Marty Krofft, who produced a series of eclectic children’s shows, including Land of the Lost and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters alongside his brother Sid, died November 25 in Los Angeles. He was 86 and suffered from kidney failure.
Other Krofft shows include H.R. Pufnstuf and The Bugaloos. Sid was the creative force behind the shows, said The New York Times, while Marty had a knack for selling even the more outlandish ones to studio executives.
The first Krofft show — H.R. Pufnstuf, about a boy on a magical island and a witch who wants to steal his talking flute — debuted on NBC in 1969. The Pufnstuf character was the dragon mayor of a town where the animals and objects speak.
Just 17 episodes were produced, but the show lived on in syndication.
Next came Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, about two brothers who find a friendly sea monster and hide him in their clubhouse; The Bugaloos, about a rock band made up of insects; and Lidsville, about talking hats.
Sigmund and the Sea Monsters was remade for Prime Video in 2016. At the time, Marty told B+C about the brothers’ knack for capturing kids’ imaginations. “They have all these games they can play, but if you have great characters and a great story, you’re gonna get the kids to stay with you,” he said. “You’ve got to get them in the first minute, minute and a half. If you have an opening with a great song and colorful characters, you grab them.”
Land of the Lost premiered on NBC in 1974. It sees a family land in an alternate universe populated by dinosaurs, primate people known as Pakuni and humanoid lizards called Sleestaks. A Land of the Lost movie, starring Will Ferrell, came out in 2009.
Krofft shows were not limited to children’s fare. The brothers produced the variety show Donny & Marie, hosted by the Osmond siblings. It ran from 1976 to 1979. They also produced short-lived variety show The Brady Bunch Hour.
Marty Krofft was born in Montreal in 1937. His father Peter was a puppeteer.
The Krofft brothers produced the puppet show Les Poupees de Paris before they worked in television. It was featured at the World’s Fair in Seattle in 1962 and New York in 1964 and 1965.
The Kroffts moved on to designing puppets and costumes for a range of clients, including The Jackson 5, the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus and the Ice Capades, the Times reported. They were behind a theme park, The World of Sid and Marty Krofft, at the Omni Hotel in Atlanta. It opened in 1976 and closed that same year.
Krofft was married to the former Playboy playmate, Christa Speck, who died in 2013.
Marty’s brother Sid survives him.
