by Dawn McElligott
The death of actor Frank Bonner on June 16th kicked off another wave of nostalgia about one of the best sitcoms in TV history, “WKRP in Cincinnati.”
Before starring on “WKRP …” Frank Bonner had been acting in commercials and had small roles in such shows as “Mannix.” As “WKRP …” came together, the unpredictable machinations of casting helped Bonner get his big break.
According to MeTV.com, David Cassidy had originally been offered the part of Dr. Johnny Fever but the former “Partridge Family” star turned it down.
Howard Hesseman was invited to read for the role of Herb Tarlek, but insisted on reading for only one part, that of Dr. Johnny Fever. It’s hard to imagine the show without Hesseman as the aging, hedonistic disc jockey.
Bonner succeeded Hesseman as Herb and when the show began he was the salesman everyone loved to hate. Just as every town has an “Elm Street,” every office has a Herb. Herb was an arrogant salesman who wore loud suits but couldn’t hide his poor sales record or cynical toxicity.
Although Herb Tarlek was comically repulsive, the show humanized the inept salesman more than once.
One of the most impressive examples of the humanization process is an episode entitled, “A Mile in My Shoes.” In this one, the station’s confident Program Director, Andy Travis, fills in for Herb while he’s on jury duty.
In the jury room, Herb sees people ignoring his every word, despite having elected him as the foreman. At the same time, Andy experiences the humiliation of selling ad space for an underperforming radio station.
Each begins to understand the other’s frustrations, and ultimately, Andy, who seemed like so much a worthier executive than Herb at the beginning of the episode has learned enough about the salesman’s situation that he offers to buy Herb a drink at the end.
During its run, the series won an Humanitas Award and was nominated for 10 Emmy Awards.
Toward the end of the series’ run, Bonner began directing some of the episodes. After the series was cancelled, he continued directing TV shows such as “Head of the Class,” where he reunited with that series’ star, Howard Hesseman.
A decade later, Bonner and certain other cast members, including Hesseman, would reassemble for “The New WKRP in Cincinnati.” The sequel series depicted life at the station after Travis had left, throwing them back into chaos.
Bonner continued acting and directing until retiring in 2014. Although suffering from Lewy body dementia, Bonner’s daughter, Desiree Boers-Kort, posted on Facebook that he was signing autographs up until “the last few weeks of his illness.”
The late, great, Hugh Wilson based both TV series on his memories of WQXI in Atlanta. Frank Bonner reincarnated Wilson’s experiences as an ad salesman for the radio station. At first, we sneered at Herb Tarlek, but empathized with him later as the product of his environment.
Excellent writing featured the character’s additional dimensions. Viewers who may have felt superior to Herb the buffoon, knew they shared some of his flaws. Laughing at Herb Tarlek was a release but seeing the other side of him was a relief.
Hugh Wilson made other fantastic contributions to TV through “WKRP in Cincinnati,” but for this writer, creating a character that evokes such disparate emotions as Herb Tarlek is the one to strive for.
Dawn McElligott is a an award-winning writer and filmmaker who lives on the East Coast. You can learn more about her HERE