Wild Kingdom - wikipedia Wild Kingdom Wild Kingdom Marlin Perkins bottle - feeding a young kangaroo Starring Marlin Perkins ( 1963 - 1985 ) Jim Fowler ( co-host 1963 - 1985, host 1985 - 1988 ) Stan Brock Stephanie Arne ( 2013 - present ) Narrated by Marlin Perkins Music by James Bourgeois Dick Girvin Country of origin United States Release Original network NBC ( 1963 -- 1971 ) Syndicated ( 1971 -- 1988 ) Animal Planet ( 2002 - 2011 ) Original release January 6, 1963 ( 1963 - 01 - 06 ) -- 1988 ( 1988 ) September 17, 2002 ( 2002 - 09 - 17 ) -- May 22, 2011 ( 2011 - 05 - 22 ) 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. Contents 1 Original show 2 Controversy 3 Revival 4 New host and web series 5 See also 6 References 7 External links 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 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 won Emmy Awards for `` outstanding program achievement '' in 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969. Liz and Henk Maartens, from Irene, Pretoria in South Africa won five Emmy Awards for the documentary series Wild Kingdom in 1970. One Emmy Award was for camerawork while the other Emmy Awards were for aspects of production. 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 first - run 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 cameraman Roy Pinney. Perkins was the host for most of the show 's history until he was forced to retire in 1985 for health reasons and Jim Fowler, Perkins ' long - time assistant and sidekick, became the host. Perkins died of cancer three years later at age 83. One of Wild Kingdom 's film editors, Bernard Braham, A.C.E., was offered 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 awards. Perkins often introduced commercial spots by tying them into the subject of the show. For example, at the end of a segment about lions, he might say something like, `` Just as the mother lion protects her cubs, you can protect your children with an insurance policy from Mutual of Omaha... '' The format of the show often featured Perkins narrating off - camera, describing Fowler 's on - camera work with the wild animals. This was commonly parodied as Perkins saying `` I 'll wait here ( someplace safe ) while Jim ( does something or other with the dangerous 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 chimpanzees in the studio : one named `` W.K. '' ( Wild Kingdom ) ; the other named `` Mr. Moke '', after the Mini Moke vehicle. Wild Kingdom increased 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 an official YouTube channel. The success of Wild Kingdom led to several other wildlife documentary series going on the air, including Animal World, Wild, Wild World of Animals. and Lorne Greene 's New Wilderness. But many fans of wildlife documentaries still consider `` Wild Kingdom '' the `` gold standard '' against which other such shows are compared. A partial list of original episodes can be found here. Controversy The show came under heavy criticism in the 1982 investigative piece `` Cruel Camera '' by The Fifth Estate, a news magazine program on Canada 's CBC Television network, for staging scenes and for animal cruelty. Several interviewees who had worked on Wild Kingdom confirmed the rumors that many of the sequences were staged, such as in the episode where Perkins and crew captured a bear in the Florida swamps. In fact, the bear had actually been `` placed '' there by the production. Perkins denied such allegations on camera, and when interviewer Bob McKeown pressed him, said, ' ' I 'd like you to stop your camera right now, please. ' ' Revival In 2002, a completely new Wild Kingdom, also sponsored by Mutual of Omaha, began airing new Wild Kingdom specials on Animal Planet. The specials proved to be so popular that, in 2005, the network began airing new weekly episodes during the original Sunday night timeslot. New host and web series On November 3, 2013, Mutual of Omaha 's Wild Kingdom premiered a series of webisodes that featured new host Stephanie Arne, a new format and new stories about the world 's wildest places and creatures. Webisode 1 : `` Reef Madness '' Wild Guide Stephanie Arne dives with the Coral Restoration Foundation to explore efforts to save the precious coral reefs of the Florida Keys. Webisode 2 : `` Where the Buffalo Roam '' What 's big, brown and built for survival ? Wild Kingdom follows one of America 's iconic animals across the South Dakota plains. Webisode 3 : `` Tegu Invasion '' Containing the unwanted guests that are taking over the Florida Everglades. Webisode 4 : `` California Condor : Extreme Survival '' Back from the brink of extinction, the California Condor is one of the world 's great conservation success stories. A second season of new Webisodes began in July, 2014 and the third season began March, 2015. See also Stan Brock ( philanthropist ) Wild America ( TV series ) References Jump up ^ `` Wild Kingdom ''. Jump up ^ Animal Planet : : Mutual of Omaha 's Wild Kingdom Archived October 5, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` A Champion for Conservation ''. TV Times Montreal Gazette. February 6, 1971. pp. 16 -- 17. Jump up ^ screenafrica.com Jump up ^ `` Classic Mutual of Omaha 's Wild Kingdom : Nostalgia ''. Wildkingdom.com. 1963 - 01 - 06. Retrieved 2014 - 04 - 12. Jump up ^ `` The Fearless Guides ''. Mutual of Omaha 's Wild Kingdom Official Website. Jump up ^ `` TV 's Wild Man ; Jim Fowler talks about his life as one of the world 's best - known naturalists ''. weeklywire.com. 1997 - 09 - 02. Retrieved 2011 - 11 - 22. Jump up ^ Mutual of Omaha 's Wild Kingdom WildKingdomTV 's YouTube Channel Jump up ^ Corry, John ( 1986 - 03 - 24 ). `` ' CRUEL CAMERA, ' ABOUT ANIMAL ABUSE ''. The New York Times. The New York Times Company. ISSN 0362 - 4331. Retrieved February 16, 2016. Jump up ^ Wild Kingdom - Episode 1 - Reef Madness WildKingdomTV 's YouTube Channel Jump up ^ Wild Kingdom - Episode 2 - Where the Buffalo Roam WildKingdomTV 's YouTube Channel Jump up ^ Wild Kingdom - Episode 3 - Tegu Invasion WildKingdomTV 's YouTube Channel Jump up ^ Wild Kingdom - Episode 4 - Condor : Extreme Survival WildKingdomTV 's YouTube Channel External links Official website ( site sponsored by Mutual of Omaha ) Animal Planet Wild Kingdom site Mutual of Omaha 's Wild Kingdom on IMDb Wild Kingdom 's channel on YouTube Preceded by 60 Minutes 1972 Wild Kingdom Super Bowl lead - out program 1973 Succeeded by The New Adventures of Perry Mason Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wild_Kingdom&oldid=831114023 '' Categories : 1960s American television series 1963 American television series debuts 1970s American television series 1980s American television series 1988 American television series endings 2000s American television series 2002 American television series debuts 2011 American television series endings 2010s American television series American anthology television series American documentary television series Animal Planet shows English - language television programs First - run syndicated television programs in the United States Nature educational television series NBC network shows Super Bowl lead - out programs Television series about animals Television series revived after cancellation Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from November 2009 Articles with unsourced statements from March 2017 Articles with unsourced statements from September 2011 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 18 March 2018, at 20 : 50. 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Question: when did mutual of omaha wild kingdom air
Answer: 1963 until 1988