Hal Erickson - Sid and Marty Krofft: A Critical Study of Saturday Morning Childrens Television, 1969-1993

Also by Hal Erickson
and from McFarland

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From Beautiful Downtown Burbank: A Critical History of Rowan and Martins Laugh-In, 19681973 (2000; paperback 2009)

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McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
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e-ISBN: 978-1-4766-0784-9

1998 Hal Erickson. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Cover photograph: Billie Hayes (as Witchiepoo), Jack Wild (as Jimmy) with Mayor H.R. Pufnstuf, from the H.R. Pufnstuf television series (NBC/Photofest)

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
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For John Bierman (19501994)
Its crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide.

For graciously and generously sharing their memories of their professional and personal associations with Sid and Marty Krofft, I am grateful to the following individuals: Frank DePalma, Mark Evanier, Ed Gale, Joan Gerber, Scott Kolden, Joy Campbell McKenzie, Alice Playten and Si Rose.

For sharing with equal graciousness and generosity their expertise, enthusiasm and/or Krofft memorabilia, I thank the following individuals and organizations: Kathy A. Edgar, Debbie George and the staff of the Center for Puppetry Arts (Atlanta), Teresa Fumano of Nickelodeon, Chris Gore and the staff of Film Threat magazine, Grant Goggans, David Holifield, Dave Kelleher, Jeff Klein, Mark Longley, Glenn McLain, Nels P. Olsen, Robin Richards, Donna Roman of the Family Channel, Bill Ung, Tim Williams, Linda Westerbeck, Anthony Woolley, the Directors Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild, and the Writers Guild of America.

And for encouragement, moral support, constructive criticism, hand-holding, nursemaiding and reasons too multitudinous to mention, I thank my friends and family, among them my wonderful wife Joanne and fabulous sons Brian and Peter, my parents and siblings, Rosemary Balistreri, Cari and Carl Bobke, Jim Feeley, Wayne and Rita Hawk, Larry Koellner, Steve Lutomski, Jane and Mark Martel, Lee and Andrea Matthias, Barb Parkman, David and Lisa Seebach and Roger Sorenson.

Hal Erickson

Spring 1998

For some, it all started in June of 1995, with a one-sentence press release that began popping up in comic-book, cartoon, and science-fiction fan magazines. The Disney company was announcing plans for a feature film adaptation of an old television series called Land of the Lost.

For those born between 1945 and 1955, a little brain-picking was in order: Was Land of the Lost that god-awful Irwin Allen show about a bunch of earthlings trapped on a planet where everything was ten times larger? Naw, that was Land of the Giants.

For those born between 1972 and 1985, a glimmer of recognition flitted about in the dark recesses of our memory banks. Oh, yeah, Land of the Lost. That thing that was recently on Saturday mornings with cool dinosaur animation and uncool teenaged characters. Fun, yeah, but is it really worth a whole feature film? Hey, wait a minutewasnt it on the Sci-Fi Channel the other day? Wasnt there another show called Land of the Lost sometime way back in the seventies? Dinosaur animation wasnt much, but, wow, those stories! Real Star Trek stuff! Yeah, maybe thats the Land of the Lost that Disney wants to remake. But we cant remember the original show being a Disney property, so what were the names of those two other guys who produced Land of the Lost? Didnt they do something else, something our big sisters and big brothers used to watch, something with a fat dragon?

Ah, but for those in-between baby boomersthe progeny of the years 1956 to 1971Land of the Lost needed no introduction. Altrusia! The Marshalls! The Paku! The Sleestak! The memories cascaded the moment those four magic titular words were mentioned in that Disney press release. For these children of the sixties, it was hardly necessary for the release to mention the names of those two producers who were negotiating with Disney. The names came trippingly from the tongue: Sid and Marty Krofft. The puppet and costume guys. Yes! H. R. Pufnstuf! The Bugaloos! Lidsville! Sigmund and the Sea Monsters! Yes, that Sid and Marty Krofft.

But where had the Kroffts been since their burst of Saturday morning inspiration in the late sixties and early seventies? It says in this newspaper article theyve been where they were all along, in their huge mansion-office in the Highland Park district of Los Angeles. Still coming up with ideas for television like that Land of the Lost revival in 1991. Still mounting such Las Vegas extravaganzas as the Sands Hotels Comedy Giants shows of the late 1980s. But gee, do they even run their shows anymore? Quick peek at TV Guide: Nope. Cartoons, cartoons, Saved by the Bell, cartoons, Bananas in Pajamas, cartoons. There has to be a reason why we havent heard much about the Kroffts lately. Maybe those old shows werent as much fun as we remember them, after all.

July 1995: Another press release. Affinity Telepictures announces their merger with Krofft Pictures Corporation. A company like Affinity doesnt link up with losers, does it? Gosh, wouldnt it be great to see those Krofft shows again?

September 16, 1995: The high-profile, high-rated Nickelodeon cable service runs Puf-a-Palooza, a 15-hour marathon of vintage Sid and Marty Krofft productions. In the course of this smorgasbord of nostalgia, audiences were treated to four episodes from H. R. Pufnstuf, three from Land of the Lost, two each from Bugaloos, Lidsville, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters and ElectraWoman and DynaGirl, and a 1973 one-hour special, The World of Sid & Marty Krofft: Live at the Hollywood Bowl