Mary Jo Pehl is probably best known for her portrayal of
Pearl Forrester on TV's
Mystery Science Theater 3000. Before her time on MST3K she had been a
temp worker, but after being fired/laid off from six jobs, she decided to pursue something more stable. She chose
comedy, developed her comedic skills, and in 1992 began work as a writer on MST3K. The first episode she worked on was episode #404,
Teenagers From Outer Space. "I fell in love with this job, the likes of which I never knew existed," she said in
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing Colossal Episode Guide, "A job in which I got to sit on comfy couches, watch movies on a big-screen TV, and talk." She began appearing onscreen as a variety of minor characters (including the mysterious
Magic Voice), although episode #607,
Bloodlust, introduced her best known character:
Pearl Forrester, mother of the evil mad scientist
Dr. Clayton Forrester. After
Frank Conniff left the show at the end of Season 6, Mary Jo stepped in as
Pearl in Season 7 to provide a new nemesis/foil for
Dr. Forrester. Beginning in Season 8
Pearl became the main mad scientist at the helm of the movie experiments, causing many fans to decry Mary Jo's performance. However, many other fans loved the character and most of the anti-
Mrs. Forrester fans eventually came around and found the fun side of the character.
After the Satellite of Love came back to Earth in 1999 and Mystery Science Theater 3000 came to an end, Mary Jo traveled the places such as China, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Upon her return to the USA she settled in New York and began doing some freelance writing for Ironminds and TimmyBigHands as well as Funny Times and Minnesota Women's Press. She's also been a commentator for National Public Radio, Public Radio International, and KTCA-TV's Almanac. Her talents also graced the PBS production Mental Engineering, The Sci-Fi Channel's online series Edward the Less, and co-star Trace Beaulieu's (cancelled) CD-ROM project. She also recently made her New York stage debut in Flats Fixed and she has received the L.A. Reader Critics Circle Award for Best Comedy Ensemble for the production of Bad Seed. Her future projects include two books: a novel and a collection of essays entitled Life's A Stitch. Also watch for her as Captain Beth Ingram of the Starship Bridgebuilder and as the voice of the Starship Westwick computer in the upcoming video game Darkstar.
Mary Jo Pehl's MST3K Characters
Taken from Satellite News - http://www.mst3kinfo.com
References:
http://mst3kinfo.com/mstfaq/guest.html
http://mst3kinfo.com/scan.html
http://mst3kinfo.com/darkstar/cast.html
http://www.scifi.com/edwardtheless/cast_crew/bios/pehl.html
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing Colossal Episode Guide