Sid Krofft, the producer of 'H.R. Pufnstuf' and 'Land of the Lost,' died Friday in Los Angeles.
Remembering Sid Krofft 1929-2026
Sad news for Gen Xers today. TV producer / creator / puppeteer Sid Krofft has died at 96. He and his brother Marty, who died in 2023, created so much great children’s television, especially in the 70s.
compilation of Sid and Marty Krofft shows
Many of their shows were ones I got into when I saw them in syndication as a kid, notably The Banana Splits Adventure Hour (NBC 1968-1970), H.R. Pufnstuf (NBC 1969-1970), The Bugaloos (NBC 1970-1972), Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (NBC 1973-1975), Land of the Lost (NBC 1974-1977), and Pryor’s Place (CBS 1984-1985). All shows I remember fondly as a kid and really enjoyed watching the wacky almost drug-induced puppets getting into crazy situations each episode. Land of the Lost was one I dug a lot! They also did some shows in primetime non-children’s shows like their political comedy D.C. Follies (syndicated 1987-1989), which was pretty funny too.
Sid's Super Megafest poster
In 2024, I got to have a brief chat with Sid at the Super Megafest. He said “I’ve had and I’m still having the most incredible career. This is my 84th year in show business. Before television, I was a performer. In 1946, I was here [Massachusetts] with the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. When the big top sat 15,000 people. I’m a puppeteer and one of the biggest honors I ever had was when the biggest star in the world was going out on her first tour, for a whole year we toured the country and I was her opening act. It was Judy Garland.” I asked Mr. Krofft of all the shows he produced or created what stood as his personal favorite? He says “It has to be your first child, which was H.R. Pufnstuf. Before that I only created and built the costumes for The Banana Splits. That’s what got us into television since that was a big hit, the network asked us to come up with an idea. We never did a pilot. We sold everyone based on an art show of the characters and the executives would sit around and I would tell them the story with pictures. So that’s how it all happened. I’m still working! I tell everyone when they ask me where I came up with all my ideas, ever since I was 10 years old, I went left. Everyone else goes right. So take the chance and go left!”
Mr. Krofft was truly a TV legend and he could not have been any nicer!
