Sid and Marty Krofft
(photo found online in 2011)
I've been a fan of Sid and Marty Krofft since childhood. Whenever H.R. Pufnstuf came on TV, my brother and sister and I would literally run to the TV set to watch. This was in the mid 1970's when the show had already been cancelled and was playing only in reruns. I would sit right in front of the TV to see all the goofy characters up close. In my house Pufnstuf, Witchiepoo and Jimmy had a huge presence. We also watched the Krofft Superstar Hour that featured the Bay City Rollers!
This is an excellent book with tons of information about every single Krofft TV show you can think of. There are no photographs or images, but as a Krofft fan I found this to be a fun book to read and was amazed at the amount of research that went into this book. It was published in 1998.
H.R. Pufnstuf, television series produced in 1969
Here is a link to Billie Hayes' website showing several photographs from HR Pufnstuf and other Krofft programs. You can order photo prints directly from the website as a fund raiser for the organization Pet Hope. Billie Hayes used to sign the photos for her fans however as she passed away in 2021 the photos are now stamped with her signature instead, which is none the less extremely awesome!!!
Above are two issues of the H.R. Pufnstuf comic book series published by Western Publishing Company under their Gold Key brand. The comic on the left is issue No. 2 from Jan 1971, and on the right is No. 5 from Oct 1971.
Here is the HR Pufnstuf bobble head that came with the DVD set. It's made by Funko in 2003. Below is a back view showing Pufnstuf's tail. A variation of this Pufnstuf bobble head was also made. It has a green body instead of dark orange, and a purple nose, and was sold in a boxed set with a Witchiepoo bobble head.
Here's Cling and clang without their jackets on. Both have the same head, arms, legs and lower torso. Only the upper torso and the hats are different. The green hat is larger than the red hat. The jackets each have two snaps on them which are the same type that the Mego company used in the 70's for their Superhero dolls. I really like that the jackets were made out of fabric rather than being sculpted as part of the figure.
Land of the Lost, TV series produced in 1974 - 1976
When we were kids, my brother enjoyed Land of the Lost more than I did. That show freaked me out so I always left the room or turned the channel. I found the "drama" of being trapped in a world of dinosaurs was too frightening. When I was much older though, I became a huge fan of the program and am very happy to have the whole series on DVD. I especially like the slow moving Sleestak aliens!
Donny and Marie / The Osmond Family Show, 12 inch and 10 inch dolls by Mattel, 1976 - 1978
Donny and Marie Osmond hosted a very popular TV show from 1976 to 1979. The first year or two of this show was produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. It was an instant hit which lead to Mattel producing 12 inch dolls of Donny and Marie in 1976, which were also extremely popular. Donny is shown above on the right in the purple outfit. I'm missing his shoes and microphone. I don't have the Marie doll. Jimmy Osmond joined the show later on in it's run. Mattel produced a 10 inch doll of the younger Osmond in 1978. I'm missing his microphone. Both dolls are wearing classic 70's disco style outfits! A TV studio playset was also produced as part of this doll series along with several fashions for the 12 inch dolls. The 10 inch Jimmy had to make due with what he was already wearing.
New Zoo Revue, 1972-1977
This was another children's TV show that I watched in the 1970's. According to the the book "Sid and Marty Krofft: A Critical Study of Saturday Morning Children's Television, 1969-1993" (shown at the top of this page), the Krofft brothers didn't produce this program but they did make the costumes (or at least their company did). The characters on the show included Henrietta Hippo, Charlie the Owl and Freddie Frog. I have a large plush toy of Freddie which is shown below. It's about 15 inches tall from head to foot and was made in the 1970's.
As you can see, the doll has a light green felt "F" glued onto his shirt. The doll also has cardboard (or something) in the mouth to keep the shape. Although the eyes are all scratched this Freddie is in good shape for it's age, as they are quite rare to find. One time on e-bay I saw a variation of this doll that had the same fabric body but the head was plastic. A smaller 9 inch version of the fabric-head Freddy Frog plush toy was also made, along with small bendy figures of the characters. My sister used to have a pink Henrietta Hippo plush toy that she won at the exhibition, but that's long gone. It may not have been an official licensed toy though, as I recall Henrietta and Freddie specifically were quite popular in the mid 70s and there were many knock-off toys based on them.
Brothers Sid and Marty Krofft have produced many TV shows in the 60's and 70's that I adored during my childhood and still adore today. The shows were all produced in the United States where the Kroft brothers have lived for the majority of their lives, however I find it interesting that there is a Canadian link to the Kroffts.
According to Hal Erickson, author of the biographical book Sid and Marty Krofft: A Critical Study of Saturday Morning Children's Television, 1969-1993 (shown above), the Krofft family is originally from Greece, but had moved to Montreal, Canada around the 1920s. As such, Sid and Marty Krofft were both raised in Montreal. Wikipedia goes a step further and states that the brothers were born in Montreal, which would make them Canadian citizens. In the 1950s they moved to the US to tour their marionette shows, and the rest is history.
Therefore, I could technically put the Kroffts in my Canadian puppetry section, however as all of their work was done in the United States I think it makes more sense to include them in the section about American puppetry.
Here is a photo that I find captures the essence of the HR Pufnstuf TV show!
This photo was found online.
Created by Sid and Marty Krofft, the H.R. Pufnstuf TV show premiered on NBC in Sept 1969 and ran for 17 episodes. The shows were re-broadcast numerous times throughout the 1970s moving to ABC in 1972, and gaining fans of all ages. However Pufnstuf wasn't the only star. Who can forget the awesome Billie Hayes as the comical villain Witchiepoo, and her bumbling henchmen: Orson Vulture, Seymour Spider and Stupid Bat!
There's also Jimmy, performed by 16 year old Jack Wild with his remarkable talent for dancing and singing. The year before H.R. Pufnstuf was produced, Sid Krofft had seen Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger in the musical film Oliver and decided to cast him in the part of Jimmy. My favourite song from the TV series is "How Lucky I Am" from episode two, and I also like "Mechanical Boy" from episode four. There is also an episode in which Jack Wild as Jimmy wears a costume similar to his Artful Dodger character.
Jimmy's pal Freddy Flute and other puppet characters make the program even more enjoyable. H.R. Pufnstuf is an imaginative TV series that I'll always enjoy. Thank you Sid and Marty Krofft for making this awesome program!!!
There's also Jimmy, performed by 16 year old Jack Wild with his remarkable talent for dancing and singing. The year before H.R. Pufnstuf was produced, Sid Krofft had seen Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger in the musical film Oliver and decided to cast him in the part of Jimmy. My favourite song from the TV series is "How Lucky I Am" from episode two, and I also like "Mechanical Boy" from episode four. There is also an episode in which Jack Wild as Jimmy wears a costume similar to his Artful Dodger character.
Jimmy's pal Freddy Flute and other puppet characters make the program even more enjoyable. H.R. Pufnstuf is an imaginative TV series that I'll always enjoy. Thank you Sid and Marty Krofft for making this awesome program!!!
Witchiepoo with Orson Vulture and Seymour Spider
Several years before she passed away I sent her a letter gushing about how much I loved her as Witchiepoo and I told her that I would always love the H.R. Pufnstuf show. At the same time I ordered two photos which she signed for me, they are precious to me now! I'm so happy that I had an opportunity to correspond with her. She seemed like such a sweet human being and was a huge part of my childhood! It's funny that even though she was the villain on the show I just adored Witchiepoo!
Action figures of H.R. Pufnstuf as the Mayor of Living Island along with the bumbling policemen Cling and Clang.
In 2000 the company Living Toys produced a series of six action figures based on Sid and Marty Krofft TV shows. Each figure comes with a display base that says "The Krofft Superstars". In addition to the above figure of H.R. Pufnstuf, a variation figure of Pufnstuf as President was also made (shown below). Cling and Clang were sold as a two-pack set. The last two figures in the series are from other Krofft TV Shows: Electra Woman and Sigmund the Sea Monster. I have this entire series and have shown them all below.
The back view to show Pufnstuf's tail and scales.
This is the package for H.R. Pufnstuf.
Cling and Clang in the original package.
The action figure of H.R. Pufnstuf as President. This variation of Pufnstuf wasn't shown on the back of the card packaging.
The Electra Woman action figure which comes with a fabric cape.
Last is the lovable little Sigmund the Sea Monster with his pet lobster. This is the heaviest figure in the set.
The back of the packaging for all the figures is the same. The variation figure of Pufnstuf for President wasn't shown on the package.
This is a really well made series of figures. It's too bad they didn't make figures of Witchiepoo and Jimmy to compliment the H.R. Pufnstuf set. I also would have liked to see figures of Stupid Bat, Orson Vulture and Seymour Spider along with characters from various Krofft shows such as Hoo Doo, Mark, Big Foot, Wild Boy, Will, Holly and Rick Marshall, Cha-Ka, Enik, and a Sleestak. That would have been awesome!
"See you next week!"
When we were kids, my brother enjoyed Land of the Lost more than I did. That show freaked me out so I always left the room or turned the channel. I found the "drama" of being trapped in a world of dinosaurs was too frightening. When I was much older though, I became a huge fan of the program and am very happy to have the whole series on DVD. I especially like the slow moving Sleestak aliens!
In 2009 a special limited edition DVD set was sold with this awesome reproduction tin lunchbox. All three seasons were included, as shown below.
Land of the Lost, season 1 DVD set.
The main concept to this TV series is shown only in the opening credits. During a family camping trip Rick Marshall and his two kids, Will and Holly, are mysteriously transported to a world inhabited by aliens and Dinosaurs, where they must survive until they can find a way home. As is often the case working in television, it was unknown if the series would continue for a second season, so the final episode of season one concludes the key storyline in a clever way that would also let the series continue.
Land of the Lost, season 2 DVD set
Season two offers more mystery and stories that are as equally entertaining as season one. The Marshall's continue to have encounters with the Sleestak and stop-motion Dinosaurs!
Land of the Lost, season 3 DVD set
The last season is perhaps the weirdest. I have mixed feelings about it as a lot of the episodes throw off the story continuity and logic presented in the first two seasons. Still, they are fun episodes to watch.
This is Will Marshall, played by actor Wesley Eure. Isn't he a cutie!
I must confess to having a bit of a crush on Wesley.
Here's Enik and Will Marshall. Will always wore his shirt unbuttoned down to the center of his chest. That's just how some guys wore their shirts back in the 70's and early 80's. It was a common style at the time.
There is an episode from Season 1 in which the Marshalls go swimming and find a secret underwater passage way to the Sleestack's cave. Will Marshall (Wesley Eure) goes swimming in a pair of cut-off jean shorts. It's my favourite episode! :) I found these screen captures of Will in his jean shorts online. As the character is marooned in the Land of the Lost, this is the only time in season one that we see him wearing something other than his blue shirt and brown pants.
Here is issue number 8 of Starlog Magazine with a cover photo showing the making of Land of the Lost. This magazine was published in September 1977, a year after Land of the Lost had wrapped production and was seen on TV only in re-runs. This is an awesome article about Stop-Motion animation featuring Land of the Lost with excellent photos of the miniature sets in the studio during production. My favourite stop-motion creator, Ray Harryhausen, is also featured in the article (it was written a few years before he would make "Clash of the Titans" in 1980).
Here is my Sleestak Wacky Wobbler bobble head made by Funko in 2008! Below is the back view showing his tail!
Krofft Supershow, produced from 1976 - 1978
Here is issue No. 6 of the Krofft Supershow comic, published in 1979 by Western Publishing. This comic features Magic Mongo, Bigfoot and Wildboy, Kaptain Kool and the Kongs, and Wonderbug.
Donny and Marie / The Osmond Family Show, 12 inch and 10 inch dolls by Mattel, 1976 - 1978
New Zoo Revue, 1972-1977
This was another children's TV show that I watched in the 1970's. According to the the book "Sid and Marty Krofft: A Critical Study of Saturday Morning Children's Television, 1969-1993" (shown at the top of this page), the Krofft brothers didn't produce this program but they did make the costumes (or at least their company did). The characters on the show included Henrietta Hippo, Charlie the Owl and Freddie Frog. I have a large plush toy of Freddie which is shown below. It's about 15 inches tall from head to foot and was made in the 1970's.
Other Krofft Items
Sid and Marty Krofft's Saturday Morning Hits DVD
This is a great CD set for Krofft and Pufnstuf fans that was available in 2010. Sid and Marty Krofft's Saturday Morning Hits has a selection of episodes from several of the Krofft's best programs, including HR Pufnstuf, Bigfoot and Wildboy, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, Lidsville, and several others. It's awesome!
Text and photos of collectables © Mike Artelle 2011, 2013
The photo of Sid and Marty Krofft was found online in 2011 on a website that is no longer online. The address was http://www.zimbio.com/Sid+Krofft
