Jan Smithers

Karin Jan Smithers (born July 3, 1949) is an American former television and film actress, best known for playing Bailey Quarters on the television series WKRP in Cincinnati.

Life and career

Smithers grew up with her parents and three sisters in Woodland Hills, California, and attended William Howard Taft High School there. She first reached the public eye as a teenager when she was featured on the March 21, 1966, cover of Newsweek, seated on a motorcycle.^[1][2] Smithers's first marriage was to Kipp Whitman from 1971 to 1972. From 1986 to 1995, she was married to actor James Brolin and was stepmother to his two sons from a previous marriage; they had one daughter, Molly, together.

Smithers retired from show business in 1987. After living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, she now lives in Ojai, California.^[1] In June 2014, Smithers attended a reunion of WKRP cast members hosted by the Paley Center for Media.^[3]

Filmography

• Love Story as Barbara (1 episode, 1973)
• When the North Wind Blows (1974)
• Where the Lilies Bloom (1974) as Devola
• Trick or Treat (1975)
• Starsky and Hutch as Sharman Crane (1 episode, 1976)
• Our Winning Season (1978) as Cathy Wakefield
• The Love Tapes (1980) (TV) as Carol Clark
• WKRP in Cincinnati as Bailey Quarters (86 episodes, 1978–1982)
• The Fall Guy as Cynthia Caldwell (1 episode, 1983)
• Legmen as Sarah Turner (1 episode, 1984)
• Finder of Lost Loves as Barbara Hensen (1 episode, 1984)
• The Love Boat (4 episodes, 1982–1984)
• Mike Hammer (1 episode, 1985)
• Cover Up as Karen Morris (1 episode, 1985)
• Murder, She Wrote as Kathy Farrell (1 episode, 1985)
• Comedy Factory as Barrie Shepherd (1 episode, 1985)
• Hotel as Janice Copeland (2 episodes, 1984–1986)
• Mr. Nice Guy (1987) as Lise

References

Further reading

• Vorpahl, Beverly (September 19, 1980). "'WKRP' stars: Behind the masks". Spokane Daily Chronicle (Cowles Publishing Company). 

External links

• Jan Smithers at the Internet Movie Database