Variety: A happy-go-lucky dragon with a yellow head who talks with a magic flute. Diminutive sea monsters frolicking with a pair of young boys. A world where lifesize hats run things. And presidents in a bar, laughing it up with Saddam Hussein and Barbara Walters. These are the worlds which have been the mainstay of Sid and Marty Krofft for over 50 years, and for which they are being honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Feb.13.
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Huh I had never heard of the Kroffts puppets , but the title of the article peaked my interest! Apparently the Kroffts were responsible for the first “adults only” puppet show that opened in 1962! Then they were picked up by Six Flags to help create shows for their theme parks. According to the article, the Kroffts had a team of 200 people making their puppets. They had costumes, props, and puppets departments. Later their puppets had their own tv show on NBC with a dragon character called H.R. Pufnstuf and his nemesis Witchiepoo. These names are hilarious. The 1960s truly were a wild time. The show’s cast included 35 little people who would fit into their costumes. Their production process for this tv show is so interesting. They would put the voice actors in a semi-isolated booth somewhere else in the soundstage, watching monitors, and their reading was piped onto the set via a sound system while the puppeteeers went through the motions.
Back at home, I have a two DVD set of Sid and Marty Kroft classics, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to read a bit more. The first thing from the article that surprised me was the burlesque show that they did back in the 60’s. I at least associate puppets with children and imagination, but come to think of it, there have been some more adult puppet movies/plays like the Happy time Murders recently and the infamous Avenue Q. The article also said that there was room for improv within the script which is wonderful, cause it leads to funnier and more real moments. Puppets I think, are magical because we’re willing to both anthropomorphize them and suspend our disbelief. Puppeteers do amazing work by turning inanimate objects into full characters and I’m always impressed with that. The most recent example I’ve seen was the puppeteer from little shop of horrors at the public who did an excellent job.
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