My only encounter with Loni Anderson was when I was hired for what turned out to be a single short scene in a TV movie called: My Mother's Secret Life. Loni played a hooker and I one of her johns, a construction worker. It was shot on location in San Francisco, so I was flown up and put in a hotel to report on set early the next morning.
When I showed up at the hair & makeup trailer, Loni was already being worked on and after being introduced we ran our few lines and then chatted while people buzzed around her. Then a youngish man burst in and began yelling about her being late to the set and holding up filming. It was around 8AM and she had already mentioned that she'd been there since 6AM, but the man didn't care.
Sometimes in situations like that, where a woman was being berated, I'd ask them "You want me to knock him out?" and the guys would back off, because they weren''t ready or willing to "throw some hands" as we called it when I was a kid (and I knew that of course, I wasn't that brave), but before I could she apologized and disarmed him, and me, with her humble and seemingly genuine sincerity.
The scene I was in took place on a sidewalk under scaffolding. When they called for our stand ins so the lighting could be set, Loni told hers to take her seat and she'd do the tedious standing in place while lights and reflectors were arranged and rearranged. This was the first time I'd had a stand in (the two indie horror movies I'd starred in didn't have them) so I followed Loni's lead and told mine to take my seat while I stood with Loni.
The lighting guy was up on a ladder looking down at us, focused on Loni, and she was talking to him like they were old friends as she began asking about the wattage or something technical and I listened as she very sweetly and humbly asked questions seemingly innocently that got him to change his choices to what she was nudging him toward.
I was so impressed that she not only knew what these technicians were doing and what with, but that she used all her glamour plus her one-of-the-gang camaraderie, to influence how the camera would capture her. Just the amount of work she did to make this one little scene work for her was beyond what I was willing to expend. And during all this she was also joking with me, charming me, and deflecting my attempts at flirting like a seasoned hockey goalie deflecting pucks.
I admired her ever after, and still do. My condolences to all her family, friends, and fans.
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