David Martindale 'Pufnstuf & Other Stuff: The Weird and Wonderful World of Sid & Marty Krofft' (Renaissance Books; Los Angeles 1998) 323 pgs.
I've
been wanting to read this book since it was released in 1998, and
finally got the chance this summer.
In
the mid 90's there was a wave of nostalgia for Sid and Marty Krofft
television shows (especially 1969's H.R. PUFNSTUF) as the grunge
generation that had been raised on these shows came into their 20's
and 30's. A record album titled Saturday Morning Cartoons Greatest Hits was released in 1995, featuring popular acts of the day
covering a few of the theme songs to Sid & Marty Krofft TV shows
(amongst other vintage kids' programs), and on Dec 16, 1995 the cable
channel Nick At Nite (which specialized in broadcasting retro
television shows) did a 16 episode “Pufapalooza” marathon,
featuring Sid & Marty Krofft productions like H.R. PUFNSTUF, LAND
OF THE LOST, SIGMUND & THE SEA MONSTERS, KROFFT'S LIVE AT THE
HOLLYWOOD BOWL, ELECTRA WOMAN AND DYNA GIRL, THE BUGALOOS and
LIDSVILLE.
As
a kid born in 1973, Krofft shows like SIGMUND & THE SEA MONSTERS,
LAND OF THE LOST and (my personal favorite) FAR OUT SPACE NUTS were
regularly viewed programs during kindergarten and my early years in
elementary school. I was too young to have seen the original runs of
H.R. PUFNSTUF, THE BUGALOOS or LIDSVILLE, but I had an older brother
and sister that watched them. It was a trip to finally get to see
these shows for the first time when they re-aired on late-night
television back in the mid 90s.
Thanks
to Wikipedia and YouTube in the last few years I've gotten to learn
more about the Krofft's large body of work, and was exposed to other
entries in their long careers: ELECTRA WOMAN & DYNA GIRL, THE BAY
CITY ROLLERS SHOW, pre-fabricated glam rock band KAPTAIN KOOL &
THE KONGS, Ruth Buzzi & Jim Nabors in THE LOST SAUCER, WONDERBUG,
BIG FOOT & WILD BOY, evil scientist DR. SHRINKER and genie MAGIC
MONGO.
From
this book I learned that Sid & Marty Krofft delved into the world
of late 70's and early 80's evening variety show television,
featuring DONNY & MARIE (Jan 1976), country musicians BARBARA
MANDRELL & THE MANDRELL SISTERS, THE BRADY BUNCH KIDS (Jan-May
1977) and the rather avant-garde PINK LADY & JEFF (which featured
two Japanese co-hosts that couldn't speak any English!).
This
book comes across as a semi-authorized biography of the Krofft
puppetry empire, as the foreward is by brother Marty, and the
afterword is by brother Sid. The author appears to have had wide
access to people involved in the long history of Krofft productions,
and conducted extensive interviews. David Martindale weaves a very
fun, readable oral history- a pleasant, respectful trip down memory
lane.
I
found it interesting that the Krofft's come from a lone line of
puppeteers that is 5 generations deep, and that this family tradition
originated in Greece in the 1700s. That Sid (real name Cydus Yolas
Kroftt) & Marty were born in Montreal, Canada. That as puppeteers
they toured the US, performed in France, played Vegas, the World's
Fair and even Broadway before moving on to children's TV. And that
Sid is the creative dreamer, while Marty is the hard-nosed business
man.
Sid
Krofft radiates as an inspiring figure that gets ideas for shows
during regular 9 mile jogs, and is a vegetarian that favors a diet of
live foods (like unprocessed fruits and vegetables). A man with a
great ability to constantly brainstorm and think outside the box.
The
final show featured in this book is 1987's D.C. FOLLIES, where sitcom
comedian Fred Willard played the owner of a Washington, DC bar
frequented by Krofft puppets and actual guests from the world of
politics, entertainment and sports. Obviously inspired by the UK
puppetry show SPITTING IMAGE, it was of a lighter-comedic nature.
I
definitely recommend this book to any fan of Sid & Marty Krofft
tv shows. As I said above, it's a readable, fun and informative book.
Currently out of print, there are many copies still circulating so it
shouldn't be too hard to find.
