- Gordon Jump
-
Gordon Jump 
Jump in 1979Born Alexander Gordon Jump
April 1, 1932
Dayton, Ohio, U.S.Died September 22, 2003 (aged 71)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.Occupation Actor Years active 1959–2003 Spouse Anna F. Inge Jump (1963–1992)
Betty McKeever (1993–2003)Alexander Gordon Jump (April 1, 1932 – September 22, 2003) was an American actor best known as the clueless radio station manager Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson in the TV series WKRP in Cincinnati and the incompetent "Chief of Police Tinkler" in the sitcom Soap. He also played the "Maytag Repairman" in commercials for Maytag brand appliances, from 1989 until his retirement from the role in July 2003.
Contents
Biography
Early life
Born Alexander Gordon Jump, in Dayton, Ohio, Jump graduated from Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, in 1955. In 1957, Jump graduated with a degree in journalism from Kansas State University, where he was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity. He began his career working at radio and television stations in Manhattan and Topeka, Kansas. In Topeka he did the weather on WIBW-TV in 1959; in the early 1960s, he performed on the station's Saturday morning children's program as "Wib the Clown." He was a television producer and on-air personality in Dayton, Ohio, when he decided to move to Los Angeles and study acting.
Acting career
Jump first began his acting career in the 1960s with minor roles in television on such shows as Get Smart, Lancer, Here Come the Brides, and Green Acres. He also guest-starred in a number of series during the 1970s including The Rockford Files, The Incredible Hulk (in an October 1978 episode called "Ricky"), The Lost Saucer, Starsky and Hutch, Lou Grant (TV series), Kojak, The Bionic Woman, and The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. He had a brief speaking role as a farmer in the 1976 TV Movie "Sybil." In 1978, he landed the role of Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson on the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati.
After WKRP in Cincinnati folded in 1982, Jump made an appearance as the bicycle man who sexually molests Arnold and Dudley on Diff'rent Strokes. He later hosted the PBS series Make Yourself at Home[disambiguation needed
] and taught voice classes, and made frequent appearances on the hit television show, Growing Pains playing Joanna Kerns father. Jump also enjoyed working in theater. In 1989, he took over the Maytag repairman role from Jesse White. In the 1990s, Jump starred in a short-lived revival of WKRP entitled The New WKRP in Cincinnati. He also appeared in the ninth and final season of Seinfeld, where he played George Costanza's boss at a playground equipment company over two episodes. Jump's last film role was in the 2004 film Changing of the Guard released after his death.Death
Jump died in 2003 from pulmonary fibrosis, leading to respiratory failure at his home near Los Angeles, California.[1]
Selected filmography
Film Year Film Role Notes 1972 Conquest of the Planet of the Apes Auctioneer 1978 The Fury Mr. Nuckells 1984 Making the Grade Mr. Harriman Alternative title: The Last American Preppy 1988 Moving Simon Eberhart 1990 Honeymoon Academy Mr. Nelson Alternative title: For Better or For Worse 2002 The Singles Ward An Airline Passenger Television Year Title Role Notes 1965 Daniel Boone Marcus Clements 1 episode 1967 T.H.E. Cat 1 episode 1970 Mannix Charlie 1 episode 1971 The Doris Day Show Mr. Robinson 1 episode 1973 The Paul Lynde Show Larry 1 episode 1974 Kojak Jonas 1 episode 1974–1975 That's My Mama Officer O'Reilley 3 episodes 1975 The Streets of San Francisco Sergeant Lacy 1 episode 1976 Alice Sherrif McElroy 1 episode 1977 Lou Grant National Editor 6 episodes 1978-82 WKRP in Cincinnati Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson, Station Owner and Manager 88 episodes (90 in Syndication) 1980 Mr. Krueger's Christmas Narrator Television movie 1985 Tall Tales & Legends Mr. Ripple 1 episode 1986 Simon & Simon Ross Garrett 1 episode 1986 The Golden Girls Guest star 1 episode 1987 Diff'rent Strokes Mr. Horton 1 episode 1988 Who's the Boss? Archie 1 episode 1989 Sister Kate Lucas Underwood 1 episode 1994 Baywatch Max Edelman 2 episodes 1995 Empty Nest Bud 1 episode 1997 Married... with Children Mr. Tot 1 episode 1997 Seinfeld Mr. Thomassoulo 2 episodes 1998 Mike Hammer, Private Eye Augustus Hancock Sterling
The General2 episodes References
- ^ "Gordon Jump, 71, 'WKRP' Actor Who Played Maytag's Repairman". New York Times. September 24, 2003. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9407E5D9163DF937A1575AC0A9659C8B63. Retrieved 2007-07-21. "Gordon Jump, who played a befuddled radio station manager on the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati and made his mark in commercials as the lonely Maytag repairman, died on Monday at his home southeast of Los Angeles. He had pulmonary fibrosis."
External links
- Gordon Jump at the Internet Movie Database
- The MSN Entertainment entry on Jump
- The USA Today Obituary on Jump
- Kansas State Historical Society biography of Gordon Jump
- Gordon Jump at Find a Grave
Preceded by
Jesse WhiteMaytag Repairman
1989–2003Succeeded by
Hardy RawlsCategories:- 1932 births
- 2003 deaths
- Actors from Ohio
- American film actors
- American Latter Day Saints
- American television actors
- Otterbein College alumni
- Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis
- Kansas State University alumni
- People from Dayton, Ohio
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