Gordon Jump Biography

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. Jump's most memorable guest starring role was on the 1980s sitcom, Diff'rent Strokes, where he portrayed a pedophile and bicycle shop owner, Mr. Horton. His character attempted to molest Arnold and his friend, Dudley. The two part episode was groundbreaking and enabled viewers to have difficult conversations on the touchy subject with their children. He also played the "Maytag Repairman" in commercials for Maytag brand appliances, from 1989 until his retirement from the role in July 2003.

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 and worked for KSDB, the Kansas State Student Radio Station. 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 weekday after-school children's program as "Wib the Clown," then had to change clothes quickly and wipe off the clown makeup in order to report the weather on the local evening news, which followed. He later returned to Dayton and worked as a producer and on-air personality in Gordon Jumps Fun Time, a popular show for younger children, at WLWD (now WDTN) before deciding 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, A Touch of Grace, Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers, The Incredible Hulk (in an October 1978 episode called "Ricky"), The Lost Saucer, Starsky and Hutch, Lou Grant, Kojak, The Bionic Woman, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. He had a brief speaking role as a farmer in the 1976 television movie Sybil.

In the 1960s, Jump converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Subsequently, he acted in several church-sanctioned instructional and educational productions, including When Thou Art Converted (1967), Pioneers In Petticoats (1969) What About Thad? (1970), a marriage-advice film, and as the Apostle Peter in a 1969 film used as part of the LDS temple ceremonies. Jump would return to LDS films with a small role in the 2002 comedy The Singles Ward.

In 1978, he landed his signature role of Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson on the situation comedy WKRP in Cincinnati, portraying a bumbling radio station manager whose main qualification for the job is being the son of the station's owner.

After WKRP in Cincinnati folded in 1982, Jump made an appearance on a two-part episode of Diff'rent Strokes, cast as Mr. Horton, the owner of a bicycle shop who attempts to molest series protagonist Arnold Jackson and his friend, Dudley Ramsey. He later hosted the PBS series Make Yourself at Home, taught voice classes, and made frequent appearances on the hit television show Growing Pains playing Joanna Kerns's father. Jump also enjoyed working in theater.

In 1989, Jump took over the Maytag repairman role from Jesse White. In the 1990s, Jump starred in a short-lived revival of WKRP in Cincinnati 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 movie 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.

Selected filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1965	Marriage- What Kind For You?	Business Man at the New Years party.	Mormon Church film.
1967	When Thou Art Converted	Typewriter Boss and Elders Quorum President	Mormon Church film.
1969	Pioneers In Petticoats	Papa the Farmer	Mormon Church film.
1969	What About Thad?	Bishop of the LDS Church	Mormon Church film.
1969	Flareup	Security Guard
1970	Ransom Money	Captain Hampton
1972	Conquest of the Planet of the Apes	Auctioneer
1972	Trouble Man	Salter
1978	The Guilty	Man in Mormon sacrament testimony meeting.	Mormon Church film.
1978	The Fury	Mr. Nuckells
1978	Skateboard	Mr. Harris
1978	House Calls	Dr. O'Brien
1979	Evidence of Power	Dr. Lawson
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
1999	A Dog's Tale	Professor Thadeus A. Widstone
2002	The Singles Ward	An Airline Passenger
2003	Dismembered (2003)	Medical Examiner
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1965	Daniel Boone	Marcus Clements	1 episode
1966	Get Smart	Hobson	1 episode
1967	T.H.E. Cat		1 episode
1970	Mannix	Charlie	1 episode
1970-1974	The Partridge Family	Man #2 / Zack Feldman / Father	7 episodes
1971	The Doris Day Show	Mr. Robinson	1 episode
1972-1973	Mary Tyler Moore Show	Hank Morton / Judy's Father	2 episodes
1973	A Touch of Grace	Greenwald	1 episode
1973	The Paul Lynde Show	Larry	1 episode
1974	Kojak	Jonas	1 episode
1974	Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers	Mr. Mead	1 episode
1974	The Rockford Files	Freddie	1 episode
1974-1975	That's My Mama	Officer O'Reilley	3 episodes
1975	The Streets of San Francisco	Sergeant Lacy	1 episode
1976	The Bionic Woman	Charles Butler	1 episode
1976	Rich Man, Poor Man	Dr. Simms	1 episode
1976	Alice	Sheriff McElroy	1 episode
1976	McDuff, the Talking Dog	Amos Ferguson	11 episodes
1977	Lou Grant	National Editor	6 episodes
1977	The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries	Officer Hooper	1 episode (Nancy Drew segment)
1978-1982	WKRP in Cincinnati	Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson, Station Manager	88 episodes (90 in syndication)
1979	Goldie and the Boxer	Alex	Television movie
1980	Mr. Krueger's Christmas	Narrator	Television movie
1983	Diff'rent Strokes	Mr. Horton	2 episodes
1984	Night Court	American agent	1 episode
1985	Tall Tales & Legends	Mr. Ripple	1 episode
1986-1991	Growing Pains	Ed Malone	11 episodes
1986	Simon & Simon	Ross Garrett	1 episode
1986	The Golden Girls	Leonard Barton	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 General	2 episodes

Gordon Jump was the surveyor on episode 9 of Green Acres 1968.