Paul Chaplin is a U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 writer and comedian, best known for his work on the television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 series Mystery Science Theater 3000

Mystery Science Theater 3000

Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....

, 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.

Biography

After earning his Master's Degree from the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs

Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs

The Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs is a graduate public affairs school located at the University of Minnesota, ranking among the top 15 professional schools of public affairs at public universities in the country. It is named after Hubert H. Humphrey, former Vice President of the...

, Paul Schersten became a community organizer in Saint Paul

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...

, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

. Eventually, after finding little reward in his work, he left this line of work and decided to pursue a career in comedy. It was during this time that Schersten took the stage surname Chaplin.

M.S.T.3K

While working the comedy club circuit in Minneapolis, Chaplin met Michael J. Nelson

Michael J. Nelson

Michael John Nelson is a U.S. comedian and writer, most famous for his work on the cult television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Nelson was the head writer of the series for most of the show's 11-year run, and spent half of that time playing the on-air host, also named Mike Nelson...

 and Mary Jo Pehl

Mary Jo Pehl

Mary Joseph Pehl born February 27, 1960 in Circle Pines, Minnesota, is an American writer, actress and comedienne. She is best known for her various roles on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000.-Mystery Science Theater 3000:...

. 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

Daddy-O

Daddy-O is a 1958 B-movie starring Dick Contino. It was directed by Lou Place and written by David Moessinger. The film is notable for its soundtrack as being the debut film score for composer John Williams...

, 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

Best Brains

Best Brains, Inc. is an entertainment company based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. It is best known for its creation and production of the comedy/sci-fi television program Mystery Science Theater 3000, aka MST3K . The company ceased producing the program in 1999 and closed its studio...

 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

Santa Claus (film)

Santa Claus is a 1959 live action Mexican motion picture featuring Santa Claus. In the film, Santa works in outer space and does battle with a demon sent to Earth by Lucifer to ruin Christmas by killing Santa and "making all the children of the Earth do evil." Santa Claus was directed by René...

), Ned the Nanite, and Ortega (originally portrayed in the movie The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies

The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies

-DVD release:The DVD release of Incredibly Strange Creatures features a commentary track by "drive-in movie critic" Joe Bob Briggs.-In popular culture:...

).

Work since M.S.T.3K

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

Edward the Less

The Adventures of Edward the Less, better known simply as Edward the Less, is a 2001 animated miniseries fantasy comedy created by the former cast of the popular show Mystery Science Theater 3000 for SciFi.com, the Sci Fi Channel website...

and Timmy Big Hands

Timmy Big Hands

Timmy Big Hands was a humor webzine. Created in 2000 by the former cast and crew of Mystery Science Theater 3000, the site garnered much critical acclaim and accolades, but eventually was retired....

, and has also written for NPR

NPR

NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...

 and The Elysian Fields Quarterly.

In the new M.S.T.3K on-line animated series

Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Flash series)

Mystery Science Theater 3000, also referred to as "The 'Bots Are Back!" is an Internet cartoon created by Best Brains, Inc. It is inspired by BBI's original Mystery Science Theater 3000 TV series, and is directed by former Executive Producer Jim Mallon...

, Chaplin provides the voice of Crow T. Robot

Crow T. Robot

Crow T. Robot is a fictional character from the American science fiction comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Crow is a robot, who, along with others, quips and riffs upon poor-quality B movies.- Overview :...

in addition to writing the show. http://www.mst3kinfo.com/