Jon Hein

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Jon Hein

Born	November 24, 1967 New York

Jon Hein, married with two children, is the creator of the popular website jumptheshark.com. Hein has explained that he and some friends at the University of Michigan were discussing when popular television shows began to decline, and one mentioned "when Fonzie jumped the shark" on Happy Days. The phrase "jumped the shark" became code between Hein and his friends for the moment that a television show began to decline, and became inspiration for the name of the website. Due to the popularity of the website, the phrase became part of the American English lexicon, and indeed its meaning has broadened to indicate when anything entered a phase of decline. While developing and operating the website, Hein's day-job was as a Vice President for Marketing at the New York-based testing company The Princeton Review.

Due to the popularity of jumptheshark.com, Hein began making appearances on radio and television, most notably as a recurring guest on the Howard Stern Show. Hein was a lifelong fan of Stern's, and partially for that reason was chosen as the first host of the Superfan Roundtable in late 2005. The Roundtable is a weekly program on Sirius Satellite Radio's Howard 100 channel that discusses the events, issues, and personalities that have taken place on the Stern Show.

The Stern Show staff thought Hein was a good host on Roundtable and chose him to be the co-host of The Wrap-Up Show with Stern producer Gary Dell'Abate. The show premiered on Howard's first day on Sirius, January 9, 2006, and has received positive reviews from fans.[1] Hein also hosted The Friday Show along with Gary Dell'Abate and Ralph Cirella on the Friday mornings when Stern took time off, although that show has since been replaced by Master Tape Theatre.

Hein sold his company, Jump The Shark, Inc., to Gemstar (owners of TV Guide) on June 20, 2006[2] for "over $1 million"[3]. Some Stern staff have speculated that the site sold closer to $5-$10 million, however.[4]