With the lackluster performance of Land of the Lost this past year, what does the future hold for Sid and Marty Krofft? Krofft Productions defined Saturday morning & variety television in the 1970s. No matter how awful these shows appear to us today, they live in the memories of an entire generation of kids…and maybe their nightmares too.

It seemed like a sure thing…Will Ferrell and dinosaurs, what better way could you bring Krofft productions to the 21st century? Whatever happend, it didn’t work and some momentum was lost. That leaves the question of how to get the next Krofft movie on the big screen. H.R. Pufnstuf and Sigmund the Sea Monster were already in the pipe prior to Land of the Lost, so let’s explore them.

With the recent release of “Where the Wild Things Are”, Spike Jonze illustrated both what to do, and what not to do when mixing low-tech costumes and high-tech effect. The character of H.R. Pufnstuf can learn a lot from Wild Things. Sid and Marty are still costume masters, so expect them to up the anti. They can also learn from the story, as Marty said “Don’t mess with what worked“. Removing the 70s camp, and inserting some 21st century realism without loosing the childhood innocense will make Pufnstuf a wonderful film. A cameo from Billie Hayes is also a must.

Sigmund on the other hand could be tricky. Where Pufnstuf takes place in the magical “Living Island”, the Sigmund story takes place in the ‘real world’. The entire premise is camp. The story and costumes would require an update. Does Sigmund still talk? Does the story take on a Waterhorse style? It would be amazing to see the story of Johnny and his pal Sigmund come to the big screen (music and all), but I just can’t imagine how it would work. Maybe Pufnstuf would pave the way.

One of the problems I see is that Sid and Marty aren’t doing enough self promotion. They are not following the advice of Walt Disney that Sid quotes often, “keep your name above the title”. It wasn’t “Sid & Marty Krofft’s Land of the Lost”, it was “Will Ferrell in Land of the Lost”. Yes, they are releasing more and more of their shows online (Hulu, iTunes, etc), but not promoting it well. They partnered with the already dieing MySpace, which has done nothing for their online presence except associate them with trashy chicks and dudes hoping to hook up (I’m not saying everyone on MySpace is that way, but it is the overwhelming majority).

Sid and Marty, get your name back “above the title”.

(Come back in a few days for the first KROFFT.NET podcast containing video of the event)
This past weekend in Burbank, The Hollywood Collector’s Show was held at the Burbank Airport Marriott. My wife and I traveled to California from Michigan to get a chance to see The Kroffts, The Bradys, Witchiepoo and Pufnstuf all under the same roof. The two day event was filled with many stars spanning at least 60 years of television and film, but we were there to meet some Krofft Alumni. I went as a casual fan, to get a few autographs, and to meet the people who’s acting I’ve admired through the years. I didn’t get any interviews (but I hope to in the near future), I didn’t try…I just wanted to enjoy meeting them.

Led by Susan Olsen, several of the stars of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour were on hand to sign autographs and meet fans in support of the Precious Paws organization. At the event was Susan Olsen (Cindy Brady), Mike Lookinland (Bobby Brady), Chris Knight (Peter Brady), and Barry Williams (Greg Brady). Also there to support Precious Paws was Christopher’s wife Adrianne Curry and Robbie Rist (Cousin Oliver from The Brady Bunch). All of them were very pleasant to talk to and all had some interesting stories to tell. I brought my Brady Hour DVD for them to sign. As I handed it to each of them they each had some clever remarks to make about the show. The best was Chris Knight who remarked immediately, “They actually sell these?” (also, thanks to Chris for reminding me to take the cover out of the plastic).

Marty Krofft was there for most of Saturday. Incredibly, he was stuffed in the corner behind he mob of Happy Days fans where you wouldn’t have found him if you weren’t looking for him. This was the first time I’ve met Mr. Krofft, and he was very nice to meet. Because of the noise and crowd, I didn’t get to spend much time with him, but I did enjoy the few moments I was able to talk to him. When I went back later in the day, he had already left. I had him sign my Pufnstuf DVD.

Van Snowden was also there. When I first saw him, he was standing in the line with us fans waiting to get in (the show was very unorganized), and I didn’t even recognize him. He was very pleasant, but not very talkative. The noise in the room didn’t make it easy to have a conversation with the soft spoken Mr. Snowden. I had him sign my Pufnstuf DVD.

The wonderful Billie Hayes was at the show in support of her long-time organization Pet Hope. I’ve ben an admirer of hers for many many years, and finally meeting her was a treat. She is the sweetest person I’ve ever met, and was genuinely excited to meet each and every one of her fans. I could have spent the entire day sitting there with her…she is amazing. She graciously signed my Pufnstuf DVD and posed with me in a picture. And yes, she still sounds like Witchiepoo.

In all it was a great show. It was billed as an autograph and collectors show, but to me it was a meet and greet with show business legends. The show itself was poorly organized. Why wasn’t Marty Krofft, Billie Hayes and Van Snowden even close to one another? They told the celebrities that it started at 10am, and let us in at 9am. (and there were other, non-Krofft related anomalies) The show was great, and I hope to get another chance to spend some time with these Krofft-alumni.

Please post your experiences in the comments if you attended, or ask any questions you may have.

Also, for non-Krofft related coverage of the show, go to META-TAINMENT.COM.

On Sunday, the highlight of The TVLand Awards was the wonderful tribute to Sid and Marty Krofft. Here at KROFFT.NET, we gave you a chance for premium tickets to the event. As a stalwart fan of the Kroffts, it felt good to see Sid and Marty honored on the same stage as my other love, M.A.S.H.

With the impending release of Land of the Lost, and future projects such as Sigmund and the Seamonsters, this tribute should go a long way in bringing them back into the pop culture consciousness.

Friend of KROFFT.NET, author Ted Nichelson, had this report from the event:

I went to the taping of the TV Land Awards on Sunday evening at Universal Studios. They had a huge, spectacular musical production number dedicated to Krofft shows, so you won’t want to miss it. It was like a Broadway revue and ran about 8 minutes. They touched on everything just about, and had many Krofft characters in full costume – including HR Pufnstuff and Sigmund. Others were Kilng and Klang, Lidsville hats, Hoo Doo, and Billie Hayes reprised her role as Witchiepoo. They had some Bugaloos flying around. Cyndi Lauper sang “ElectroWoman and DynaGirl” while Clint Black sang “Land of the Lost.” Sid and Marty came up afterwards and accepted the Pop Culture award. It was truly amazing to see in person.

I really regret my decision not to go, but I couldn’t justify the expense. After seeing the broadcast on Sunday, I’m very envious of those who attended. The production number was very Krofft, and I’m sure there were thousands of viewers who said, “Hey, I remember that show!” every time a new song was sung. Now, when do they get their Emmy tribute?

The costumes were wonderful; each reproduced to the original puppets of the 70s. Cindy Lauper and Clint Black seemed to fit in, but Barry Williams (as much as I like him) didn’t fit in well. Also, where was Billie Hayes? The actress that portrayed Witchiepoo did a wonderful job, but Billie should have been involved in some fashion. She was part of the Krofft’s early success and, I assume, available to participate.

Photos provided by Ted Nichelson

In all, I thought the show was great and hope that it is only a precursor to the coming wave of respect to be show to these great legends. Also, thank you Sid and Marty for recognizing us fans who’ve stuck by you all these years, and helped to keep your creations alive.

Welcome to the World of Sid and Marty Krofft!

The internets are a-buzz with Krofft-news from Comic-Con 2008 in San Diego. Here is a round-up of some of that news. (more…)

MovieWeb interviews Sid and Marty Krofft.

Welcome Marshall, Wil and Holly! Sid and Marty Krofft have landed an article in Forbes in which they discuss their enthusiasm over the new “Land of the Lost” movie. (more…)

H.R. Pufnstuf: The Strange World of Sid and Marty Krofft
Premiere: December 24, 2000
Airs: Mar. 25: 10 p.m.
Follow the lives and careers of the Krofft brothers, from their early days performing with marionettes through their roller-coaster careers producing TV shows–including their trademark Pufnstuf series–in Hollywood. The show features exclusive interviews with Sid and Marty.

LOS ANGELES, December 7, 2000 — E! Entertainment Television will premiere “H.R. Pufnstuf and the Strange World of Sid and Marty Krofft: The E! True Hollywood Story” on Sunday, December 24 at 9:00 PM ET/PT. This one-hour installment reveals the behind-the-scenes drama on many of the Kroffts’ television shows of the 1970s and 80s and examines the often strained personal and professional relationship of brothers Sid and Marty Krofft. Interviews include the Krofft brothers, actors Billy Barty, Rip Taylor, Jack Wild and Billie Hayes.


The Krofft Brothers, best known for their children’s television program “H.R. Pufnstuf,” began collaborating in 1960 with a nude puppet show, “Les Poupee des Paris,” performing it in their own small Los Angeles theatre and later at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. In 1969 the Krofft brothers created and produced their first television program, “H.R. Pufnstuf,” a psychedelic and fantastical children’s show that found a cult following with an acid-dropping counter-culture. The program proved to be popular with viewers, but nonetheless put them a million dollars in the red. They followed up “H. R. Pufnstuf” with “The Bugaloos,” “Lidsville,” “Sigmund and the Sea Monsters,” “Land of the Lost,” “Far Out Space Nuts,” and other popular Saturday morning kids’ programming as well “The Donny and Marie Variety Show,” “Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters” and “D.C. Follies.”


In addition to television, the Kroffts ventured unsuccessfully into the theme-park market with the opening of the Atlanta-based “The World of Sid and Marty Krofft.” After the amusement park debacle, the Kroffts put their full efforts into a slew of prime-time variety shows, but with mixed success. By the mid 1980s, viewers had tired of the variety show format and Sid and Marty expanded into different projects that included a return to television puppetry.


Quotes from the program:


Marty Krofft on the death of his father and its influence – “My father left us a note that said, ‘Dear boys, I had a good life. I love you all, but I’ve left you no money, and by doing this I’m doing you a favor. It’ll give you guys a chance to be self-made men.’”


Marty Krofft on H.R. Pufnstuf – “Little did I know that when I sold NBC Pufnstuf, that I’d lose a million dollars.”


Lennie Weinrib, actor/writer, on the title of the series – “We thought of ‘Puff the Magic Dragon,’ the song sung by Peter, Paul & Mary. And then we thought Puff and his different stuff. And H.R. was supposed to be Royal Highness turned around.”


Marty Krofft, when NBC ordered the first episodes of the series – “I sent my assistant to the bookstore to buy a book on how to produce a television series, because I didn’t know how to do it.”


Sid Krofft, on the money spent for the large-scaled production show – “I would not accept anyone to cut my ideas. I wanted everything.”


Hal Erickson, television historian, on the cult following – “You’d see a crazy witch. You’d see talking trees. You’d see talking mushrooms. And this just drove the people who were drugged out crazy!”


Lennie Weinrib on the drug connection – “I think fans gave it a kind of mysterious code-like meaning, like ‘Ah, was Pufnstuf puffing stuff? Like grass?’ Was it psychedelic? Was it drug oriented? Not to us, it wasn’t.”


Marty Krofft, on the failed attempt to create a successful fantasy theme park – “The park was the eighth wonder of the world. But we were in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people.”


The award-winning “E! True Hollywood Story” is a series of one- and two-hour docu-dramas chronicling the lives of some of entertainment’s most celebrated people, places and events. Utilizing E!’s unparalleled access to the entertainment industry, the program provides a true insider’s view of Hollywood, putting the star-making machine under a microscope with each new installment. “The E! True Hollywood Story” began life as a series of specials with the March 30,1996 premiere of “Dark Obsession: The Stalking and Murder of Rebecca Schaeffer” and quickly established itself as the network’s most successful programming franchise. It currently airs seven nights a week at 9:00 PM ET/PT.