6 Fun & Wacky Facts from the Wonderful World of Sid & Marty Krofft
To be a kid in the ’70s was to watch Sid and Marty Krofft shows. The brothers behind hits like H.R. Pufnstuf, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters and Land of the Lost produced over 30 shows, several of which became genuine cultural phenomenons, spawning dolls, lunchboxes and, in the case of Land of the Lost, a major 2009 feature film, as well as a number of present-day reboots. But when it comes to the Kroffts, there’s always more to learn and more questions to be answered.
Oh, and if you have that question about their work, rest assured, they’ve already answered it. “No drugs involved” in the creation of any of their shows, Marty Krofft said in a 2002 interview with USA Today. “We’re bizarre, that’s all.”
1They Designed the Banana Splits
The Banana Splits, 1968, Everett Collection
Before H.R. Pufnstuf, there was The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, a Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning variety show that ran from 1969 to 1970. The Splits were a Monkees-style band, with the twist being that each band member was an anthropomorphic animal, portrayed by an actor in a costume.
The Kroffts had previously appeared on late-night TV, including 15 episodes of The Dean Martin Show, and had a very successful touring run with their adult puppet show, “Les Poupees des Paris.” But Hanna-Barbera came calling because of one very unique part of their show: Some “puppets” were actually actors in suits, who at certain moments would break their strings and caper around the auditorium. Knowing that the Kroffts could design a compelling suit for a person to perform inside, they tapped them to conceptualize their new show. Within the first year of the series, the brothers had been signed to create their own show, H.R. Pufnstuf. “If it wasn’t for the Banana Splits,” Marty Krofft said in a 2000 interview, “we may have not gotten into television. And,” he laughed, “we might be better off for it.”
2H.R. Pufnstuf Was Originally a Coca-Cola Mascot
Mario Casilli/TV Guide/Courtesy Everett Collection
The Kroffts developed a puppet show for the Coca-Cola pavilion at the 1968 World’s Fair in San Antonio. Called “Kaleidoscope,” the show revolved around a dragon named Luther, and it was an enormous hit, with Luther becoming the mascot for the entire fair. So when NBC asked the brothers if they had any ideas for a series of their own, they revived Luther, renamed him H.R. Pufnstuf, and the rest is delightfully bizarre children’s television history.
3Sigmund the Sea Monster Was Inspired by a Piece of Driftwood
Everett Collection
In a 1999 interview with Borders.com, Marty revealed that the lively Sigmund from Sigmund and the Sea Monsters was inspired by one of the least lively things on Earth: “My brother Sid was at La Jolla Beach sitting on a rock and saw a piece of sea weed at the ocean, thought it was a sea monster, went and got it, then brought it back to our studio. That’s how Sigmund was created.”
4They Created a Show Starring the Bay City Rollers
Everett Collection
The Kroffts didn’t just work with famous puppets — they also worked with human stars, sometimes to great success, like with Donny & Marie, which lasted four seasons, or Barbara Mandrell & The Mandrell Sisters, which lasted for two. Other dips into the world of celebrities, like the variety show The Brady Bunch Variety Hour (which Susan Olsen, who played Cindy Brady, described as “like a freak show“), lasted for only eight episodes.
While you are probably familiar with those shows, you might not know about their collaboration with some of the era’s biggest pop stars: the Bay City Rollers. But unlike those other shows, this wasn’t a nighttime variety series. Rather, as the band began to slowly come down from the peaks they’d reached with the success of “Saturday Night” and “Bye Bye Baby,” they were made the hosts of a pre-existing Krofft Saturday morning show.
From 1976 to 1978, The Krofft Super Show aired on Saturday mornings, interspersing ongoing mini-shows like “Electra Woman and Dyna Girl” with songs sung by a fictional band called Kaptain Kool and the Kongs. By mid 1978, Kaptain Kool was gone, and the show had been renamed The Krofft Superstar Hour — with the Bay City Rollers being the titular superstars. The Rollers performed skits, sang songs (sometimes accompanied by a group of female backup singers/dancers called the Krofftettes), and introduced mini-shows like “Horror Hotel,” which followed the goings-on at a hotel inexplicably operated by Pufnstuf villain Witchy Poo.
Despite appearances by beloved Krofft puppets and human celebrities like Erik Estrada and Scott Baio (who both showed up to sing “Jailhouse Rock” with the Rollers in the show’s salute to the ’50s), the series only lasted for one season.
5… And a Children’s Show Starring Richard Pryor
Everett Collection
When you think Richard Pryor, you probably don’t immediately think “children’s television.” But by 1984, the acclaimed (and famously foul-mouthed and drug-abusing) comedian was ready to clean up his act and show a softer side to the world. And then, he got a call from Marty Krofft. Krofft, who felt Pryor was “the funniest man in the world,” had pitched the comedian’s name during a meeting with CBS executives. The network said it would commit to the show if Krofft could get Pryor to say yes. “I knew that he was making a lot of changes in his life and was concerned about his image, so I thought he just might like the idea of doing something for kids,” Krofft told The New York Times in 1984. “When he said he was interested, I must admit I was pleasantly shocked.”
The show was Pryor’s Place, a Sesame Street-like live-action show (with occasional puppets), set on a soundstage designed to look like Pryor’s hometown of Peoria. The show boasted guest stars like Lily Tomlin, Henry Winkler, Robin Williams and Kareen Abdul-Jabbar, as well as a theme song by Ray Parker Jr. The show’s 13 episodes featured tween actors and Pryor acting out stories about children’s issues like bullying and shoplifting, and was fairly successful ratings-wise; it even won a few Daytime Emmys. But Pryor pulled the plug on the show, for reasons that will remain as mysterious, such as why he said yes in the first place.
6They Sued McDonald’s (and Won)
In 1970, McDonald’s ad execs approached the Kroffts with an intriguing proposition: What if the characters of H.R. Pufnstuf appeared in a series of commercials for the restaurant? The Kroffts were interested, and sent over designs and ideas; but when it came time to pay, the ad exec said the ads had been canceled.
However, the next year, ads began to air about a place called “McDonaldland,” and it was tough to not notice the similarities: McDonaldland was a fantastical island, where human children cavorted with large, bizarre puppets and talking trees. It turned out that former employees of the Kroffts had been involved in the creation and development of the puppets and sets, as well.
In 1971, the Kroffts sued McDonald’s, and the case was found in their favor, with the pair awarded a little more than $1 million. “So we went to Europe for two years and spent it all!” Marty told Forbes in 2016. There’s no word on whether Freddy the Flute joined them.
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Kid Stuff
June 2018
Unleash your inner child by reliving your favorite kids TV shows, cartoons, toys and more!
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