Sid and Marty Krofft
| Sid and Marty Krofft | |
|---|---|
Marty Krofft displaying some of the marionettes of Les Poupées de Paris backstage at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair
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| Born |
Sid Krofft July 30, 1929 Montréal, Québec, Canada Marty Krofft April 9, 1937 Montréal, Québec, Canada |
| Occupation | Producers, writers, puppeteers |
| Website | www |
Sid Krofft (born July 30, 1929) and Marty Krofft (born April 9, 1937) are a sibling team of television creators and puppeteers who were influential in children's television and variety show programs in the U.S., particularly throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.
They are largely known for a unique brand of ambitious fantasy programs, often featuring large-headed puppets, high-concept plots, and extensive use of low-budget special effects. The team also dominated the arena of celebrity music/variety programs during the period.
The Krofft brothers, Sid and Marty, were born in Montreal, Québec. For years, they claimed to have been born to a family of fifth-generation puppeteers, but revealed in 2008 that this story was invented by a publicist in the 1940s. Their father was, in fact, a clock salesman who moved from Canada to Providence, Rhode Island, and then to New York City. Sid Krofft became a noted puppeteer who worked in vaudeville and was a featured player with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. In the 1940s, Sid created a one-man puppet show, "The Unusual Artistry of Sid Krofft", and performed it throughout the world. His father joined him on tour in Paris while Marty stayed in New York, where he started using his older brother's puppets to earn money by staging performances. By the 1950s, the Krofft brothers were working together, and in 1957, they developed Les Poupées de Paris, a puppet show with more mature themes.
After designing the characters and sets for Hanna-Barbera's Banana Splits (NBC, 1968-1970), the Kroffts' producing career began in 1969 with the landmark children's television series H.R. Pufnstuf. The series introduced the team's trademark style of large scale, colorful design, puppetry, and special effects. Featuring a boy who has been lured into an alternate fantasy world and can never escape, the team also established a storytelling formula to which they would return often.
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