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| The Many Faces of Gordon Jump, Renaissance Man. |
it is a breakdown of each character, in depth. It is meant as an aid to the newly initiated “krp fan as well as a general checklist for the seasoned Buff. I call it DOSSIER : WKRP and each week I will address one character, studying their role and the artist(s) behind the Hollywood magic that brings to us again and again thanks to Internet technology, the diamond versatility of serial comic/drama which is WKRP in Cincinnati
SUBJECT #1 - THE BIG GUY -
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| “Wish not so much to live long as to live well” Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) |
Whilst the main meat and potatoes of the action and certainly the high point of all the comic moments in the TV show WKRP always center on the characters Earl Tarlick and Loni Anderson, “The Big Guy” played by Gordon Jump, is a significant character, an anchor for the core action to take place around and quite often the pivotal dramatic foil at the crux of the writing in this program. In the show he owns the radio station WKRP. He is the sort of character who creates his own negative reality spreading his shitty attitude around so much that everything about him is cursed. His business is going bankrupt. He is always angry and frustrated. he alienates everyone he meets and frightens his employees. It is a subterfuge, he just wants people to leave him alone, so he uses the failing numbers his station pulls in to disabuse his staff and they are afraid to disturb his gloomy sanctum. Really, deep down he is a sad guy. he sits alone in his office and looks at an oil painting portrait of his dead mother. Sometimes the painting even speaks to him (voiced by Alice Ghostly) Hes so miserable, and every attempt of those around him to reach out is thwarted by his bitterness and temper. He throws shit at them and tells them to “Get the fuck outta my fuckin office you bitch!” and he spat at Earl once. Basically he is insane, but he is so rich, and such an asshole, no-one would ever suggest he was unwell, or in any way disadvantaged. He paces around in his office with the heat turned up (its summer) and he’s cursing, in a rage. All he really wants is to go fishing. He’s supposed to love fishing, and he does dream about fishing, often we see the same set piece, Big Guy is in a dinghy boat, in water with a (fake) mountain valley backdrop. Its his daydream fantasy and they always show the same shot when they depict him taking a breather from being his browned off usual mean old self. The insistence of the writers on including this not-exactly-funny comic trope and repeating it several times an episode even though it had tested as “stupid” in focus groups pre-airing and even for the fact that the live studio audience refused to laugh despite the “laugh” signs they use to prompt them. this is the story behind the introduction of “canned” laughter into the series in season one, even though I personally feel WKRP should appear unadulterated and therefore have transcribed several shows by hand and simply read along with the broadcast with the sound lowered.
that anecdote aside, it is within this recurring fantasy of Big Guy fishing that the payoff comes. you see, Big Guy doesn’t really want to fish, it is simply the location that he must see himself in so that the Big Guy in the fantasy, the fisherman in the fake boat Guy, he can dream his own dream, the daydream within the daydream. see, Big Guy goes fishing and then dreams of fame! He wishes he was a Huge Celebrity, a Star. In his little boat, in his imagination we see him accepting awards, promenading upon red carpets, he is blinded by flashbulbs always smiling, with his hand on his heart he serves the President and heads of state with his glorious art. he glows with specialness. these reveries, which are actually funny, are always broken by the same thing, Loni Anderson barging into his office with some sort of low-comic gag-dilemma, like she’s got chocolate fudge on her ass, or Earl tried to give her a makeover, or some other slapstick goof-off. Anyways Big Guy throws her out and calls her a whore, and thats that. Back to dreaming.
The actor Gordon Jump, who had another starring role as Radar O’Rieley’s “roommate” on the sadly-missed and lamentably short-lived “After M*A*S*H*” went on to a forge a lucrative career for himself as a motivational speaker in the 90s with his message of Personal Triumph through NLP and CERAGEM. In 2001 he was killed tragically in the events of 9-11. Yet another American hero fallen in the name of freedom and Democracy, he will live on in WKRP (and After M*A*S*H*) and always be remembered fondly. Let’s Roll Brotha.
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