Trace Beaulieu

Trace Beaulieu was one of the original writers and cast members of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (Comedy Central/Sci-Fi 1988-1999), operating and voicing the puppet Crow T. Robot and playing the on-camera role of villainous mad scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester. Like many members of the Minnesota-based show, he hailed from Minneapolis, where he was born on November 6, 1958. Beaulieu, an actor and comic who had previously worked in an ice show that toured Europe, was one of the first people hired by series creator Joel Hodgson, whom he had met in an improv workshop. MST3K, as fans started abbreviating it, was nominated for two Emmys in the category of Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for A Variety or Musical Program in 1994 and 1995. After seven seasons, Beaulieu left the show when it was canceled by Comedy Central and did not return to the reboot on Sci-Fi in 1997. Along with a recurring role as a harried high school teacher on "Freaks And Geeks" (NBC 1999-2000), Beaulieu spent a number of years as a writer for "America's Funniest Home Videos" (ABC 1989-) alongside a fellow MST3K alum, J. Elvis Weinstein. Beaulieu also wrote a children's poetry book in 2010, Silly Rhymes for Belligerent Children. From 2007 to 2013, Beaulieu joined Hodgson, Weinstein and several other MST3K alums in "Cinematic Titanic," a revival of the concept that focused on live shows.