I had the world's biggest crush on Jan Smithers from the very beginning of the show. Loni Anderson is gorgeous, no question. But Smithers had something special. It's one of those "can't quite put your finger on it, but you know it when you see it" qualities. It doesn't hurt that the character of Bailey Quarters had the same quality; Smithers was the perfect fit for that part. I can think any number of actors that could have played Jennifer, but no other person could have played Bailey like that.
Just a heads-up to the young women out there: Jennifer is the woman you want to spend a few hours with, Bailey is the woman that you want to spend a lifetime with.
@@iVenge funny how those in the industry tried to sell everyone on Loni, the personification of what feminist would call "objectification". But it was Bailey that men fell for. No doubt that Jan is a beautiful woman, but moreover, her character, Bailey is genuine. And those few times that Jennifer let herself be vulnerable, I, and no doubt many others thought "maybe she isn't so bad". As much as the network tried to objectify Loni, it was Bailey that we men loved.
When I worked at KOME in San Jose, the staff would get together every week to watch the show. It was more real than you would believe. And yes, we had our own Bailey who did over nights for us. If you ever see the movie FM that came out in the 70s, that film was based on KMET and its program director Mikel Harrington who later became our boss at KOME in San Jose. The best PD I ever had. Sadly, radio is a mess today and dying. And well it should, the big corporations destroyed it just like they’ve destroyed everything in this culture where greed, the investors are more important than people.
Denis erectus 🤣.. Grew up in Cupertino .. prior to it becoming what it is today .. beautiful days . Your station brought me and all our friends great rock and great memories cruising around in the 70’s 🙏 Thank you 🙏
loved that movie FM, it was a realistic depiction of the early days of FM radio. I remember one show back in the late 70's they did by a guy named Rockin Ron Chavis in Seattle called "Your mother won't like it" and he played early Scorpions, Judas priest, etc. How much I wish I could have worked at a radio station back then
@@eflanagan1921 add the Cumulous boys from Georgia who destroyed every station they got their hands on. They had a chef engineer who was into the loudness wars and destroyed the quality signal their stations had before being taken over. And, wasting a 50,000 watt blowtorch like KGO in San Francisco, the last local talk station, for a sports betting channel is what these guys do. Reagan and Clinton turned broadcast properties into just another commodity to be brought and sold. Isn’t Bain Capital Romney’s company
Loni flaunted it and in real life too. Look what she put Burt thru. Jan had a subdued sexy persona....she oozed sexiness without flaunt. What a gorgeous babe.
Bailey.. the person that reminded of a girl a reconnected with a high school reunion. Simple, class, and warmth. Still friends to this day. Who didn't have a crush on Bailey.
9:38 I had always had a thing for Bailey on the show, but seein her dressed like that damn near stopped my heart. Tight jeans, T-shirt, and wild hair.... And that flirtatious smile she gave Herb and the wink she threw at Les..., and then the little-girl pout. oh, damn, where are my pills.....
Bailey is the Betty Rubble and Mary Ann of WKRP! Bailey was/is my favorite character on WKRP! She was one of the few characters on the show not inspired by a real-life person in the radio industry. (Except that, according to some associated with the show, Bailey could be considered to be based on Jan Smither herself, as they said the two are strongly similar.) Although she started out meek, I have a feeling that eventually, someday Bailey likely ended up a station manager!
Definitely a great 1a & 1b with Jennifer and Bailey! I watched an episode recently where Bailey was wearing a pair of tight jeans and I think a long-sleeve button- up...that was a home-run for me
I honestly believe that WKRP would not be remember as well as it is if not for Bailey Quarters (Jan Smithers). The rest of the actors, though perfectly cast, could have been replaced or differently cast and the show would remain the same. If she was gone, however, it would be just another, of many, sitcom’s from the late 70’s / early’80’s. Every scene she was in, even if just atmosphere for the scene, all attention went to her. I’ll give an example. The Bangles song, Walk Like an Egyptian, is nothing more than any other pop song of that era. The reason the song is so well remembered is because of those few seconds in its video when Susanna Hoffs pans her eyes. Without her doing that the song would hold no more value than any other song of that time.
Funny how television execs thought blonde bombshells were everything men wanted. Meanwhile, viewers were actually looking at Bailey. Jeans beat a dress any day of the week.
They definitely kept her under "wraps" compared to Loni. Gary Sandy mentioned in a recent interview Bailey was stacked! Down home and wholesome were her best traits. Who didnt like her?
@@timmotel5804 Probably more the fact that the main writers for the show were guys. Writing for Jennifer was easy, but writing for Bailey was much more complicated.
What I really loved about all the MTM stable of shows was the diversity of personalities. White Shadow, Lou Grant, Hill Street Blues, WKRP, and of course, the Mary Tyler Moore Show. A lot of the conflicts in these shows were about the others trying to deal with a character's predicament and how they would individually approach resolution. When you have strong ensembles like this it is easy to write episodes. So many castmembers of WKRP either wrote or directed episodes. Speaks of a real sense of inclusion to me.
Did you ever "accidentally" drop your pencil just so you'd have to bend down and sneak a peek at her great body? I would've been looking at her all I could especially that nice ass.
I always thought they were each individual personalities that worked well together. I don’t know why so many people made it into a contest between them. Same with Maryann and Ginger.
@@robertfiorellino6070 That’s true, that’s a difference. I just thought that they both had their own merits as characters, they performed different roles, but each fit her role very well.
@@robertfiorellino6070 m feeling is the show made Jennifer to have the Hollywood glamour because they thought that was what people looked for in a receptionist, who was the first person people see when they come into the station. But Jennifer was never vain about her looks, and she made it clear that she did not want to be treated just as a sex object. And fortunately, the people did not make Bailey feel like she was less attractive than Jennifer.
@@robertfiorellino6070 Is it really true that the producers of WKRP were trying to model Bailey and Jennifer after Maryann and Ginger from Gillian’s Island, or was it just a coincidence that they had similarities to those characters?
A great compilation of a great lady. I could just watch that woman breathe. With so many memorable scenes I expect it was difficult to pick what to include and what had to be left side-lined. Should you ever revisit I'd nominate her performance in the Who Tragedy show. She so tagged her scene. Again, great compilation. Cheers
Heard my kids laughing hysterically in the TV room. Finally hollered "what are you guys watching". "One of your DVDs dad". I heard and thought " oh I better go see what that is 😂. Turned out it was a WKRP DVD I didn't even know I had. Too bad we have to go back to the 70s to find safe shows for our kids.
Loni was across the street hot. She looked good from across the street, but once you were on the same side of the street you could see all the makeup and plastic looking hair. Jan was the kind of women you could spend the rest of your life with.
"hose pail", lol.....back in the day, about the same time this show ran, or shortly thereafter, we had a similar phrase: "hose bag". I'm not sure how that came about, or if we were the ones who originated it back then, but my best friends and coworkers often used "hose bag" in a derogatory manner, lol.... Also, we worked in a shoe store and corporate was really high on us doing suggestive selling with pairs of shoes.....for instance, suggesting coordinating pantyhose or a handbag with a pair of shoes... Suddenly, my vocabulary acquired the word "hose bag", to insult certain people. 🤪😂🤣
Loved the show ever since '78 doctor Johnny fever was the last actor who died from the same operation that I had in February of this year colon cancer surgery I'm now 50 and a stroke and cardiac arrest and colon cancer survivor and use a electrical wheelchair when I'm outside of my apartment building here in Hamilton Ontario Canada
The loves of my TV life: Mary Ann Summers (not Ginger) Laurie Partridge Bailey Quarters (not Jennifer) Pam Beesly Lucy Moran (Twin Peaks) *Loves me some hot nerd.*
The crazy thing is on WKRP there were a few times where someone implied she was too plain-looking or not attractive enough, which greatly confused me....
Lets all be fair, Bailey gets picked because guys feel like "at least I have a shot with her". Ranking women is pretty low brow, and for most of us its "here's two women who wouldnt' give us the time of day".
When I was a kid I thought she made Loni Anderson look like a circus clown. When I got older she looked even better but Loni looked even more like a clown
Bailey and Jennifer were deliberate contrasts, of course, a reflection of the times. It's interesting that the question of Rachel or Monica was an update , Rachel and Monica (and the comparison rarely included Phoebe) looked far more alike than not. Women spending hours getting ready had been replaced with the Bailey types like Monica and Rachel, an emphasis on natural beauty versus the glamorous look. Loni Anderson was/is certainly attractive but I believe that even she would be grateful for a more natural look. I always had a crush on Bailey 7:43
I was 13 when this show started, so yeah, I liked Bailey! Loni Anderson did nothing for me, looks wise. She was a 'bombshell', which by the late seventies was an anachronism. She wasn't cute or pretty, she was just so made-up and funny looking. Big jugs only go so far. Jan Smithers was girl-next-door adorably cute..
True, but Jennifer always resisted being stereotyped as a sex object. She put on a certain appearance because she thought that’s what the station wanted a receptionist to look like, but at the same time she wanted people to know that she had brains and not just looks.
Bailey could fool ya'....first the shy proper "news copy girl"...then the strong feminist at times...But when she put on the Black Death "T" and jeans...."She could really turn up the Heat!!!.... Bailey over Jennifer anytime!!!
