Gordon Jump, the avuncular television actor best remembered as "the Big Guy" boss Arthur Carlson in the television series WKRP Cincinnati and as "Ol' Lonely," the hapless repairman with nothing to do on Maytag commercials, has died. He was 71.
Mr. Jump, according to his family, suffered from pulmonary fibrosis, which causes scarring of the air sacs in the lungs, leading to heart or respiratory failure. He died Monday (Sept. 22, 2003) at his home in Orange County, Calif.
Mr. Jump, who was the Maytag man in television and print ads, on billboards and at about 40 store openings and trade shows annually for 14 years, relinquished the role to character actor Hardy Rawls in July.
Mr. Jump is survived by his wife of 10 years, Betty; four daughters, Cindy, Kiva, Maggi Jo and Laura; and a son, Chris.
Affleck, Lopez create buzz seeking a ... gun licenseHINESVILLE, Ga. - Just because Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez aren't doing much of anything doesn't mean they're not making news.
Hollywood's most overexposed couple set gossip pages aflame anew Tuesday after they popped into a south Georgia courthouse near Affleck's Hampton Island home.
But apparently it was a gun license, not a marriage license, that the on-again, off-again super couple sought Monday.
"Affleck wanted to know where he could apply for a gun permit," said Liberty County Sheriff Don Martin.
The appearance has unleashed a horde of paparazzi and celebrity reporters onto the small town of Hinesville, where a court clerk verified Tuesday morning that the couple did not apply for a marriage license.
Jon Bon Jovi: sports team ownerRock star and football fan Jon Bon Jovi is now co-owner of the Philadelphia Soul, an Arena Football League expansion team.
"I'm a football fanatic. I love football, always have," the New Jersey native said Monday. "It's the only sport I really live and breathe."
His partner is real estate developer Craig A. Spencer, whose properties include the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia. The Soul will begin play next season in the Wachovia Center and Wachovia Spectrum.
MTV cancels Green's showMTV has pulled the plug on former gross-out king Tom Green's late-night talk show. It was supposed to return with new episodes Monday, but production was stopped.
The show debuted in June, but viewers who sampled it didn't stay. The New Tom Green Show averaged 889,000 viewers in its first week, and was down to 255,000 for reruns last week.
Coroner rules death at Spector's home homicideLOS ANGELES - The February shooting death of an actor at the home of record producer Phil Spector was ruled a homicide Monday by the coroner's office.
Lana Clarkson was shot by another person and died of a single gunshot wound to the head and neck, said Lt. Cheryl MacWillie of the Los Angeles County coroner's office.
Spector, 62, who is free on $1-million bail, has denied he killed Clarkson, telling Esquire magazine that she shot herself after grabbing a bottle of tequila.
Clarkson, 40, was found dead in the foyer of Spector's hilltop mansion in suburban Alhambra, east of Los Angeles.