Frank Bonner, who played a brash salesman with a love of flashy plaid suits on the TV comedy “WKRP in Cincinnati,” has died.
Bonner’s daughter says the actor and director died Wednesday at home from complications of Lewy body dementia. He had been diagnosed about three years ago with the disease that leads to worsening mental and physical complications.
“WKRP in Cincinnati” aired from 1978-1982 and was set in an Ohio radio station. Bonner played ad salesman Herb Tarlek, with his co-stars including Loni Anderson. Anderson said in a statement she was “heartbroken” by Bonner’s death.
Bonner was born in Little Rock and spent a good portion of his childhood in Malvern. As a tribute to Bonner’s home state, the character of Tarlek used an Arkansas Razorbacks coffee mug throughout the show.
His survivors include his wife, Gayle.
Frank Bonner was 79.
To read more about his life and connections to Arkansas, head to his entry in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas from the Central Arkansas Library System, by clicking here.
Information from AP News was utilized for this story.
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