TLDR: Frank Bonner spent WKRP in Cincinnati playing the station’s perpetually unsuccessful, plaid-suited ad salesman, a character based on a real person creator Hugh Wilson actually knew. What he valued about the job was where it led him next, a real directing career spanning more shows than most viewers ever realized.
Frank Woodrow Boers Jr. was born February 28, 1942, in Little Rock, Arkansas, to a saxophonist father and a mother with her own singing career in the 1930s and 40s.
He served four years in the U.S. Navy, stationed in San Diego from 1961 to 1965, before moving to Los Angeles to work for an engine rebuilding company while acting in theater on the side.
His screen debut came under his own real name in the 1970 cult horror film Equinox, followed by scattered guest spots on Mannix, The F.B.I., Cannon, and Police Woman through the 1970s.
Herb Tarlek Was Based on a Real Person
Bonner played Herb Tarlek, WKRP’s sales manager, a character defined by loud plaid suits and a habit of never quite closing the big account.
Creator Hugh Wilson modeled Herb directly on a real sales executive he’d known during his own advertising career, giving Bonner a character with genuine roots rather than a pure invention.
The role ran across the show’s full four seasons starting in 1978, and Bonner kept a Arkansas Razorbacks coffee mug on Herb’s desk as a small personal touch nobody scripted.
A Canadian rock band, Rheostatics, later wrote an entire song about the character, with Bonner appearing in the music video himself.
Six Episodes Behind the Camera Changed His Whole Career
Bonner directed six episodes of WKRP itself during its original run, and according to his daughter Desiree Boers-Kort, that experience mattered more to him than acting ever did.
He went on to direct decades of network television, including Family Ties, Who’s the Boss?, Just the Ten of Us, Head of the Class, Evening Shade, and Harry and the Hendersons, plus 105 episodes of NBC’s City Guys between 1997 and 2001.
He kept acting too, reprising Herb Tarlek in the 1990s sequel series The New WKRP in Cincinnati, directing seven of its episodes as well, and playing Father Hargis, headmaster of St. Augustine’s Academy, on Just the Ten of Us.
His ex-wife, playwright and actress Lillian Garrett-Groag, even guest-starred on the original WKRP during their marriage.
He Died After a Three-Year Battle With Dementia
Bonner was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia roughly three years before his death, the second-most-common type of progressive dementia after Alzheimer’s disease according to the Mayo Clinic.
According to a report at the time, he died peacefully on June 16, 2021, at his home in Laguna Niguel, California, at age 79.
Former co-star Loni Anderson said in a statement that “Frank Bonner was like family. He was one of the funniest and nicest men I worked with. I am heartbroken.”
You can read more about the rest of the WKRP in Cincinnati cast in our full guide to the show.
Frank Bonner, Frequently Asked Questions
How did Frank Bonner die?
He died on June 16, 2021, at his home in Laguna Niguel, California, at age 79, from complications of Lewy body dementia, which he’d been diagnosed with roughly three years earlier.
Was Herb Tarlek based on a real person?
Yes, creator Hugh Wilson modeled the character directly on a real sales executive he’d known during his own advertising career.
Did Frank Bonner direct any episodes of WKRP?
Yes, he directed six episodes during the show’s original run and seven more on its 1990s sequel, an experience that led him toward a much broader directing career on shows including Family Ties and City Guys.
Did Frank Bonner appear in the WKRP sequel series?
Yes, he reprised his role as Herb Tarlek in The New WKRP in Cincinnati, which ran in syndication from 1991 to 1993, while also directing several of its episodes.
