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Arthur Carlson, R.I.P.

Filed under: Imported

(Radio's worst general manager confers with its worst newsman-- Gordon Jump as Arthur Carlson and Richard Sanders as Les Nessman.)

Sad news for fans of WKRP in Cincinnati: Gordon Jump, who played the station's kindly but inept boss, Arthur Carlson, has died at the age of 71.

WKRP was the last great ensemble comedy show from MTM (Mary Tyler Moore and Grant Tinker's company, which produced Moore's classic series as well as Bob Newhart's), and in some ways it was their best. It was certainly their wildest, with characters like Johnny Fever and Venus Flytrap having acid flashbacks and taking on-the-air drunk tests. Jump, as poor Mr. Carlson, was the anchor for a cast of crazies, and he did a perfect job.

A WKRP marathon from TV Land or Nick at Night would be nice to see-- let's hope they do it.

P.S. On a scarier note, here's what Loni Anderson, the station's beautiful receptionist, looks like today. Apparently, being married to Burt Reynolds can drive a woman to facework from Hell.

Posted by Steve Monaco at September 23, 2003 10:03 PM

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