The news broke today that Marty Krofft, one half of the sibling duo known for creating iconic children’s television programming, passed away at age 86. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kroftt died on Saturday, November 25th, in Los Angeles. Kroftt’s family shared the news, revealing he died of kidney failure. Marty and his brother, Sid, hailed from Montreal, Canada, and were known for shows such as The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, H.R. Pufnstuf, and Land of the Lost.
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The Krofft brothers were puppeteers who broke into television when they were brought in by NBC to design the costumes for The Banana Splits Adventure Hour. They designed the rock band characters Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper, and Snorky. The series ran for two years, but the beloved characters have continued to live on, and can still be seen in reruns.
In 1969, the duo created H.R. Pufnstuf, a fantastical series that followed a shipwrecked boy named Jimmy (Jack Wild) and his adventures alongside Mayor H.R. Pufnstuf (Lennie Weinrib) as they attempted to evade the evil Witchiepoo (Billie Hayes) as she tried to steal Jimmy’s magic flute. H.R. Pufnstuf ran for 17 episodes and became another staple among kids in addition to college students, who enjoyed the show’s psychedelic style. In fact, the series sparked many whispers that the Krofft brothers were on drugs when making the show. However, Marty denied those rumors.
“You can’t do a show stoned,” he told THR in 2016. “We screwed with every kid’s mind … There’s a Krofft look – the colors. There’s an edge. Disney doesn’t have an edge.”
After Pufnstuf, the Kroffts went on to make The Bugaloos (1970-1972), Lidsville (1971-1973), Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (1973-1975) and Land of the Lost (1974-1976). In addition to their shows geared toward kids, the Krofft brothers also developed multiple variety shows for TV, including The Brady Bunch Variety Hour (1976-1977), Donny and Marie (1975-1979), The Bay City Rollers Show (1978-1979), and Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters (1980-1982). Krofft was still working in recent years, creating the Nickelodeon series, Mutt & Stuff, which ran for 74 episodes from 2015 to 2017.
Marty Krofft is survived by his brothers, Harry and Sid; daughters Deanna, Kristina, and Kendra; grandchildren Taylor, Karson, Griffin, Georgia, and Drake; and great-grandchild Maddox. He was married to German model and actor Christa Speck from 1965 until her death in 2013. Our thoughts go out to the Krofft family at this difficult time.
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