Rant #2,375: Let's Do It Again

Yes, I did oversleep today pretty badly.

I guess that I am tired writing obituaries this week, but unfortunately, I have to write one more today, and hopefully, it will be the final one I write for the week.

This one kind of went under the radar, because the other ones--Peggy Lipton, Doris Day and Tim Conway--were so huge.

Just about every Baby Boomer should know this guy's name, although I will bet you haven't thought about him in decades, or maybe since you were a little kid.

Jim Fowler, the naturalist, animal lover and TV personality, died earlier this week. He was 89 years old.

And if that name still doesn't ring a bell, let me give you another clue:

"Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom."

There. Now you remember who he was.

That show was a "must see" show for Baby Boomers in the 1960s, as it literally brought the zoo to your living room, introducing all kinds of animals into your consciousness for the very first time.

And it was done through two people: Fowler and Marlin Perkins, with Perkins, a former zoo official, serving as the actual host of the show.

Premiering on NBC in 1963 and going into syndication for more than a decade starting in 1971, Fowler served as a touchpoint for younger viewers.

Perkins knew his business, but the perpetually 90-year-old host was not necessarily a hit with younger viewers, but Fowler certainly was.

The former athlete--who nearly signed pro baseball contracts with the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees--was as imposing as the animals he profiled each week.

Fowler--a guy standing six feet, six inches tall and weighing about 250 pounds--was good looking too, and as opposed to Perkins--who was slightly built and looked like the perpetual great grandfather to all viewers--Fowler was a revelation.

Perkins laid back, gravelly voiced style was often made fun of, and Fowler perpetuated that by appearing on "The Tonight Show" numerous times. He proved to be a great foil for Johnny Carson, who used Perkins as a punchline when Fowler was on the show, imitating his voice while interviewing Fowler, who always brought a stable of animals around to add to the show.

But the Carson show also perpetuated a rumor that stood the test of time: that Fowler was the one who pursued the animals, lions and tigers and bears and what have you, and that Perkins was simply the in-studio host.

Fowler said for decades that the Carson portrayal was not true, and that Perkins did as much as he did, and had as much contact as he did, with the animals that they profiled.

In later years, Fowler became the wildlife correspondent on the "Today" show, and he also appeared on numerous other shows to promote wildlife subjects.

While his fame was not on the level of that achieved by Lipton, Day or Conway, Fowler will be remembered as one of the first TV personalities--along with Perkins--who promoted positive visions of the animal kingdom on national TV way before that portrayal was widely accepted.

He will be missed.