Was Mario originally a carpenter named Jumpman who appeared in Donkey Kong?

The answer

Mario first appeared in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong, designed by Shigeru Miyamoto. He was originally called 'Jumpman' and was a carpenter - not a plumber - tasked with rescuing his girlfriend Pauline (not Princess Peach) from a giant ape. He was given his mustache because pixel limitations made it easier to draw than a mouth, his cap because animating hair was too difficult, and his overalls to make arm movements visible. The character was renamed 'Mario' after Mario Segale, the Italian-American landlord of Nintendo of America's warehouse in Tuxedo, Washington, who reportedly barged into a meeting demanding overdue rent. Mario became a plumber in the 1983 game Mario Bros., set in sewers, and has since appeared in over 200 games, selling over 800 million copies worldwide.