WKRP in Cincinnati actress Loni Anderson was married four times by the time she died at the age of 79 on Aug. 3.
Her first husband, though, was Bruce Hasselberg, the son of a Minnesota mayor, and their marriage produced her only daughter, Deidra Hoffman. Anderson also had an adopted son named Quinton Reynolds with her third husband Burt Reynolds; the latter marriage ended in acrimony.
However, what is known about Anderson’s first husband?
Loni Anderson married Bruce Hasselberg in 1964
Anderson’s marriage to Hassleberg was short-lived and dates to the 1960s.
According to the Minnesota Historical Election archive, Hasselberg was the son of Bloomington, MN, mayor Donald Hasselberg.
Bruce Hasselberg married Loni Anderson in South Dakota in 1964, according to that site.
Anderson “lost the Miss Minnesota beauty pageant to Hasselberg’s sister,” that site reported. She was the fourth runner-up.
His occupation is listed as an industrial and commercial realtor with Premier Realty Co. The site also says he served in the U.S. Navy as a petty officer.
Loni Anderson with daughter Deidra Hoffman at the 33rd Emmy Awards at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on September 13, 1981 in Pasadena, California.
MediaPunch/Getty Images
Interestingly, around that time, Anderson had a chance meeting with the man who would become her fourth husband, Bob Flick. A local newspaper had asked her to pose for a photo with Flick when his folk song hit the charts, according to ABC 7. The pair reignited their romance years later, married in 2008, and were still together when Anderson died.
Loni Anderson remained close to Bruce Hasselberg’s family
In 2008, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that Anderson “attended the 90th birthday party for her first mother-in-law Phyllis Hasselberg.”
“Anderson flew in with her daughter, Deidra, a California school principal, whose father is Bruce Hasselberg, a publisher of specialist directories and Phyllis’ son. Phyllis is also the widow of onetime Bloomington Mayor Don Hasselberg,” the Star Tribune reported.
That article quotes Bruce Hasselberg as saying, “I went out with her after the Miss Minnesota pageant and I proposed the first night, and we were married four weeks and six days later.” He also said she was dating Flick at the time.
Related: Loni Anderson, Husband Bob Flick Married After Burt Reynolds’ Divorce
Source:: Life – Fitness – mensjournal
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