# Loni Anderson vs. Dolly Parton **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 12, 2014, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904 "2014-07-12T01:28:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/41 "2014-07-12T13:26:49Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > As for Bailey, I never watched WKRP but if I knew she was there I would have! Bailey (Jan Smithers) [at age 17](http://www.all-pictures.org/celebrities/main.php/v/celebs/female/Jan+Smithers/Jan+Smithers+e9.jpg.html). Wowza ---
**Author:** ![orangeapples](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@orangeapples](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orangeapples)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/42 "2014-07-12T18:17:58Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Pick one or the other. This woulda made one helluva Celebrity Deathmatch. Was it one? Memory is such a tricky device, that now that I’ve thought of it, my brain is trying to convince me I’ve seen it. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/43 "2014-07-12T18:32:25Z")
> [@orangeapples](#): > > This woulda made one helluva Celebrity Deathmatch. Was it one? Memory is such a tricky device, that now that I’ve thought of it, my brain is trying to convince me I’ve seen it. :dubious: I honestly have no idea. I posted this poll on recommendation from **Leaffan** so maybe he will clear that up for you. I will try to look that up for you. Have you tried a Google search yet? I’m not even familiar with _Celebrity Deathmatch_ but I seem to remember a TV show with Burt Reynolds and Loni and some others (and maybe Bert Convy) in something like _Win, Lose or Draw_ that Dolly might have been on. I know Dolly and Burt did at least one movie together. Good question. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/44 "2014-07-12T19:44:11Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Bailey (Jan Smithers) [at age 17](http://www.all-pictures.org/celebrities/main.php/v/celebs/female/Jan+Smithers/Jan+Smithers+e9.jpg.html). Wowza Just 17? I know what you mean. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/45 "2014-07-12T19:46:27Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > I honestly have no idea. I posted this poll on recommendation from **Leaffan** so maybe he will clear that up for you. I will try to look that up for you. Have you tried a Google search yet? I’m not even familiar with _Celebrity Deathmatch_ but I seem to remember a TV show with Burt Reynolds and Loni and some others (and maybe Bert Convy) in something like _Win, Lose or Draw_ that Dolly might have been on. I know Dolly and Burt did at least one movie together. > > Good question. > [@Leaffan](#): > > Actually, it was a joke response to **Zeldar** ’s “[What POLL are we in most need of?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=728164)” thread. But it’s been fun nonetheless. I have no idea what a celebrity deathmatch is. Again, it was a flippant, off-the-cuff joke reply to **Zeldar** ’s other thread: nothing more, nothing less. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/46 "2014-07-12T20:04:37Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I’m not voting because the question is wacky to me. As a straight guy, sure, I get the OP - which chesty, over-the-top blonde from the 70’s is more attractive. > > But Dolly Parton is…_Dolly Parton_. An amazing, top-tier singer-songwriter who has accomplished more in her career than 99.9% of the writers out there. The level of respect she deserves puts her in a class with Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, etc. Her look may not be the real deal, but her talent most certainly is. And I say this as NOT a country fan. > > As a musician, I get it - non-muso’s see her trampy looks over the years and judge her based on that. But that’s like giggling at Prince - be careful, because while he looks like a horse-faced weenie, if you miss that he is one of the most important musicians of the past 50 years, you really come off as clueless. That is what I was going to say and I agree completely. Not only those things, but Dolly is also an incredible live show person and has everything from an amusement park to a popular live rodeo dinner show in Branson, MO. She has also been married for a very long time to a man that wants nothing to do with show business (he made his own money doing highway paving projects even though his wife is incredibly wealthy). She is also reported to be a very nice person in general. Dolly is still doing lots of things and has been meaningful for decades. Her songwriting alone would have earned her a place in music history but she did a lot more than that. Lonny is best known as a sitcom bombshell from the late 70’s and the early 80’s who went on to several failed marriages and some activist work. I never thought Lonny was attractive in the least. She optimizes the dumb blonde look and that has never appealed to me. Making a comparison between the two is a little like asking which was the better band, The Rolling Stones or [Menudo](https://www.google.com/search?q=meeduo+band&rlz=1C1CHMO_en&oq=meeduo+band&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.3400j0j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8)? ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/47 "2014-07-12T22:12:51Z")
Dutch, not into country. Never heard of Loni. Respect the hell out of Dolly. I enjoy her music, acting, and the sound business way she operates a major amusement park, Dollywood, that provides good jobs in a region that needed them. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/48 "2014-07-12T22:43:58Z")
Dolly also started a program in Tennessee where every child that is signed up gets a free book in the mail every month from birth to 5 years old. That program has spread and now 700,000 kids get free books every month. [Imagination Library.](http://www.imaginationlibrary.com/) StG ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/49 "2014-07-12T23:00:15Z")
> [@orangeapples](#): > > This woulda made one helluva Celebrity Deathmatch. Was it one? Memory is such a tricky device, that now that I’ve thought of it, my brain is trying to convince me I’ve seen it. :dubious: That would be Dolly vs. J-Lo. Expandable tits vs. expandable ass. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/50 "2014-07-13T03:12:46Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Bailey (Jan Smithers) [at age 17](http://www.all-pictures.org/celebrities/main.php/v/celebs/female/Jan+Smithers/Jan+Smithers+e9.jpg.html). Wowza I remember that _Newsweek_ cover! Years later during _WKRP in Cincinnati_, I never connected that with Bailey. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/51 "2014-07-13T04:42:26Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > It was an easier decision when I read the title as “_Louie_ Anderson vs. Dolly Parton.” The fist response about sagging breasts did not alert me to my error, although the failure to mention Louie’s death did. Louie died??? But, back to the main: Dolly by a mile. Loni’s face scared me even before her plastic surgeries. (If any). Dolly had a good face. Huge jugs don’t hurt. IIRC, also, Loni’s seemed too saggy at a young age. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/52 "2014-07-13T05:11:18Z")
This poll and thread reminds me of the [“2 Stars 1 Slot”](http://archive.today/RKFDv) evaluations they used to have at Fametracker (RIP). In fact, since Fametracker is no longer active, I don’t see why we can’t do something like that here for other pairs of similar celebrities. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/53 "2014-07-13T06:25:43Z")
Here’s Anderson with her assets on display in a one piece swimsuit in the [WKRP episode “Filthy Pictures”](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xoihrb_wkrp-s02e21-22-filthy-pictures_fun). For someone who supposed to be a super amazing knockout she was not all that (IMO) attractive. There are thousands of women in any big city who are better looking. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/54 "2014-07-13T06:28:43Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Here’s Anderson with her assets on display in a one piece swimsuit in the [WKRP episode “Filthy Pictures”](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xoihrb_wkrp-s02e21-22-filthy-pictures_fun). For someone who supposed to be a super amazing knockout she was not all that (IMO) attractive. There are thousands of women in any big city who are better looking. You know, I had no idea Gary Sandy had such a nice butt. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/55 "2014-07-13T06:57:06Z")
I abstain. There’s no criteria that is at all meaningful to me. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/56 "2014-07-13T07:32:43Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > You know, I had no idea Gary Sandy had such a nice butt. You sexist pig! ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/57 "2014-07-13T08:33:42Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I remember that _Newsweek_ cover! Years later during _WKRP in Cincinnati_, I never connected that with Bailey. Wow, she made quite an impression on you. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/58 "2014-07-13T09:00:35Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Here’s Anderson with her assets on display in a one piece swimsuit in the [WKRP episode “Filthy Pictures”](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xoihrb_wkrp-s02e21-22-filthy-pictures_fun). For someone who supposed to be a super amazing knockout she was not all that (IMO) attractive. There are thousands of women in any big city who are better looking. Fast forward that video to the part with Bailey (Jan Smithers) wearing the purple hat. She looked great! ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/59 "2014-07-13T12:28:43Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Both of them are 68. Are you really sure their breasts are the best criterion at this point? The best thing about this woosh is that it’s so overt. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904/60 "2014-07-13T14:19:26Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > Dutch, not into country. Never heard of Loni. Respect the hell out of Dolly. I enjoy her music, acting, and the sound business way she operates a major amusement park, Dollywood, that provides good jobs in a region that needed them. > [@StGermain](#): > > Dolly also started a program in Tennessee where every child that is signed up gets a free book in the mail every month from birth to 5 years old. That program has spread and now 700,000 kids get free books every month. [Imagination Library.](http://www.imaginationlibrary.com/) > > StG This, but also she apparently pays for college for anyone in her family that wants to go. I mean, you’re asking me to choose between a beautiful woman with a beautiful voice who has written beautiful songs and actively works to improve life one of the poorest regions of the country because she cares about the people there, and a beautiful woman who was the least interesting/amusing character on that one tv show 30 years ago. Is this a serious question? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loni-anderson-vs-dolly-parton/692904.md?page=4)