Martin William Kratt (born December 23, 1965) and Christopher Frederick James Kratt (born July 19, 1969), are American
zoologists,
actors,
producers,
directors, and educational nature show hosts. Sons of musical-instrument manufacturer William King "Bill" Kratt, the brothers grew up in
Warren Township, New Jersey, and together created children's television series ''
Kratts' Creatures
''Kratts' Creatures'' is a half-hour children's television series that originally ran on PBS Kids during the summer of 1996. The first in a series of programs produced by the Kratt Brothers, Chris Kratt, Chris and Martin Kratt, ''Kratts' Creatures ...
'', ''
Zoboomafoo'', and ''
Be the Creature'' (which aired on the
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...
and
CBC), as well as ''
Wild Kratts'' (which airs on
PBS Kids
PBS Kids is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. Some public television children's programs are not produced by PBS member stations or transmitted by PBS. Instead, ...
and
TVOKids).
Early lives and education
Martin was born on December 23, 1965, and Chris was born on July 19, 1969, in New Jersey to Linda (born 1939) and William Kratt (born 1928). They are the grandsons of musical instrument maker William Jacob Kratt (1892-1983), who emigrated from
Germany to America in 1910.
The brothers attended
Watchung Hills Regional High School. Both were inducted into the school's hall of fame in 2013. Martin holds a
Bachelor of Science in
zoology from
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
, and Chris holds a
Bachelor of Arts in
biology from
Carleton College
Carleton College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. Founded in 1866, it had 2,105 undergraduate students and 269 faculty members in fall 2016. The 200-acre main campus is between Northfield and the 800-acre Cowling ...
.
Career
Shortly after graduating from Duke University, Martin became a research assistant for a
howler monkey project under Dr. Kenneth Glander in
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
. Shortly after, he worked with Dr. Patricia Wright in Madagascar as well as Dr. John Terbogh in the Peruvian Amazon. In 1990, Chris served as an intern at
Conservation International
Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia.
CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and communities. The organ ...
in
Washington, D.C. A year later, he started the Carleton Organization for Biodiversity. His ecology studies have been funded by the
Explorers Club and the
National Science Foundation. He was also the recipient of the
Thomas J. Watson Fellowship
The Thomas J. Watson Foundation is a charitable trust formed 1961 in honor of former chairman and CEO of IBM, Thomas J. Watson. The Foundation's stated vision is to empower students “to expand their vision, test and develop their potential, an ...
.
Chris also starred alongside his brother Martin in the show ''
Zoboomafoo'', which aired from 1999 to 2001. On this PBS kids show, they went on many adventures with animals with the help of Zoboomafoo, a
Coquerel's sifaka lemur (Propithecus coquereli).The other shows the brothers created are ''
Wild Kratts'', ''
Be the Creature'', ''
Kratt's Creatures
''Kratts' Creatures'' is a half-hour children's television series that originally ran on PBS Kids during the summer of 1996. The first in a series of programs produced by the Kratt Brothers, Chris and Martin Kratt, ''Kratts' Creatures'' was made ...
'', and ''Wild Alaska Live''.
From June 13 to August 3, 2008, the brothers appeared in ''Creature Adventures'', a stage show at
Dollywood in
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. They also appear as themselves in the ''
Odd Squad'' episode "Night Shift". Additionally, in the
Nature Cat crossover episode “Wild Batts”, the Kratt Brothers voice bat versions of themselves looking for a new home. They even also appear in the
Molly of Denali crossover episode “Cry Wolf” as themselves looking for a missing pack of wolves in that episode with the help of Molly Mabray and her father.
In 2017, Dr Gavin Svenson discovered a new species of mantis and named it
Liturgusa Krattorum
''Liturgusa krattorum'' is a species of mantis that was discovered by Gavin Svenson and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. These species of mantis are mainly found in Peru. They live in tall trees, where they are preyed upon by predators ...
after the brothers for their impact on the educational television genre. A special episode of ''Wild Kratts'' was later released to commorate the occasion.
Personal lives
The brothers have lived in
Ottawa, Ontario since 2008, where they film and produce their TV series ''
Wild Kratts.''
Martin Kratt
Martin is married to Laura Wilkinson and has two sons,
Ronan and Gavin, both of whom have had roles on ''Wild Kratts''. Martin had a walk on role as “Officer Hugh Plesky” on the NBC serial ''Manifest.''
Chris Kratt
Chris has two sons, Aidan and Nolan, with his wife Tania Armstrong, an interior designer whom he married in 2000 in
Botswana.
Like their cousins Gavin and Ronan, Aiden and Nolan have roles in ''Wild Kratts'' as animated versions of themselves.
References
External links
*
Official Kratt Brothers websiteBe The Creature Official Site
{{Authority control
American television personalities
Male television personalities
American male television actors
American male voice actors
Carleton College alumni
People from Warren Township, New Jersey
Watson Fellows
Watchung Hills Regional High School alumni
1965 births
1969 births
Living people
American expatriate male actors in Canada
American people of German descent
American zoologists