Loni Anderson said participating in the “Hollywood Museum Squares” was a little like a high-school reunion. That’s because so many of the celebrity players were close friends years ago, but lost touch in the intervening decades.
The virtual game show is a resurrection of Hollywood Squares that will benefit the Hollywood Museum, which kept its workers employed during the pandemic. Tom Bergeron, John Davidson, Marc Summers, Patt Finn, and Bruce Vilanch all take turns hosting. And there are dozens of celebrities taking part.
Along with Anderson, Gilbert Gottfried, Donna Mills, Jerry Mathers, Rich Little, Judy Norton and so many more appear in the series. You can see a full list here.
The “Hollywood Museum Squares” will be available on-demand on July 10.
Anderson told Fox News that she loved taking part in the series. And especially getting to spend time — via Zoom — with some old friends.
“I come from an era of television where there were just three networks,” she said. “We were all a small family. So I do miss that comradery where everyone knows everyone and we worked together. When I started out, you were pretty much guaranteed that a third of the population of the United States was watching you. So you just knew everybody. Now it’s so different, especially with all the streaming platforms available.”
Anderson was on the original Hollywood Squares a number of times. Her first time was in 1978.
“I was just terrified,” she said. “I worked a lot as an actress, but to be yourself in front of all those clever people? I just felt like, my gosh, I’m going to screw this up. I’m going to be ridiculous. I’m not going to be as bright or as clever as anybody else. I was just so scared.”
Loni Anderson Wore Marilyn Monroe’s Dress
Loni Anderson also explained how she once got the chance to wear a gown owned by Marilyn Monroe thanks to the Hollywood Museum.
The founder and president of the museum called Anderson to see if she would be interested in wearing the gown for an event. She said she was flattered just to be offered, but when she learned no one had worn the gown since Monroe, she said she had “chills.”
She wore this dress for a USO tour right after she married Joe DiMaggio. And he was so upset about how sexy the dress was. I mean, she was just the sexiest thing in the world. So when I put the dress on, it did hit me that Marilyn Monroe once wore this. As it went over my skin, I just felt a tingle. I remember before the shoot, I studied the photos. She had this open-mouth smile with those lips. And I really worked on that when I wore the dress. I remember all the paparazzi were there and just taking photos. It felt spooky. But it was an experience that I’ll never forget.
Loni Anderson, Fox News
