Gordon Jump Dies -- of WKRP, Maytag Ads

AP/Newsday ^ | September 22, 2003 | Lynn Elber

[lainie]

LOS ANGELES -- 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 Monday. He was 71.

Jump suffered from pulmonary fibrosis, said his cousin, Katherine Jump Wagner. The illness causes scarring of the air sacs of the lungs, leading to heart or respiratory failure.

Wagner, of Arcanum, Ohio, said she learned of her cousin's death from her father, also named Gordon Jump. Her cousin was under hospice care at his home southeast of Los Angeles, she said.

Jump played Arthur Carlson in "WKRP in Cincinnati," which aired on CBS from 1978-82 and featured Gary Sandy, Loni Anderson, Tim Reid, Howard Hesseman and Richard Sanders as the ragtag station's crew.

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Jump began his career working at radio and TV stations in the Midwest. He worked behind the microphone and the camera, including jobs as a producer for Kansas and Ohio stations.

Jump portrayed the Maytag repairman "Ol' Lonely," a well-recognized advertising symbol, from 1989 until he retired from the role in July and another actor took over.

"Gordon was an incredibly talented actor and a remarkable human being," said Ralph Hake, chairman and chief executive officer of Maytag Corp.

Jump came to appreciate the attention he got for the ad campaign and the steady work it provided, Wagner said. But his heart was elsewhere professionally.

"What he loved more than anything was doing theater. He was a marvelous actor," she said, recalling a visit to Florida to watch him perform in "Norman, Is That You?"

...

Jump is survived by his wife, four daughters and a son, Maytag said in a statement. He also had a brother, Wagner said.

[Samwise]

Mr Carlson: How many times have you said to yourself, "If I knew then what I know now"? Well, by golly, this is the new then. Now, I mean. Because I know now what I didn't used to know then. As a manner of speaking, you could say that I know now what I know now.

RIP, Big guy.

[lainie]

Darn it, now I've got that song "Mr. Lonely" in my head.

[Jackknife]

........Be still my heart! Bailey.
Another GREAT Mr.Carlson episode was when he thought the c'caine was foot powder.....'I GOT MONKEYS ON MY FEET!!!!!!!

[alnick]

"Oh my God, ladies and gentlemen, the parking lot is being bombed by ... live turkeys!"

[stboz]

Bailey was hotter than Jennifer.

Jan Smithers was built like a brick and, besides, she was good lookin', too!

[Cheapskate]

Yeah, I always thought she was SMOKIN HOT!

[namsman]

That is still one of the funniest lines ever delivered on a sitcom. I think of it each and every Thanksgiving.

[shadowman99]

Hey, you're young and swingin',
No time to think about tomorrow
But there ain't no way to deny it
Some day, you're gonna buy it.
Plan today,
Go with Ferryman
Tomorrow!
Ferryman, Ferryman,
he's the man with the plot, the man with the plan!
Ferryman, Ferryman,
He's the mortician man who loves you!
A lot!

Ferryman, Ferryman,
Bye Bye!
Ferryman, Ferryman,
Bye Bye!

[SAMWolf]

A great show. What a cast!

[chaosagent]

Not to be too picky, but I think the line was actually "hitting the ground like sacks of wet cement!"

[chaosagent]

"Reeddd Wigglers, The Cadillac of Worms!"

[lainie]

"In a situation like this, I always ask myself, what would my hero Edward R. Murrow think? And I think that Ed would think that this was censorship. Then I think about what my other hero, General George Patton, would think, and I think George would think that radio and television ought to be cleaned up, and if he were alive today, he'd take two armored cavalry divisions into Hollywood and knock all those liberal pinheads into the Pacific! So as you can see, I'm a very confused man. And when I get confused, I watch TV. Television is never confusing. It's all so simple somehow."

[Cheapskate]

Snicker Yeah, that's alright1

[Cheapskate]

Snicker Yeah, that's alright1

[lainie]

"All deejays are crazy."
-Andy Travis to Venus Flytrap

"In Philadelphia, thousands frightened. More right after this."
-Les Nessman, 1978

[lainie]

Oh! What was the quote from the pilot episode, when the guy in the car is entering town and flips the AM dial just in time to hear 'while denying his intoxication, the senator could not explain his nudity.'

[lainie]

I thought turkeys could fly.wav

[lainie]

Les

[lainie]

Actually, surprisingly, if not alarmingly,

red wigglers.wav

[scabbage]

As God is my witness, I thought Gordon Jump was Venus Fly Trap