Wild Kingdom

On this day in 1964, Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom with Marlin Perkins begins on NBC. Perkins started out as a laborer at the Saint Louis Zoo and rose through the ranks and became the Zoo director in 1938. Marlin Perkins was born March 28, 1905 in Carthage, Missouri and there is a statue of him in Central Park. Wild Kingdom was on for 27 years!