Actually I got my appointment of deputy director under Marlin Perkins when Henry Sanders left the zoo. Moody Lentz was made deputy director. And then Moody died, then I was made deputy director. And then Hoff came in. And then Hoff came in. I was deputy director under Bill Hoff… Read More
So how did it work?… Read More
Did he say take over or was there a conflict between a animal person and I’ll say a business-type person?… Read More
What’s your title?… Read More
When Bob Briggs was director, he followed Bill Hoff. I was deputy director. But I also was the animal man because Bob Briggs was a marketing person, a former Post-Dispatch reporter, former photographer and had worked in public relations who knew nothing about animals. His only claim to fame is… Read More
I was really in charge of running the zoo, so I was still learning to be zoo director. Not realizing it but that’s what I was doing. Okay, just to make my timeline. Read More
Who appointed you deputy director?… Read More
I’m sorry?… Read More
For any of them. So Briggs is the director. Read More
You are?… Read More
Some of ’em on the inside of his lip, some on the outside of his lips. And that was somethin’. That’s kind of unusual. Another time he had a baby chimpanzee. Right in the middle of the show, urinated and defecated all over me. In those days, we used the… Read More
It was taped live and there was no editing. At the end of the show, they used that on a program, then it was erased. And the next week, they used the same tape again. They used it over and over again, so none of those were kept. There’s no… Read More
Were there any memorable situations or surprises on television?… Read More
I’m gonna tell you a really interesting story about the St. Louis Zoo show. Dave Thompson who was a zoologist at that time was holding a baby caiman. It was about 2 1/2 feet long. It had been in a cloth sack. And he was gettin’ ready to hand it… Read More
And just as he blew, the caiman clamped down on both lips, clamped his mouth closed and the blood started streamin’ down. And ‘course we all started bust out laughin’. And of course the television crew. He bled like a stuck pig. He handed me the caiman and so we… Read More
Absolutely. Because he always said, “Speak distinctly and make sure that you talk in terms that everybody could understand.” Was the show well-received?… Read More
Very well. It was popular for 10 years and our sponsors was like Ralston Purina. We had a big-name sponsors. Read More
Any stories?… Read More
I know that there are some Marlin stories about “Zoo Parade” when he was sick and other issues. Read More
Did you have guests?… Read More