Background
Jump, Gordon was born on April 1, 1932 in Dayton, Ohio, United States.
Jump, Gordon was born on April 1, 1932 in Dayton, Ohio, United States.
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 also played the "Maytag Repairman" in commercials for Maytag brand appliances, from 1989 until his retirement from the role in July 2003. He began his career working at radio and television stations in Manhattan and Topeka, Kansas. In Topeka he did the weather on WIBW-television 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 Jump"s 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 had a brief speaking role as a farmer in the 1976 television movie Sybil. 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 Latter- Day Saints (Mormons) temple ceremonies.
Jump would return to Latter- Day Saints (Mormons) 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. He later hosted the Public Broadcasting Service 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.
Married Anna; children– Cindy, Kiva, Maggi-Jo.