Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, or simply 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. A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... “Natural” redirects here. ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Animal Planet, launched in 1996, is a cable and satellite television network co-owned by Discovery Communications, Inc. ...

Original show

The original Wild Kingdom grew from discussions that started in 1962 between zoologist Marlin Perkins 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 until 1957. Also intimately involved with the creation of Wild Kingdom was Zoo Parade producer Don Meier, who was credited as the series' creator.^[1] Mutual of Omaha sponsored and lent its name to the new program. Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Zoology (Greek zoon = animal and logos = word) is the biological discipline which involves the study of animals. ... Richard Marlin Perkins (March 28, 1905 – June 14, 1986) was a zoologist, best known as a host of the television program Mutual of Omahas Wild Kingdom. ... A Chairman is the presiding officer of a meeting, organization, committee, or other deliberative body. ... Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the job of having the ultimate executive responsibility or authority within an organization or corporation. ... The Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company is based in Omaha, Nebraska. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ...

Wild Kingdom was first broadcast by NBC. The half-hour show aired on Sundays starting January 6, 1963.^[2] 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 1988. Perkins was the host for most of the show's history until he was forced to retire in 1985 for health reasons (he would die of cancer the following year). Jim Fowler, Perkins' long-time assistant and sidekick, then became the host. This article is about the television network. ... is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... In the television industry (as in radio), syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast programs to multiple stations, without going through a broadcast network. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the year. ... For other uses, see AIDS (disambiguation). ... Jim Fowler (born April 9, 1932 in Albany, Georgia) is a professional zoologist and was host of the Emmy Award-winning television show Mutual of Omahas Wild Kingdom. ... For other uses, see Sidekick (disambiguation). ...

There were two amusing features in the format of the original show. One was the "sneaky commercial" segues, tying the commercials to the subject of the show. These would have 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 observer while Fowler confronted dangerous animals; with Perkins delivering flat off camera narration describing the plight when Fowler was engaged in something dangerous such as wrestling an angry boa constrictor. The show was popular enough that comedians of the era would reference this element of the program by mimicking Perkins saying "We'll wait here while Jim ..." In music, segue is a direction to the performer. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 The boa constrictor , red-tailed boa, jibóia (Latin American name) or macajuel (pronounced mah-cah-well) (Trinidadian name)[1] is a species of boa. ... A comedian (also comedienne, female) is a person who attempts to make people laugh through a variety of methods, normally through joke telling. ...

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. For the journal, see Ecology (journal). ... This article is about the natural environment. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... This article is about the river. ... Coaxial cable is often used to transmit cable television into the house. ... Discovery Channel is a cable and satellite TV channel founded by John Hendricks which is distributed by Discovery Communications. ... Animal Planet, launched in 1996, is a cable and satellite television network co-owned by Discovery Communications, Inc. ...

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).

Revival

In 2002, a completely new Wild Kingdom, also sponsored by Mutual of Omaha, began airing new Wild Kingdom specials on Animal Planet, with actor Alec Baldwin as the narrator. The specials proved to be so popular that in 2005, the network began airing new weekly episodes during the original Sunday night timeslot. Also see: 2002 (number). ... Alexander Rae Alec Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an Emmy- and Academy Award-nominated, and Golden Globe Award-winning, American actor. ...

Notes

1. ^ http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/wildkingdom/episode/show.html
2. ^ http://www.wildkingdom.com/nostalgia/

External links

• Official website (site sponsored by Mutual of Omaha)
• Animal Planet Wild Kingdom site
• Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom (original version) at the Internet Movie Database