Marlin Perkins

Richard Marlin Perkins (March 28, 1905 – June 14, 1986) was an American zoologist. He is best known as the host of the television program Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom from 1963 to 1985.

Life and career

Perkins was born on March 28, 1905, in Carthage, Missouri, the youngest of three sons of Joseph Dudley Perkins and Mynta Mae (née Miller) Perkins. When he was seven years old, his mother nursed him through a serious bout of pneumonia and died of the illness herself. His grieving father sent Marlin's two older brothers to private school, and Marlin was sent to his Aunt Laura's farm in Pittsburg, Kansas.

Perkins briefly attended the University of Missouri, but quit school to become a laborer at the Saint Louis Zoological Park.

In 1962, Perkins returned to the St. Louis Zoo, this time as director.

Perkins was the host of Zoo Parade, a television program that originated from the Lincoln Park Zoo

As a result of his work on Zoo Parade, Perkins was offered the job in 1963 for which many North Americans remember him: host of the nature show Wild Kingdom. The fame he gained in his television career allowed him to become an advocate for the protection of endangered species, and through Wild Kingdom he gave many Americans their first exposure to the conservation movement. Perkins also helped establish the Wild Canid Survival and Research Center (WCSRC) near St. Louis in 1971. This wolf sanctuary has been instrumental in breeding wolves for eventual re-placement into their natural habitats.

Perkins retired from active zookeeping in 1970

Honors Perkins received an American Education Award in 1974. He was also granted honorary doctoral degrees from the then University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri; Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin; Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Missouri; MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois; and the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska. A statue of Perkins also stands in Central Park in his hometown of Carthage, Missouri.

Personal life Perkins married his first wife, Elise More, in 1933; they were divorced in 1953. Their daughter, Suzanne, was born in 1937. Perkins married his second wife, Carol Morse Cotsworth, in 1960; they remained married until his death. from lymphatic cancer.

Publications Listed chronologically