| Paul Chaplin | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 1, 1956 |
| Citizenship | American |
| Education | Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs |
| Occupation | writer, comedian |
Paul Chaplin (born Paul Schersten on May 1, 1956) is a U.S. 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.
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After earning his Master's Degree from the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, Paul Schersten became a community organizer in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Eventually, after finding little reward in his work, he left this line of work and decided to pursue a career in comedy.[1] It was during this time that Schersten took the stage surname Chaplin.
While working the comedy club circuit in Minneapolis, Chaplin met Michael J. Nelson and Mary Jo Pehl. During the third season of M.S.T.3K, Nelson approached Chaplin and asked him about becoming a writer on M.S.T.3K. Nelson tested Chaplin by giving him ten minutes of footage from the movie Daddy-O, which Chaplin was to take home and give the "M.S.T.3K treatment". Chaplin passed the test with "flying colors", and was hired by Best Brains as a writer.
During his tenure on M.S.T.3K, Chaplin 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).[2]
Since M.S.T.3K ended its eleven year run in 1999, Chaplin has collaborated with his former M.S.T.3K colleagues on projects such as Edward the Less and Timmy Big Hands, and has also written for NPR and The Elysian Fields Quarterly.
In the new M.S.T.3K on-line animated series, Chaplin provides the voice of Crow T. Robot in addition to writing the show. [1]