Sid and Marty Krofft

Sid Krofft at The Muppets premiere

Lidsville, lower left, at Hooper's Store

H. R. Pufnstuf at the Daytime Emmys with Big Bird and Northern Calloway

Sid and Marty Krofft are brothers known for producing numerous live-action Saturday morning TV shows in the 1970s, typically featuring colorful costumed characters, puppets, and heavy make-up effects within enchanted worlds.

After building the title characters for the 1968 Hanna-Barbera series The Banana Splits, the Kroffts started their own series in 1969, H.R. Pufnstuf. Similar shows The Bugaloos, Lidsville, and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters followed, while The Land of the Lost presented slightly more dramatic peril. Subsequent shows detoured into comedians trapped in space (The Lost Saucer and Far Out Space Nuts) and more adventure-tinged series minus the costumed critters (as with superheroes Elektra Woman and Dyna Girl), alongside puppet work on an assortment of prime-time variety shows. Later series included Pryor's Place with Richard Pryor, the prime-time Spitting Image inspired D.C.'s Follies (with puppets of politicians and celebrities), and a 1991 Land of the Lost revival series (and other remakes), and a return to children's puppetry with Nickelodeon's Mutt & Stuff.

Sid Krofft was one of the celebrities present at the theatrical premiere of The Muppets.

Appearances

• On the May 11, 1976 Daytime Emmy Awards broadcast, H.R. Pufnstuf joined a chorus line in a performance of "One," led by Sesame Street regular Northern Calloway and including Big Bird, Dancing Bear from Captain Kangaroo, and Paul the Gorilla from The Electric Company.

References

• An issue of the comic-book tie-in for the Krofft series Lidsville (about a land of giant talking hats) appears on the door of Hooper's Store, along with other cartoon/funny comic titles.

• In the Farscape miniseries The Peacekeeper Wars, Crichton makes references to two different Krofft series. In the first half, he refers to Noranti as Witchiepoo (the heavily made-up witch on H.R. Pufnstuf). In the second half, he calls the Scarran leader Emperor Stahleek "Emperor Sleestak" (after the lumbering lizard men on Land of the Lost).

Connections

Print ad for the 1984 CBS Saturday morning block, including Muppet Babies and the Kroffts' Pryor's Place

• Susan Boyd played B. J. on Dr. Shrinker (1976-1977)
• Ruth Buzzi played Fi on The Lost Saucer (1975)
• Kevin Carlson puppeteered on D.C. Follies (1987-1988)
• Tony Charmoli directed every episode of The Bugaloos (1970-1971) and Lidsville (1971-1972) and the special Fol-De-Rol (1972)
• Cass Elliot played Witch Hazel in Pufnstuf (1970 film)
• Mitchell Young Evans played an alien in the Far Out Space Nuts episode "Vanishing Aliens Mystery" (1975)
• Thom Fountain puppeteered on D.C. Follies (1987-1989)
• Joan Gerber voiced many Krofft characters, including Freddie the Flute and others on H.R. Pufnstuf (1969-1970) and in Pufnstuf (1970 film), Tweeter and Gina Lollawattage on The Bugaloos (1970-1971), all female hats on Lidsville (1971-1972), and the computer G.A.L. in the Far Out Space Nuts episode "It's All in Your Mind" (1975)
• H. B. Haggerty played Malek in the Far Out Space Nuts episode "Galaxy's Greatest Athlete" (1975) and a security guard in the Elektra Woman and Dyna Girl episode "The Pharoah" (1976)
• Margaret Hamilton played Miss Eddles on Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (3 episodes, 1973)
• David Healy played Colonel Roscoe T. Post in the Land of the Lost episode "Hot-Air Artist" (1976)
• Donna Kimball puppeteered on Mutt & Stuff (2015-2017)
• Michael Kirschenbaum was a staff writer on D.C. Follies (1987-1989)
• John Lovelady puppeteered on D.C. Follies (1987-1989)
• Danny Mann voiced Tasha on Land of the Lost (1991-1992)
• Drew Massey puppeteered on Mutt & Stuff (2015-2017) and puppeteered Sigmund on Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (2016-2017)
• Jim Nabors played Fum on The Lost Saucer (1975)
• Richard Pryor played himself, Bummer, Chills, and others on Pryor's Place (1984)
• Mickey Rooney played sketch roles in Fol-de-Rol (1972 special)
• Martin Strudler designed the characters on Lidsville (1971-1972) and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (1973-1975)
• Robert Shields played a mime/jester in Fol-de-Rol (1972 special)
• Lynne Thigpen played a witch in Fol-de-Rol (1972 special)
• Allan Trautman puppeteered on Pryor's Place (1984) and D.C. Follies (1988-1989)
• Frank Welker voiced the title character on Wonderbug (1976-1978)
• Mary Wickes played Zelda Marshall on Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (1973-1975)
• Fred Willard played Fred the bartender on D.C. Follies (1987-1989)
• Victor Yerrid puppeteered on Mutt & Stuff (2015-2017) and puppeteered Slurp on Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (2016-2017)
• Bradley Zweig co-created Mutt & Stuff (2015-2017)