Paul Chaplin

Paul Chaplin (born Paul Schersten on May 1, 1956) is an American writer and comedian, best known for his work on the television series "Mystery Science Theater 3000", for which he wrote and played the recurring characters of an Observer, Ned the Nanite, Pitch the Demon, and Ortega, along with several other bit roles.

Bio

After earning his Master's Degree from the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, Schersten became a community organizer in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Eventually, after finding little reward in his work, Schersten left this line of work and decided to pursue a career in comedy. [ [http://www.castleforrester.com/mst3k/thebrains/ "MST3K|MST3000 The Brains"] ] It was during this time that Schersten took the stage surname Chaplin.

MST3K

While working the comedy club circuit in Minneapolis, Schersten met Michael J. Nelson and Mary Jo Pehl. During the third season of MST3K, Nelson approached Schersten and asked him about becoming a writer on "MST3K". Nelson tested Schersten by giving him ten minutes of footage from the movie "Daddy-O", which Schersten was to take home and give the "MST3K treatment". Chaplin passed the test with "flying colors", and was hired by Best Brains as a writer.

During his tenure on "MST3K", Schersten portrayed several characters in addition to his writing duties, most notably an Observer, Pitch the Demon (originally portrayed in the movie "Santa Claus"), Ned the Nanite, and Ortega (originally portrayed in the movie "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies") [ [http://www.mst3k.com/mstfaq/guest.html#Paul "Guest Starring Roles: Paul Chaplin"] ] .

Work since MST3K

Since "MST3K" ended its eleven year run in 1999, Schersten has collaborated with former "MST3K" writers on projects such as "Edward the Less" and "Timmy Big Hands", and has also written for NPR and [http://www.efqreview.com The Elysian Fields Quarterly] .

In the new "MST3K" online animated series, Chaplin provides the voice of Crow T. Robot in addition to writing the show. [http://www.mst3kinfo.com/]

See also

Mystery Science Theater 3000

References