Canadian siblings Sid & Marty Krofft are truly master puppeteers. Born in Quebec, Canada, they spent many years honing their craft before their television career began in earnest.
In the 1940s, Sid created his one-man puppet show, The Unusual Artistry of Sid Krofft, and performed it all over the world, with his father. 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 the late 50s, they developed Les Poupées de Paris, a puppet show for more mature audiences.
In the late 60s, they designed the characters and sets for Hanna-Barbera’s The Banana Splits on NBC. The Kroffts’ producing career began in 1969 with the children’s television series H.R. Pufnstuf, featuring a boy who was lured into an alternate fantasy world and can’t escape. The series introduced the team’s trademark style of large scale, colorful design, puppetry, and special effects. The...