From 1963 to 1988, “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” enthralled a generation of kids with adventurous, conservation-based wildlife stories. Since 1988, it's gone through several iterations on various channels.
Its newest version, “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom: Protecting the Wild,” is out this month on NBC.
The show has deep St. Louis ties. Longtime former co-host Marlin Perkins was director of the St. Louis Zoo for eight years. He also co-founded the Endangered Wolf Center in Eureka, Mo.
“He was just playing himself,” Perkins’ daughter Marguerite Garrick told St. Louis on the Air. “He was a born communicator and educator, and he was able to instill his enthusiasm and boundless curiosity and respect for wildlife across the airwaves.”
Peter Gros worked alongside Perkins prior to Perkins’ retirement. Now, as a co-host of “Protecting the Wild,” Gros said he brings what he learned from Perkins to the role.
“I think one of the things that I remember most clearly about Marlin Perkins was that, no matter where he was, he was always interested in you. He was interested in your culture,” Gros said. “He was incredibly interested to learn about the conservationists who are working … in the area [where] he happened to be filming.”
Just as the original “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” inspired kids like Gros to become scientists and conservationists, he hopes the show’s conservation success stories will restore viewers’ hope in nature’s resilience.
“We need to show this current generation, and hopefully inspire them, that yes, indeed, we are facing some gloom and doom, and we are facing serious problems,” Gros said. “But we have a history of solving serious problems when we get on board [and] work together to solve them.”
The “Protecting the Wild” episode filmed at the St. Louis Zoo will air on Nov. 25 on local NBC affiliate KSDK.
To learn more about Wild Kingdom’s legacy and hear about Peter Gros and Marguerite Garrick’s experiences on set, listen to the full St. Louis on the Air conversation on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or by clicking the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Ulaa Kuziez is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
