Anderson from filming the “Ladies of the 80s” movie two years ago.

She captioned her post, “Rest in peace, beautiful Loni 🤍. A legend. The OG leading lady of TV—most immortal as WKRP in Cincinnati’s Jennifer Marlowe, a perfect blend of brains, beauty, and wit.”

“I had the privilege of directing Loni in Ladies of the ’80s,” she continued, “where Loni shone as Lily Marlowe. She wasn’t just hilarious—she was courageous. She brought that role to life with grace, grit, and uncompromising heart.”

Wolf wrote, “Loni was always kind, always real, and naturally magnetic. As a director, I learned so much from her; as a friend, I found both joy and support (as a #femaledirector w/ my kids back home while we filmed). Her fierce, funny, and brave spirit was as radiant inside as she was out.”

“To her beautiful family,” Wolf added, “sending you my love and heartfelt condolences. The heavens will hold her tight – a star is now among them ✨🤍”

Morgan Fairchild Remembers the ‘Lovely Loni Anderson’

Fairchild, who co-starred with Anderson in the “Ladies of the 80s” holiday movie, also paid tribute “to memories of lovely Loni Anderson” on Instagram, sharing a photo of them on-set.

The former primetime soap star, who also starred in the 2009 Hallmark movie “Perfect on Paper,” wrote that Anderson was “one of the genuinely nicest ladies I’ve ever worked with, on set of our recent Christmas movie with @thedonnamills. We had so much fun on this! She will be greatly missed!”