Perkins was born on March 28, 1905, in
Carthage, Missouri, the youngest of three sons of Joseph Dudley Perkins and Mynta Mae (née Miller) Perkins. When he was seven years old, his mother nursed him through a serious bout of pneumonia and died of the illness herself. His grieving father sent Marlin's two older brothers to private school, and Marlin was sent to his Aunt Laura's farm in
Pittsburg, Kansas. Perkins briefly attended the
University of Missouri, but quit school to become a laborer at the
Saint Louis Zoological Park. In 1962, Perkins returned to the St. Louis Zoo, this time as director. Perkins was the host of
Zoo Parade, a television program that originated from the Lincoln Park Zoo As a result of his work on
Zoo Parade, Perkins was offered the job in 1963 for which many North Americans remember him: host of the nature show
Wild Kingdom. The fame he gained in his television career allowed him to become an advocate for the protection of
endangered species, and through
Wild Kingdom he gave many Americans their first exposure to the
conservation movement. Perkins also helped establish the
Wild Canid Survival and Research Center (WCSRC) near St. Louis in 1971. This wolf sanctuary has been instrumental in breeding wolves for eventual re-placement into their natural habitats. Perkins retired from active zookeeping in 1970 ==Honors==