Gus Thompson is a WKS employee.
Background[]
Gus was involved in the civil rights movement. He participated in the Selma freedom march and used to tell bad jokes to keep Maya Thompson's spirits up.[1] He is a Vietnam war veteran.[2]
On the series[]
In Not an Affair to Remember, Gus helps Steven with the "Giants of the White House" series. He says they should have started with someone more interesting than Calvin Coolidge and suggests doing it as a cartoon to make it more entertaining. He notices that Stacey Hughes has a crush on Steven Keaton and that Steven is trying to impress her by dressing differently and wearing cologne.
In Birth of a Keaton: Part 1 and Birth of a Keaton: Part 2, Gus helps with the WKS pledge drive, and with Elyse Keaton after she goes into labor.
In Nothing But a Man, Steven applies for the job of PBS Midwest regional manager. Gus prints a T-shirt that says, "Congratulations Keaton," but prints "Congratulations Peterson" on the other side in case Steven's rival Carl Peterson gets the job.
In Walking on Air, he warns Mallory that 20% of people who pledge money to WKS are lying for free stuff.
In All in the Neighborhood: Part 1 and All in the Neighborhood: Part 2, Gus and Maya move into the Obeck family's old house. Some neighbors think that the presence of a black person in the neighborhood will drive property values down. At least one person sends the Thompsons hate mail, makes racist phone calls, and finally breaks into their house, smashes up their furniture and records, and spray paints "Whits Only" on the wall. The Thompsons are almost intimidated into moving out, but in the end they decide that they need to stay and fight for their right to live whenever they want.
Trivia[]
- Gus shares Alex P. Keaton's love of elevator music. After racist vandals destroy Gus's Lawrence Welk collection, Alex offers him his own collection.
- He drives a powder blue Mercury Topaz GS with sheepskin seat covers.[3]