Bruce D. (B.D.) Hasselberg was an American businessman, real-estate professional, U.S. Navy veteran, and former Republican political candidate from Minnesota. He is best known publicly as the first husband of actress Loni Anderson, whom he married in 1964. According to the Minnesota Historical Election Archive, Hasselberg was born on May 3, 1939, in Hennepin County, Minnesota, and lived in Bloomington. He worked as an industrial and commercial real-estate salesman and later held a senior executive position at Premier Realty Co.
Hasselberg also had a brief involvement in Minnesota politics. In 1966, he ran as a Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, receiving 65,964 votes, or 24.37%, in the Republican primary, but he did not win the nomination. His father, Donald R. Hasselberg, was the mayor of Bloomington, connecting the family with local civic life.
Bio Table
| Full Name | Bruce D. Hasselberg |
|---|---|
| Born | Circa 1940, in Minnesota, per genealogical records — not independently confirmed by a primary source |
| Parents | Donald R. Hasselberg, former mayor of Bloomington, Minnesota, and Phyllis Hasselberg |
| Siblings | At least one sister, who competed in the Miss Minnesota pageant against Loni Anderson |
| Military Service | U.S. Navy, served as a petty officer |
| Occupation | Industrial and commercial realtor, associated with Premier Realty Co. and Hasselberg Cos. |
| Spouse | Loni Anderson, actress best known for “WKRP in Cincinnati” his marriage to her was her first of four; married in South Dakota in 1964 |
| Daughter | Deidra Hoffman, Anderson’s only biological child |
| Later Family Relations | Remained close to the Hasselberg family after the divorce; Anderson attended Bruce’s mother’s 90th birthday party in 2008 |
| Current Status | Not reliably confirmed; unrelated obituary and genealogical records for other men named Bruce Hasselberg should not be assumed to refer to him |
Who Is Bruce D. Hasselberg?
Bruce D. (B.D.) Hasselberg was an American businessman, real-estate professional, U.S. Navy veteran, and former Republican political candidate from Minnesota. He is best known today as the first husband of actress Loni Anderson. According to the Minnesota Historical Election Archive, Hasselberg was born on May 3, 1939, in Hennepin County, Minnesota, and lived in Bloomington. His occupation was listed as an industrial and commercial realtor and senior vice president at Premier Realty Co. He also served in the U.S. Navy as a petty officer.
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Background
Hasselberg came from a family involved in local public life. His father, Donald R. Hasselberg, served as mayor of Bloomington, Minnesota. Bruce later entered politics himself, running as a Republican candidate for Minnesota lieutenant governor in 1966. He received 65,964 votes, or 24.37%, in the Republican primary but did not win the nomination.
Hasselberg married Loni Anderson on July 10, 1964, in Minnehaha County, South Dakota. At the time, Anderson was still a young Minnesota woman who had not yet achieved her later television fame. The couple had one daughter, Deidra, before divorcing in 1966. Anderson later became famous for playing Jennifer Marlowe on WKRP in Cincinnati.
Unlike Anderson, Hasselberg largely remained outside the entertainment industry and public spotlight. His documented career centered on real estate, business, military service, and a brief period in Minnesota politics. A 2026 obituary record lists Bruce Hasselberg as having died on March 7, 2026, at age 86.
A Mayor’s Son Who Married a Future Beauty Queen’s Rival
Bruce D. Hasselberg was the son of Donald Hasselberg, who served as mayor of Bloomington, Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Historical Election Archive a genuinely useful, specific source given how thin most biographical detail about him is elsewhere. He married Loni Anderson, later famous for playing Jennifer Marlowe on “WKRP in Cincinnati,” in South Dakota in 1964, when both were young; Anderson was still a teenager at the time. One detail from that period stands out for its specificity: according to the same election archive source, Anderson had lost the Miss Minnesota beauty pageant to Hasselberg’s own sister, finishing as fourth runner-up a small, real coincidence that connects the two families before the marriage even happened.
Hasselberg served in the U.S. Navy as a petty officer and went on to build a career as an industrial and commercial realtor, associated with Premier Realty Co. and, per his own LinkedIn profile, Hasselberg Cos. a family-connected business that appears to have continued for decades afterward, based on his listed professional history describing new interests expanded into Texas and New Mexico and national work serving the automobile industry.
A Short Marriage, a Lasting Family Connection
The marriage between Hasselberg and Anderson didn’t last, though it produced her only biological child, a daughter named Deidra Hoffman. What’s genuinely notable, and reported consistently in coverage that followed Anderson’s death in August 2025, is that the divorce didn’t end the connection between the two families. Anderson remained close to the Hasselbergs afterward, reportedly attending Bruce’s mother’s 90th birthday celebration in 2008 decades after the marriage itself had ended, and well into a period during which Anderson had already gone on to marry and divorce two more times (including a high-profile, acrimonious split from actor Burt Reynolds) before a fourth marriage to Bob Flick. That kind of sustained, warm connection to a first spouse’s extended family, long after a short early marriage, is unusual enough to be worth noting on its own.
The Name Confusion Worth Untangling Carefully
Genealogical databases complicate this picture considerably, and it’s worth walking through why rather than glossing over it. One record describes a “Bruce D. Hasselberg” born circa 1940 in Minnesota to Donald R. and Phyllis Hasselberg details that line up well with the Loni Anderson connection and are treated here as likely referring to the same person. But the same database also contains a separate entry for a “Bruce Thomas Hasselberg,” born 1943, married in 1969 to a woman with the maiden name Denzel, with three children, later divorced, who reportedly died in 2013 at age 70. Separately, an entirely different obituary dated 2026, from a funeral home in New Braunfels, Texas lists a Bruce Hasselberg born May 3, 1939, and who died March 7, 2026, at age 86.
None of these records include a detail that clearly and directly ties them to Loni Anderson’s first husband specifically, and the Texas death record in particular has no documented connection to a Minnesota mayor’s family or a career in commercial real estate. Given how common the name is, and given the real risk of wrongly attributing a stranger’s death to a public figure’s former spouse simply because a search engine surfaces it, this piece is deliberately not asserting that any of these later records refer to the same Bruce Hasselberg who married Loni Anderson in 1964. His current status, as of this writing, should be treated as unconfirmed rather than filled in with a plausible-sounding but unverified record.
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Bruce Hasselberg Net Worth
Bruce Hasselberg’s net worth was estimated at around $10 million by some online biographical sources. However, this figure is not independently verified, and there are no reliable public financial records confirming his exact wealth.
His reported wealth was primarily associated with his long career in real estate and business, including executive roles and his involvement with Hasselberg Corporation. Therefore, $10 million should be presented as an unofficial estimate, not a confirmed net worth.
FAQs
Who is Bruce Hasselberg?
He was the first husband of actress Loni Anderson, married to her in 1964, and the son of a former mayor of Bloomington, Minnesota.
How did Bruce Hasselberg and Loni Anderson meet?
Details of how they met aren’t documented, though his sister competed against Anderson in the Miss Minnesota pageant, connecting the two families before the marriage.
Did Bruce Hasselberg and Loni Anderson have children?
Yes, one daughter, Deidra Hoffman, Anderson’s only biological child.
What did Bruce Hasselberg do for a living?
He served in the U.S. Navy as a petty officer and later worked as an industrial and commercial realtor.
Did Bruce Hasselberg stay in touch with Loni Anderson after their divorce?
Reportedly yes — Anderson attended his mother’s 90th birthday party in 2008, well after both had gone on to other marriages.
Is Bruce Hasselberg still alive?
This isn’t reliably confirmed. Several genealogical and obituary records exist for men with this name, but none can be confidently matched to Loni Anderson’s first husband specifically.
Final Words
Bruce D. Hasselberg lived a life that extended well beyond his brief connection to actress Loni Anderson. His background included military service, a career in commercial real estate, family involvement in Minnesota civic life, and a short period as a Republican political candidate. Although his marriage to Anderson ended after only a few years, the family connection reportedly remained cordial long afterward.
Because reliable information about his later years and finances is limited, details such as his current status and reported $10 million net worth should be treated cautiously. Overall, Hasselberg is best remembered as a businessman, Navy veteran, and former political candidate whose name became publicly associated with Loni Anderson and their daughter, Deidra Hoffman.
