Sid and Marty Krofft To Get Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Daytime Emmys

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) yesterday announced that children’s TV legends Sid and Marty Krofft will be honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards this year during the Daytime Emmy Awards.

The Krofft Brothers will be celebrated at the 45th Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which will take place on Friday, April 27th, 2018, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Southern California.

“Sid and Marty Krofft, our Daytime Creative Arts honorees, are masters of children’s television programming and have been part of my family viewing since the creation of H.R. Pufnstuf, Sigmund & the Sea Monsters and Land Of The Lost,” said David Michaels, SVP, Daytime Emmy Awards, NATAS. “Their terrific variety programs such as The Donny and Marie Series on ABC and Barbara Mandrell & the Mandrell Sisters have only solidified the breadth of their talent across the television spectrum.”

Many of the most colorful and fondly remembered children’s series of the 1970s and 1980s sprang from the imaginations of Sid and Marty Krofft. Their groundbreaking, live-action fantasy shows were mainstays of the Saturday morning airwaves, which had previously been the exclusive domain of cartoons. To this day, DVD box sets of beloved Krofft creations H.R. Pufnstuf, Lidsville, and Land of the Lost are brisk sellers, a testament to the artistry and charm of the Krofft brothers and the magical spell they cast on generations of TV viewers.

The Kroffts made their television debut in 1969 with NBC’s H.R. Pufnstuf, which centered on the magical adventures of boy named Jimmy, a talking flute and a six-foot dragon. The series, which introduced the brothers’ innovative mix of live-action and puppetry, was made into a Universal Pictures feature in 1970. The show continues to be broadcast around the world. Pufnstuf was quickly followed by on NBC (1970) and Lidsville on ABC (1971). Sigmund & the Sea Monsters and Land Of The Lost premiered on NBC in 1973 and in 1974, respectively. Later kids shows included Far Out Space Nuts, Lost Saucer and The Krofft Supershow, which included installments of Wonderbug, Big Foot & Wildboy, Electra Woman & Dyna Girl, Dr. Shrinker and Captain Kool and the Kongs.

The Krofft Supershow was briefly a comic book series from Whitman/Gold Key Comics, with spinoff issues for Lidsville and Wonderbug.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Kroffts also found success as producers of popular primetime variety series such as the top-rated The Donny and Marie Series on ABC and Barbara Mandrell & the Mandrell Sisters, which reached as high as #10 on the charts, along with the beloved The Brady Bunch Variety Hours.

In 1984, the Kroffts made the bold move of giving comedian Richard Pryor his own award-winning Saturday morning children’s series on CBS, Pryor’s Place. Besides capitalizing on Pryor’s irreverent humor, the show explored important social issues such as child abuse, divorce and the importance of reading. The Kroffts got political in 1987 with D.C. Follies, a satirical TV series lampooning current events with amazing, larger-than-life puppets of celebrities, politicians and newsmakers. In 2009, Sid and Marty were presented with the Pop Culture Award at the TV Land Awards.

As Sid & Marty are approach their “Golden Anniversary,” they are still going strong as they have created three series and five pilots in the past three years. The three series include the 2-time Emmy nominated Nickelodeon television series Mutt & Stuff; a remake of Electra Woman & Dyna Girl, which aired on Fullscreen from Legendary; and a remake of Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, which is currently airing on Amazon with David Arquette starring as Captain Barnabas. Included among the pilots are a remake of their beloved The Bugaloos and an original science series starring The Big Bang Theory‘s Mayim Bialik called Mayim’s WonderLab.

The Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards and The Daytime Emmy Awards recognize outstanding achievement in all fields of daytime television and are presented to individuals and programs broadcast from 2:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. during the 2017 calendar year.