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'''Trace Beaulieu''' (born November 6, 1958) is a puppeteer, writer, art director and actor who is best known for his roles on ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]''. |
'''Trace Beaulieu''' (born November 6, 1958) is a puppeteer, writer, art director and actor who is best known for his roles on ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]''. |
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| − | For the first seven seasons of MST3K, Beaulieu operated and voiced the [[Crow T. Robot]] puppet. He also played the role of [[Dr. Clayton Forrester]], who was the head mad scientist, or "mad", for the first seven seasons. Initially Dr. Forrester was assisted by [[Dr. Laurence Erhardt]]. His second assistant was [[TV's Frank]]. Following the departure of Frank at the end of the sixth season, [[Mary Jo Pehl]] joined the cast in his place, playing Forrester's mother [[Pearl Forrester|Pearl]]. At the end of the seventh season, Trace left the series. |
+ | For the first seven seasons of MST3K, Beaulieu operated and voiced the [[Crow T. Robot]] puppet. He also helped designed the various film sets and played the role of [[Dr. Clayton Forrester]], who was the head mad scientist, or "mad", for the first seven seasons. Initially Dr. Forrester was assisted by [[Dr. Laurence Erhardt]]. His second assistant was [[TV's Frank]]. Following the departure of Frank at the end of the sixth season, [[Mary Jo Pehl]] joined the cast in his place, playing Forrester's mother [[Pearl Forrester|Pearl]]. At the end of the seventh season, Trace left the series. |
[[File:MST3Kset.jpg|thumb|208px|Trace with [[Kevin Murphy]] behind-the-scenes. The Crow puppet was reportedly very healthy and had to be rested against the sets and counters to maneuver with easier.]] |
[[File:MST3Kset.jpg|thumb|208px|Trace with [[Kevin Murphy]] behind-the-scenes. The Crow puppet was reportedly very healthy and had to be rested against the sets and counters to maneuver with easier.]] |
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*Jackie Mason jar (voice) - ''[[The Unearthly]]'' |
*Jackie Mason jar (voice) - ''[[The Unearthly]]'' |
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*Winston Churchill (voice) - ''[[The Dead Talk Back]]'' |
*Winston Churchill (voice) - ''[[The Dead Talk Back]]'' |
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| + | ==Personal quotes== |
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| + | * "In the first season on [[KTMA]] we basically went in cold without watching the films. If you look at those episodes, they’re real hit-or-miss. It was just off the top of our heads." |
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| + | * "Our budget for the show was microscopic. I think [[J. Elvis Weinstein|Josh]] and I were pulling down $25 a show, and I think Joel’s budget was a little higher, because he had to build props. We thought, well, let’s see how far this goes. We didn’t really know how long the show would last or if anyone was even watching it." |
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| + | * "Then we put the station’s phone number up on the screen and started getting feedback. That’s when we realized, hey, there’s more than just four or five people watching this." |
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| + | * "Since Joel’s character created the robots, his relationship with them was kind of parental. Then when Mike’s character came in, it was a completely different dynamic. He had to keep those guys in line, but he was also one of the gang. The onscreen persona was like a pizza restaurant manager who’s only like maybe a couple of months older than the staff is." |
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| + | * "One of the most frustrating things for me was finally realizing that all we were going to produce out of Best Brains was '''Mystery Science'''. We had such a beautiful environment, we had our own studio, our own production facility, we had a shop, we could build anything, we had the talented people. But the way it was structured, from a business standpoint, it was just impossible to produce anything else and be fair to everyone involved. [[Jim Mallon]] was going to own any new show produced. And that didn’t really sit well with a lot of us." |
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| + | * "The younger generation is full of riffers." |
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Revision as of 03:37, 23 April 2014
Trace Beaulieu
Trace Beaulieu (born November 6, 1958) is a puppeteer, writer, art director and actor who is best known for his roles on Mystery Science Theater 3000.
For the first seven seasons of MST3K, Beaulieu operated and voiced the Crow T. Robot puppet. He also helped designed the various film sets and played the role of Dr. Clayton Forrester, who was the head mad scientist, or "mad", for the first seven seasons. Initially Dr. Forrester was assisted by Dr. Laurence Erhardt. His second assistant was TV's Frank. Following the departure of Frank at the end of the sixth season, Mary Jo Pehl joined the cast in his place, playing Forrester's mother Pearl. At the end of the seventh season, Trace left the series.
Trace with Kevin Murphy behind-the-scenes. The Crow puppet was reportedly very healthy and had to be rested against the sets and counters to maneuver with easier.
Pehl's Pearl Forrester character replaced him as the head "mad" and Bill Corbett took over the voicing and operation of Crow.
According to a 1999 Satellite News interview, Trace's least favorite movie he had to endure on the show was The Incredible Melting Man. In a 2014 interview with Spreaker.com, Trace later confirmed that The Unearthly was also one of his least favorite movies to experience during the show's run and also commented on the fact that the the most painful films ended up being the funniest due to the crew having to actually suffer through them.
Other Jobs
Trace appeared as a semi-regular in Freaks and Geeks as the school's biology teacher, Mr. Lacovara. He also appeared in The West Wing episode "Bad Moon Rising". For the last few years, Trace has been a writer for America's Funniest Home Videos and in 2002 he was the head writer, producer and host of the pilot episode of the Animal Planet show People Traps. Outside of acting, Trace also wrote the script for the One shot comic book "Here Come The Big People" published by Event Comics.
Trace has recently released a illustrated book entitled Silly Rhymes For Belliberent Children, which features off-color poetry among other things.
Silly Rhymes For Belligerent Children.
Appearances
Beaulieu and Kevin Murphy in character while filming an episode.
Regular roles
- Crow T. Robot (1988-1997)
- Dr. Clayton Forrester
Guest appearances
- TV's Madam (voice) - Cave Dwellers
- Jackie Mason jar (voice) - The Unearthly
- Winston Churchill (voice) - The Dead Talk Back
Personal quotes
- "In the first season on KTMA we basically went in cold without watching the films. If you look at those episodes, they’re real hit-or-miss. It was just off the top of our heads."
- "Our budget for the show was microscopic. I think Josh and I were pulling down $25 a show, and I think Joel’s budget was a little higher, because he had to build props. We thought, well, let’s see how far this goes. We didn’t really know how long the show would last or if anyone was even watching it."
- "Then we put the station’s phone number up on the screen and started getting feedback. That’s when we realized, hey, there’s more than just four or five people watching this."
- "Since Joel’s character created the robots, his relationship with them was kind of parental. Then when Mike’s character came in, it was a completely different dynamic. He had to keep those guys in line, but he was also one of the gang. The onscreen persona was like a pizza restaurant manager who’s only like maybe a couple of months older than the staff is."
- "One of the most frustrating things for me was finally realizing that all we were going to produce out of Best Brains was Mystery Science. We had such a beautiful environment, we had our own studio, our own production facility, we had a shop, we could build anything, we had the talented people. But the way it was structured, from a business standpoint, it was just impossible to produce anything else and be fair to everyone involved. Jim Mallon was going to own any new show produced. And that didn’t really sit well with a lot of us."
- "The younger generation is full of riffers."