Gordon Jump
Jump in 1979
Born	Alexander Gordon Jump (1932-04-01)April 1, 1932 Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
Died	September 22, 2003(2003-09-22) (aged 71) Los Angeles,California, U.S.
Alma mater	Kansas State University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1959–2003
Known for	WKRP in Cincinnati
Spouses	Olinda D. Kandt ​ ​ (m. 1954; div. 1962)​ Anna F. Inge Jump ​ ​ (m. 1963; div. 1992)​ Betty McKeever ​ (m. 1993)​
Children	4

Alexander Gordon Jump (April 1, 1932 – September 22, 2003) was an American actor best known for playingArthur "Big Guy" Carlson in the seriesWKRP in Cincinnati (1978–1982); he reprised the role in its spinoffThe New WKRP in Cincinnati (1991–1993). He also played Chief Tinkler in the sitcomSoap (1977–1978) and Mr. Horton on atwo-part episode of the sitcomDiff'rent Strokes (1983). He appeared inMaytag commercials as the "Maytag repairman" from 1989 until he retired in 2003.^[1]

Born Alexander Gordon Jump, Jump was raised inCenterville, a suburb ofDayton, Ohio. He graduated from Centerville High School and enrolled inOtterbein College. After his first year, he transferred toKansas State University studying broadcasting and communication; he was a member ofKappa Sigma fraternity. He got his first television job withWIBW-TV inTopeka. He dabbled in "writing, producing, and directing" while at the station.^[2]: 17 Jump was the title character in WIBW's "WIB the Clown", an educational children's program. He reported the weather on the channel and was not always able to get his clown makeup off in time.

In September 1961, he returned to Dayton and joinedWLWD as the station's director of special broadcast services.^[3] He continued as a producer and on-air personality at WLWD, hostingGordon Jump's Fun Time, a popular show for younger children,^[4] andHigh Time, a variety series,^[5] before moving toLos Angeles in 1963 to pursue acting.^[2]: 17 Later in his life, Jump converted and became a member ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).^[6]: 1

Jump's acting career began when he was 32. Jump participated in a theatre production at the Glendale Centre Theatre inGlendale, California, where he was noticed and offered an agent.^[6]: 1 The theatre was owned by Nathan and Ruth Hale, who were members of the LDS Church. It was there that Jump first learned about the LDS Church.^[7][8]

Jump's first break on television was his guest role as Marcus Clements in CBS'sDaniel Boone,^[2]: 18 where he had eight lines.^[6]: 1 During the 1960s, he landed minor roles in television on such shows asGet Smart,^[9]Lancer,^[10]Here Come the Brides,^[11] andGreen Acres.^[12][13]

In the 1960s, Jump converted to the LDS Church. He acted in several church-produced instructional and educational productions, includingWhen Thou Art Converted (1967),Pioneers In Petticoats (1969),^[8] andWhat About Thad? (1970).^[14] In 1967, he played the role ofLehi in theBurbankpageant People of the Book.^[15] He appeared as Peter, the apostle, in a 1969 film which was used in some of the church'stemple ceremonies.^[16]He also acted inThe Singles Ward in 2002, a LDS comedy series.^[17] He and Robert Starling, an independent filmmaker, began Associated Latter-day Media Artists.^[8]

Jump's first recurring role came in 1977, as Chief of Police Tinkler inSoap.^{[2]: 18 [9]} In 1978, he landed his signature role of Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson on the situation comedyWKRP in Cincinnati, portraying a bumbling radio station manager.^[2]: iii Jump stated that the character of Arthur Carlson was based on a real-worldWQXI executive.^[2]: 7

AfterWKRP in Cincinnati was cancelled in 1982, Jump made appearances on many other shows.^[9] These appearances includeThe Love Boat,Night Court,The Golden Girls,Murder, She Wrote, andWho's the Boss? He had a recurring role as Maggie Seaver's father onGrowing Pains.

On a two part episode ofDiff'rent Strokes, titled "The Bicycle Man". He played Mr. Horton, the owner of a bicycle shop who attempts to molest series protagonist Arnold Jackson and his friend, Dudley.^[1] While hisLos Angeles Times obituary called this role a "daring career turn",^[1] Genevieve Koski at theAV Club's roundtable found the laugh track that played during the scene in which the boys see nude photographs "horrifying".^[18] Koski's fellow roundtable member Donna Bowman disagreed, stating that the special humanized the situation.^[18]

In 1989, Jump took over the Maytag repairman role fromJesse White. In the 1990s, Jump starred in a two-season revival ofWKRP in Cincinnati^[19] entitledThe New WKRP in Cincinnati. He appeared in the ninth and final season ofSeinfeld, in which he playedGeorge Costanza's boss at a playground equipment company over two episodes. His last movie role was in the 2004 filmChanging of the Guard, released after his death.

Jump believed the film and television industry to be "the most powerful tool" that can "communicate" and "give... a positive outlook of life to many people."^[6]: 1 According to his personal religious faith, he also believed theatre and television had the ability to uplift and edify individuals and felt that God uses a similar medium to guide his children.^[6]: 1

When scripts required Jump to act in ways that went against his religious convictions, he said that his acting required the same "honesty and judiciousness" as the rest of his life.^[6]: 5 He portrayed the fictional character as accurately as possible to deliver an honest representation of the story to his audience. He warned against portraying all theatrical characters like "missionaries", and instead encouraged actors to "stay true to their craft", through which their inner virtue would shine through.^{[6]: 7, 11} Additionally, Jump did not believe incensorship, claiming that "if you teach people correct principles, they can govern themselves", which is a paraphrase of a teaching byJoseph Smith.^{[2]: 95 [20]}

When Jump was offered the role of Chief Tinkler inSoap, he and the LDS Churchbishop of his church were wary that the content of the program was contrary to his faith. Jump returned to the producers the next day with the intention of refusing the role. The directors heard his concerns and suggested that the underlying messages of the show were more aligned to his beliefs as a Latter-day Saint than he realized; he was encouraged to read the "retribution scenes" in the script. Impressed by the depth of the lessons told through humor,^[6]: 8 Jump took the role inSoap and recommended that viewers of faith evaluate the lessons taught by the finished artistic product of a film or show rather than evaluate whether an actor would actually do some of the things which they portray on screen.^[6]: 7

Jump died on September 22, 2003, frompulmonary fibrosis that led torespiratory failure at his home near Los Angeles. He is interred at the El Toro Memorial Park in Lake Forest, California.^[21]

• Gordon Jump atIMDb
• The MSN Entertainment entry on Jump
• The USA Today Obituary on Jump
• Kansas State Historical Society biography of Gordon Jump
• Gordon Jump atFind a Grave
• Gordon Jump papers, MSS 3711 in theL. Tom Perry Special Collections,Harold B. Lee Library,Brigham Young University

• 1932 births
• 2003 deaths
• 20th-century American male actors
• American male voice actors
• American male film actors
• American Latter Day Saints
• American male television actors
• Otterbein University alumni
• Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis
• Kansas State University alumni
• Male actors from Dayton, Ohio
• Converts to Mormonism

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