Bailey Quarters
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Bailey Quarters was a character on the television sitcom, WKRP in Cincinnati. She was played by actress Jan Smithers.
Bailey was the young ingenue of the radio station, and was originally in charge of billing and station traffic. She was later given additional duties as an on-air news reporter. Bailey was widely considered to be the most wholesome member of the WKRP team, and in one episode, she mentioned that she was a member of her college's choir.
Bailey originally came from Chicago and moved to Ohio to study journalism at Ohio State University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. Her ambition is eventually to be a broadcasting executive, but though intelligent and talented, she was held back early on by her extreme shyness and fear of speaking up. When Andy Travis takes over as program director WKRP, one of his first acts is to give Bailey more duties at the station, though sales manager Herb Tarlek and news director Les Nessman oppose this, while station manager Arthur Carlson can't even remember who she is or whether "Bailey" is a man or a woman. As the series goes on, Bailey becomes more assertive and better able to speak up for herself. She also becomes better at standing up to her nemesis Herb; in one episode she actually throws lighted matches at Herb's polyester suit, threatening to set it on fire.
Also as the series goes on, Bailey becomes increasingly associated with environmentalism and other activist causes. One episode begins with her circulating a petition against nuclear power; in another episode, she mentions that she spent the weekend campaigning for the Equal Rights Amendment. In the episode "Circumstantial Evidence," while testifying in court, she starts complaining to the judge about the plight of baby seals and dolphins. Some of these character traits came from the actress who played Bailey, Jan Smithers, who was herself involved with animal-rights and clean-energy causes; as with many of the WKRP characters, elements of the actor were incorporated into the character, making the character more interesting as the show went on.
Bailey has hints of an on-again, off-again romance with Dr. Johnny Fever. In the early episodes, it was suggested that Bailey looks up to Johnny as her mentor in the world of broadcasting, but that she also has a crush on him, which leads her to ask him out on a date in the second-season opener, "For Love Or Money." However, their relationship never seems to go farther than the occasional date. (It's implied at the end of "For Love or Money" and "Mike Fright" that they have had at least casual sexual relations, though in both cases it could be discounted as hyperbole). In season 4's "Rumors," when Johnny stays at Bailey's place for a few days, Bailey is infuriated by the rumors that they are sleeping together -- disappointing Johnny, who was hoping that the rumors would come true. Unlike her friend Jennifer Marlowe, who mostly dates wealthy older men, Bailey seems to have less discriminating taste in men, dating not only Johnny but (in the episode "In Concert") a manic-depressive divinity student with a serious drinking problem.
Her occasional references to her family suggest that she does not get along well with her parents, which may explain why she left Chicago. In one episode she mentions that a visit home consists of relatives asking her if she's "Involved? Engaged? Pregnant?" In another episode, she attempts to describe her relationship with her father but is left speechless with anger. And in still another episode, Mr. Carlson mentions that "I talked to Bailey's father and he said I could shoot her."
Like most of the WKRP characters, Bailey usually got to be the focus of an episode or two each season; Bailey episodes include "The Americanization of Ivan," about a Russian hog expert asking for Bailey's help in defecting to the West; "I Am Woman," where she tries to save WKRP's art deco building from being demolished; and "Dear Liar," a take-off on the Janet Cooke scandal where Bailey creates a news story that is partly fiction which almost cost the station its broadcast license, though she decided against using it and it only becomes an issue when Les jealously plagiarizes it on air ("Dear Liar" contains another, minor, point of interest in that it displays some evidence of a mutual attraction between Bailey and Andy Travis; while delivering a reprimand to Bailey regarding the fake news story, Andy concludes it by saying should she ever pull a stunt like that again, she would be "the best-looking woman on the unemployment line". Bailey's response is purely non-verbal, but her appreciation of the flattery is quite evident).
Bailey's character was vastly overshadowed by that of Jennifer Marlowe (played by Loni Anderson), the blonde bombshell of the station. Nevertheless, Bailey is considered by many to be the more alluring of the two, particularly when she wore her glasses. Jennifer and Bailey have often been likened to Ginger and Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island, in terms of the kind of feminine appeal that they exude.
Jan Smithers was one of the few WKRP cast members who was the first choice for the role she played. Creator Hugh Wilson said that despite Smithers' lack of experience (she had never done a situation comedy before), she was perfect for the character of Bailey as he had conceived her: "Other actresses read better for the part," Wilson recalled, "but they were playing shy. Jan was shy."
