Jack Perkins

Jack Morton Perkins (December 28, 1933 – August 19, 2019) was an American reporter, commentator, war correspondent, and anchorman. He was dubbed "America's most literate correspondent" by the Associated Press. Perkins and his Biography introductions were parodied several times on Mystery Science Theater 3000, with Perkins portrayed by Michael J. Nelson as a somewhat scatter-brained man prone to long, meandering, name-dropping rambles about nothing in particular, and, on syndicated versions of MST3K, dubbed The Mystery Science Theater Hour, the character introduced the films. Perkins declared himself a fan of the show and his parody on it, even participating in an online drive to save the program during its first cancellation. Perkins was also spoofed on Saturday Night Live, first by Harry Shearer reporting on the Walter Keane art exhibit in 1980; and then by Darrell Hammond, who played Perkins as a sarcastic alcoholic while hosting Biography. However, Perkins felt this portrayal of his character was grossly distorted and inaccurate. Perkins also voiced a fictional version of himself on the animated series Family Guy in the season 2 episode "Da Boom".