• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, Today

The death of producer Sid Krofft on April 10 revived memories of a very different era in kids’ TV when producers and networks were conspicuously budget-conscious in the production of their shows.

But as the careers of Sid Krofft and his brother Marty Krofft demonstrated, shows from the era in which they were most prolific are fondly remembered by many precisely for the cheap, yet oddly charming, way they looked.

Sid Krofft was 96 when he died. His younger brother, Marty, was 86 when he died in 2023. From 1968 to 1975, they made kids’ shows that a generation was raised on, starting with the “The Banana Splits,” characters they created while working at Hanna-Barbera.

Going out on their own, they came up with “H.R. Pufnstuf” (above photo), “The Bugaloos,” “Lidsville,” “Sigmund and the Sea Monsters,” “Land of the Lost” and “Far Out Space Nuts.”

They were all pretty far out. In fact, one might wonder if the Krofft brothers were puffin’ stuff when they created some of them.

Take “The Bugaloos.” This one was about a music group of four British teenagers who wore insect-themed outfits. It ran for one season of 17 episodes.

In “Lidsville,” a boy fell into a magician’s hat and was transported to a land of living hats. This show also lasted one season of 17 episodes.

In “Far Out Space Nuts,” a bumbling NASA worker (Bob Denver) accidentally launched a rocket that took him to outer space with a companion (Chuck McCann) for adventures on distant planets. This show ran for 15 episodes.

Are you sensing a pattern here? These shows had relatively short runs, although at least some of them were simply re-aired the following season because the networks were confident that kids wouldn’t know the difference.

And yet, these shows were so famous that “Sid and Marty Krofft” were practically household words. 

The reason for this is likely the usual one when talking about TV shows in the network era. With only three networks to choose from, audiences were huge without regard to the production quality of the shows.

Later, the Krofft brothers created “Donny & Marie” and “The Brady Bunch Hour.” They produced “Barbara Mandrell & the Mandrell Sisters” and “Pink Lady and Jeff,” a variety show that was so terrible, it ran for only five episodes. Clearly, the Krofft brothers were men of their time.

In 1977, the Kroffts successfully sued McDonald’s and the ad agency Needham, Harper and Steers over the similarities between characters in “H.R. Pufnstuf” -- including the title character -- and characters created for a new “McDonaldland” ad campaign.

Basically, it was H.R. Pufnstuf vs. Mayor McCheese, and H.R. Pufnstuf won.