Wild Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Wild Kingdom, sometimes known as Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, is an American
television show that features wildlife
and nature
. It was originally produced from 1963 until 1988, and was revived in 2002. The show's second incarnation currently airs on Animal Planet
in the U.S.
and V. J. Skutt, the chairman and CEO of insurance company Mutual of Omaha
. The company had been the sponsor of an earlier animal-related show, Zoo Parade, that Perkins had hosted from 1952 until 1957. Also intimately involved with the creation of Wild Kingdom was Zoo Parade producer Don Meier, who was credited as the series' creator. Mutual of Omaha sponsored and lent its name to the new program.
Wild Kingdom was first broadcast by NBC
. The half-hour show aired on Sundays starting January 6, 1963. and continued until 1971, when the program entered syndication
. As a prime-time syndicated program, Wild Kingdom enjoyed great popularity. Although most of the programs aired after 1971 were repeats, new shows continued to be produced until 1987. Several episodes were filmed by camera man Roy Pinney
. Perkins was the host for most of the show's history until he was forced to retire in 1985 for health reasons. (He died of cancer
the following year.) Jim Fowler
, Perkins' long-time assistant and sidekick
, then became the host.
One of Wild Kingdoms film editor's, Bernard Braham, A.C.E., was invited to membership with the American Cinema Editors
in 1979 and won a prestigious EDDIE award in Hollywood for best documentary of the year, for the episode "Desert Spring." His competition for the award was a National Geographic episode titled "Gold". He was also nominated for several other episodes.
There were two amusing features in the format of the original show. One was the "sneaky commercial" segue
s, tying the commercials to the subject of the show. These had Perkins saying something like "Just as the mother lion protects her cubs, you can protect your children with an insurance policy from Mutual of Omaha..." The other was that Perkins was often an off-camera narrator describing Fowler's on-camera work with the wild animals; for this, Perkins became associated with the catchphrase "I'll wait here [someplace safe] while Jim [does something or other with the dangerous wild animal]". However, according to a 1997 interview with Fowler, Perkins never said any such thing: according to Fowler, "Johnny Carson
started the jokes about me and Marlin in his monologues."
Perkins often featured pet chimpanzee
s in the studio: one named "W.K." (Wild Kingdom); the other named "Mr. Moke," after the Mini Moke
vehicle.
Wild Kingdom can be credited for increasing ecological
and environmental
awareness in the United States. Its exciting footage brought the wilds of Africa
, the Amazon River
and other exotic locales into the living rooms of millions of Americans. It created an interest in commercial nature programming that was a precursor to cable television
networks such as the Discovery Channel
and Animal Planet
.
The original series has not been seen since it went off the air. (Mutual of Omaha owns the rights to the series.) However, several episodes have now been released on DVD from BCI Eclipse (under license from Mutual of Omaha). Some episodes are also available on YouTube
.
. The specials proved to be so popular that in 2005, the network began airing new weekly episodes during the original Sunday night timeslot.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television show that features wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
and nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
. It was originally produced from 1963 until 1988, and was revived in 2002. The show's second incarnation currently airs on Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
in the U.S.
Original show
The original Wild Kingdom grew from discussions that started in 1962 between zoologist Marlin PerkinsMarlin Perkins
Richard Marlin Perkins was a zoologist best known as a host of the television program Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom from 1963 to 1985.-Biography:...
and V. J. Skutt, the chairman and CEO of insurance company Mutual of Omaha
Mutual of Omaha
Mutual of Omaha is a Fortune 500 mutual insurance and financial services company based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company was founded in 1909 as Mutual Benefit Health and Accident Association.- History :...
. The company had been the sponsor of an earlier animal-related show, Zoo Parade, that Perkins had hosted from 1952 until 1957. Also intimately involved with the creation of Wild Kingdom was Zoo Parade producer Don Meier, who was credited as the series' creator. Mutual of Omaha sponsored and lent its name to the new program.
Wild Kingdom was first broadcast by NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. The half-hour show aired on Sundays starting January 6, 1963. and continued until 1971, when the program entered syndication
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
. As a prime-time syndicated program, Wild Kingdom enjoyed great popularity. Although most of the programs aired after 1971 were repeats, new shows continued to be produced until 1987. Several episodes were filmed by camera man Roy Pinney
Roy Pinney
Roy Schiffer Pinney was the oldest surviving of the 500 war correspondents to cover the D-Day invasion of Normandy before his death in 2010. He lived in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, the city of his birth....
. Perkins was the host for most of the show's history until he was forced to retire in 1985 for health reasons. (He died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
the following year.) Jim Fowler
Jim Fowler
Jim Fowler is a professional zoologist and was host of the Emmy Award-winning television show Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom....
, Perkins' long-time assistant and sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
, then became the host.
One of Wild Kingdoms film editor's, Bernard Braham, A.C.E., was invited to membership with the American Cinema Editors
American Cinema Editors
Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing itself. The society is not to be confused with an industry union, such as the I.A.T.S.E...
in 1979 and won a prestigious EDDIE award in Hollywood for best documentary of the year, for the episode "Desert Spring." His competition for the award was a National Geographic episode titled "Gold". He was also nominated for several other episodes.
There were two amusing features in the format of the original show. One was the "sneaky commercial" segue
Segue
A segue is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next.-In music:In music, segue is a direction to the performer. It means continue without a pause. It comes from the Italian "it follows". The term attacca is also used in classical music.For written music it implies a transition...
s, tying the commercials to the subject of the show. These had Perkins saying something like "Just as the mother lion protects her cubs, you can protect your children with an insurance policy from Mutual of Omaha..." The other was that Perkins was often an off-camera narrator describing Fowler's on-camera work with the wild animals; for this, Perkins became associated with the catchphrase "I'll wait here [someplace safe] while Jim [does something or other with the dangerous wild animal]". However, according to a 1997 interview with Fowler, Perkins never said any such thing: according to Fowler, "Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
started the jokes about me and Marlin in his monologues."
Perkins often featured pet chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
s in the studio: one named "W.K." (Wild Kingdom); the other named "Mr. Moke," after the Mini Moke
Mini Moke
The Mini Moke is a vehicle based on the Mini and designed for the British Motor Corporation by Sir Alec Issigonis. The name comes from "Mini"—the car with which the Moke shares many parts—and "Moke", which is an archaic dialect term for donkey...
vehicle.
Wild Kingdom can be credited for increasing ecological
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
and environmental
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
awareness in the United States. Its exciting footage brought the wilds of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, the Amazon River
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
and other exotic locales into the living rooms of millions of Americans. It created an interest in commercial nature programming that was a precursor to cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
networks such as the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
and Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
.
The original series has not been seen since it went off the air. (Mutual of Omaha owns the rights to the series.) However, several episodes have now been released on DVD from BCI Eclipse (under license from Mutual of Omaha). Some episodes are also available on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
Revival
In 2002, a completely new Wild Kingdom, also sponsored by Mutual of Omaha, began airing new Wild Kingdom specials on Animal PlanetAnimal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
. The specials proved to be so popular that in 2005, the network began airing new weekly episodes during the original Sunday night timeslot.
External links
- Official website (site sponsored by Mutual of Omaha)
- Animal Planet Wild Kingdom site