INDIANAPOLIS — As WRTV chief meteorologist Kevin Gregory nears retirement, Julian Duval, a former co-host of the longtime WRTV television program At The Zoo, is sharing his memories and gratitude for his time with Gregory.
“Retirement is a big deal,” Duval said. “It allows you to take a new look at what life is about and try some new stuff, and I'm sure Kevin won't have any problem with that.”
Gregory jumped into co-hosting At The Zoo shortly after arriving at WRTV in 1989. Duval says Gregory’s appreciation of nature and eagerness to learn were integral to the show’s success.
“I would call it his boy-like wonder,” Duval said. “Kevin was an absolute natural for the role of being the person who would be inspired by some of the things that I was able to show him.”
Their adventures would go beyond the walls of the Indianapolis Zoo. The pair traveled the globe to bring Hoosiers an up-close look at wildlife in its natural environment.
"Going to Africa is an experience that can be life-changing for a lot of people,” Duval said. “The types of things that you encounter in a country like Botswana, being on the same ground that elephants walk on and lions and things like that, it's pretty awe-inspiring.”
At The Zoo was a hit with viewers too. The show would earn several regional Emmy Awards during its 10-year run. Duval credits its success in part to Gregory’s conversational approach.
“He wasn't good at remembering lines,” Duval said. “It had to be off the cuff, but I think that made it work because it always seemed natural, always seemed very conversational.”
Another factor in the show’s success was trust.
“The people at the zoo knew that we could trust the people at the station, that it was always going to be for the welfare of the animals,” Duval said. “Kevin was very much part of that. There was no showmanship.”
The real stars of the show were always the animals.
“All my staff at the zoo could feel confident that the show wasn't something that was going to in any way use animals for the purpose of television,” Duval said. “It was the other way around. We were using television for the purpose of the animals.”
It’s a lasting legacy that lives on, even in California where Duval lives today.
“It just so happens that there’s a neighbor across the street who's from Indianapolis,” Duval said. “He's decades younger, but he says he remembers watching the At The Zoo show when he was a kid.”
Memories made in Indiana, that live on across the globe.
“That will always be a very special time in my life to have spent with Kevin,” Duval said.
