Zoo Parade

I agree with reviewer Krorie that Zoo Parade, primitive as it was, was more enjoyable than the later more sophisticated Wild Kingdom, perhaps because, in those days of early TV, everything was live and everything was magical. Marlin Perkins and his straight man sat at a desk and keepers brought in animals for Marlin to explain to the audience. At intervals, the straight man would tell us about Ken L Ration and its magic ingredient: chlorophyllin that helped stop doggie odors. That was the first time I'd heard of chlorophyllin which, losing the final "in" became wildly popular as chlorophyll and was added to toothpaste and chewing gum (and I don't know what else). Every product with chlorophyll was green. The gum looked like green Chiclets. I distinctly remember the day six keepers carried out a python to exhibit. I don't know which came first, but there was a Chas Addams cartoon showing a bunch of zookeepers holding a python. As Marlin told us about the python the Zoo Parade keepers were holding, the snake suddenly had a bowel movement all over the hand of the keeper at that point of the snake's anatomy. You could see the other keepers biting their cheeks and trying hard to stay serious. At the end of every show as the credits rolled and the theme song played, there was a cartoon picture of the dog on the Ken L Ration label whose eyes moved back and forth. This was high tech stuff and a cartoon of the star of the show with moving eyes was also used at the end of the Groucho Marx and Jerry Colonna shows. It's hard today to give the show a star rating. I might have given it 10 stars in 1952, but lots of stuff from 1952 is unwatchable today.

I had worked as a Broadcast TV Studio Engineer from May 1953 September 1956 that carried the Zoo Parade program. I Then went on Active Duty with the Navy Reserve. I was sent to Great Lakes Navy Training Center north of Chicago. On a Sunday afternoon, I went to the Lincoln Park Zoo and was welcomed to watch the broadcast. Marlin Perkins and his announcer Jim Hurlibit talked and displayed various reptiles. The TV show was broadcast from the basement of one of the animal buildings. After the program, I had a photo taken of me with Marlin, holding a small turtle, and Jim. I still have that picture. In 1999, I was in Carthage Missouri at the library to find and visit my great great grandmother's grave. In the city park, there is a statue and plaque of Marlin that I photographed in the city where he was born.

My dad, who was a lover of science though he had little formal education, and I watched "Zoo Parade" whenever possible on Sunday afternoons in the early 1950's. Later in the 1960's with a much bigger budget Zoo Parade became "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom." Marlin would then have a partner, Jim Fowler, who did all the messy work for him while he stayed a safe distance away. He lectured to those at home about whatever animal Jim was wrestling, sometimes in what appeared to be a life or death struggle. Johnny Carson, often having Jim as a guest, would joke, "While Jim is being eaten by an alligator I would like to tell you about its mating habits." Though more exciting and on location, it still lacked the magic and innocence of the early show from the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.

Marlin Perkins reminded one of a spic-and-span Wally Cox but seemed to be a virtual fountain of information about the animals featured on the show each week. My favorite shows were those when snakes would be the guests. I recall that in those days without Jim around, Marlin actually displayed the animals by holding them, unless there was a safety problem. As I remember Mutual of Omaha was his sponsor from the beginning. The program was educational and Marlin Perkins' personality made it entertaining as well.

At one point, the full title was MARLIN PERKINS' ZOO PARADE, the series having so closely identified with the distinguished and most learned Zoolocist & Director of Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo. It was originally done live and was always apart of our Sunday Afternoon viewing.

Being a native Chicagoan, born and bred, it was a real point of pride of pride in our household, a Big Time, Network Show, originating right in town! And it was originating from a location which we had visited, about once a year! And how betrayed and disappointed we felt when Mr. Perkins became Lincoln Park Zoo's Director Emeritus, and moved on to the Directorship at the St. Louis Zoo. This was the institution at which he had started his life long zoological career. Being a native born Missourian, this was a Homecoming of sorts.

I recall that some of the programs of the latter days had originated from St. Louis Zoo and other locations. ZOO PARADE had become a sort of travelogue, in addition to its deeply rooted scientific background and animal advocacy. Without being a "hard sell, high handed"on-air plea for conservation.

Its message of appreciation of the Animal Kingdom was one which was a matter of leading by example and a highly thought-out and skillful presentation of all of the various specimens of fauna on Planet Earth. Representative species of all families of all orders of animal were used as subjects of weekly programs. Mr. Perkins introduced America to hundreds of various Fish, Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals.

Every week, a show had a particular theme. Rather than simply being a televised tour, the show took on the function of a College Level Lecture, but it did so quietly and without claiming such intent.

On hand,in the Chicago days, was one Mr. Jim Hurlbut. Jim was a professional in broadcast news and was a mainstay at the NBC Chicago Television Station, MNBQ, Channel 5 as well as their old Flagship Radio Station, WMAQ Radio, 670 AM. He was a fine 2nd banana or straight man even, to Marlin's informative banter.

Profssional Newsman and Journalist, that he was, Hurlbut was s much an uninitiated amateur in these matters of the Zoological Nature as any of us out in the TV land audience. And it was he who acted as a stand-in for us, asking the questions that we had on our mind.

Other well known "Stars" of the series from the Chicago/Lincoln Park days were: Heinie the Chimpanze, Judy the Elephant(Asian) and Sinbad the Gorilla; who received a lot of acclamation as successor to the Zoo's famous Gorilla Specimin,the late Bushman.* ZOO PARADE's own, Mr. Marlin Perkins went the way of all men June 14, 1986 at 81 years of age. He is survived by his video next of kin, MUTUAL OF OMAHA's WILD KINGDOM(1963-??), a ZOO PARADE sibling, which continues to this day!

* Anyone can still view Bushman, who is an exhibit at Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History; his body having been preserved through the magic of taxidermy. Sinbad has also been deceased for some time. He and I were about the same age!