Entertainment Longtime Loves
Loni Anderson comes to Scottsdale to honor Burt Reynolds, Don Bluth BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Theater and art were actress Loni Anderson’s loves growing up in Minnesota. Her dream was to become an animator, but the future “WKRP in Cincinnati” star had one hang up. “I wasn’t good enough,” says Anderson, who earned a degree in art education. “I loved it, but I needed to figure out a way to still be in it.” When her then-husband Burt Reynolds — whom she calls “the last great movie star” — was offered a spot in the animated Don Bluth vehicle “All Dogs Go to Heaven,” she had an idea. “I should do the voice of something,” she says. “Don suggested I do the part of Flo, the collie, in the movie and I jumped at it. I still have an attachment to animation. Don gave me that opportunity. “How wonderful is it that I have a Don Bluth cell hanging on my wall of Burt and me as Flo and Charlie signed by Don?” Fast forward 30 years and Anderson once again jumped at the chance to be at Bluth’s side. The Oscar-nominated Valley resident invited Anderson to be a part of a fundraising gala on Saturday, November 23, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of “All Dogs Go to Heaven.” Anderson will perform in an original Bluth stage production written exclusively for the gala. Other celebrity guests appearing in the production will be Gary Goldman, who co-directed and -produced the film; Reynolds and Anderson’s son, Quinton Anderson Reynolds; and Bob Flick, a folk singer in The Brothers Four, known for their song “Try to Re-
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member.” The event will support the nonprofit Don Bluth Front Row Theatre’s renovations and operational expenses. “I love him, and I love his animation and his commitment to theater,” Anderson says about Bluth. “Everything about him works with what I respect and love most.” Anderson encouraged her son to attend to pay tribute to his father, who died in September 2018. “I said to him, ‘Now that your dad is gone, you should represent him,’” Anderson recalls. “‘You should be there and hear about how people felt about him.’ “Burt was so crazed for Quinton. He wanted a son more than anything in the world. It’s lovely to have Quinton join us. His room is filled with cells from ‘All Dogs Go to Heaven’ signed by Don Bluth. Those are his treasures.” Anderson Reynolds, who works behind the scenes in Hollywood, is now 31, so he grew up seeing the effect of “All Dogs Go to Heaven” on fans, his mother says. “He had a stuffed Fievel from ‘An American Tale’ and the stuffed animals of the whole cast of ‘All Dogs Go to Heaven,’” Anderson recalls. “I said to him, ‘Wouldn’t you like to auction them off for charity? Wouldn’t that be nice?’ He said, ‘No.’ They’re still precious to him. That makes me smile.”
No retirement soon As an actress, Anderson says there’s “no such word as ‘retired,’” with a laugh. She’s always looking for new projects, especially now that, she says, she has nothing left
to prove. “I want to just go where the fun is,” Anderson adds. “Acting was never work for me. ‘WKRP’ was a family. It was joyful. I couldn’t wait to get there every day. Life is too short, if you’re dragging your feet to get out of bed and go to work. I want to be in shows — or whatever it is — I’m excited to go to. Of course, I’m always looking for Lori Anderson reminisces about “All Dogs go to Heaven” and encourages son funny. to pay tribute to his late father, Burt Reynolds. (Submitted Photo) “Maybe there’s a villain left in me somewhere. That would be sides “WKRP in Cincinnati,” appeared in fun. It hasn’t been available to me since I seven feature films, 18 television movies went blonde. When I was dark, I played and two miniseries. lots of villains on stage.” These days, Anderson stars in the AmShe’s looking forward to the Bluth pro- azon Prime streaming comedy, “My Sister duction because she thrives in front of a is So Gay.” live audience. “WKRP in Cincinnati” was “The landscape of our business has filmed in front of a live audience, like changed so dramatically,” she says. “I’m many shows in that age. very excited about streaming and how Anderson always wanted to be an en- many outlets there are. There are 500tertainer. As a child, she charged neigh- some scripted shows. I come from an bors to watch plays in her parents’ ga- era of three networks with three hours rage. At age 10, she was in her first com- of primetime. A third of the nation was munity theater musical. Theater wasn’t watching me and I was a household in her family’s blood, as her father was a name. chemical engineer and her mom was a “We were so identifiable and now acmodel. tresses and actors are so chameleon-like. “As a child, I only had so many things to No one has a hair color. Everyone would do besides go to school,” Anderson says. have had a heart attack if I colored my “I could either go on a date or I could do hair, once I established myself. Today, theater. Theater was my date.” they have a lot more freedom.” Anderson loved theater, but her parents didn’t think it was a practical career choice for a divorced, teenaged mom. InWhat: “All Dogs Go to Heaven” stead, at the University of Minnesota, she 30th Anniversary Gala pursued a degree in education, which When: 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday, she hasn’t used, she says. November 23 “Not many people want their kids to go Where: Don Bluth Front Row into show business,” adds Anderson, an Theatre, 8670 E. Shea Boulevard, avid art collector. “It’s such a crap shoot. Suite 103, Scottsdale I’m so lucky.” Cost: $235 matinee; $295 evening In her decades-long career, Anderson Info: 480-314-0841, starred in give additional TV series, bedonbluthfrontrowtheatre.com
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