Sid Krofft, co-creator of 'H.R. Pufnstuf,' 'Land of the Lost' and other fantastical children's shows, dies at 96

TV shaper Sid Krofft, the puppeteer and co-mastermind down fantastical 1970s Saturday greeting tv shows similar “H.R. Pufnstuf” and “Land of the Lost,” has died. He was 96.

Krofft died successful his slumber connected Friday astatine the location of his person and concern spouse Kelly Killian, she announced connected Instagram. His youngest member and concern partner, Marty Krofft, died successful 2023.

“I loved Sid with my full heart. The past six years of my beingness were devoted to him, and his to me,” Killian wrote. “In that time, helium taught maine much than I could ever enactment into words — astir the creation of Hollywood, the magic of the stage, and the extent and complexity of quality nature. I privation truthful precise overmuch that I had much clip with him.”

“Sid Krofft was an icon who did what helium loved astir until the precise extremity — being retired successful nationalist with his legions of fans,” his publicist Adam Fenton said successful a statement. “Sid ne'er slowed down, attending his last amusement wherever it each began conscionable past November successful his location authorities of Rhode Island. Sid was a beacon of airy and volition beryllium greatly missed.”

Sid co-created 1960s and ’70s children’s TV shows that featured colorful and quirky characters similar Weenie the Genie, Horatio J. HooDoo and Cha-Ka the ape-boy. Together, helium and Marty produced done their accumulation company, Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures, fashionable series, including their tv debut and cult hit, “H.R. Pufnstuf.”

“H.R. Pufnstuf,” a operation of live-action and puppetry that Sid erstwhile referred to arsenic “our archetypal baby,” follows the adventures of a young boy, a talking flute and a 6-foot-tall dragon. That was the commencement of a tv enterprise. The brothers went connected to make much (mostly short-lived) shows, including “Lidsville,” astir a teenage lad who falls into the apical chapeau of a magician. He finds himself successful the titular Lidsville, a onshore of surviving hats.

Other shows included “The Bugaloos,” astir 4 teenage musicians with wings and antennae, “Electra Woman and Dyna Girl,” which follows the adventures of a superhero and her sidekick, and “Pryor’s Place,” a live-action children’s amusement starring comedian Richard Pryor.

The Krofft puppets often made cameos connected different well-known shows during the 1970s and ’80s.

Most recently, the beloved quality H.R. Pufnstuf appeared successful the brothers’ 2016 Nick Jr. show, “Mutt & Stuff,” astir an animatronic canine astatine a canine school.

The brothers besides produced different beloved shows specified arsenic “Sigmund and the Sea Monsters,” “Land of the Lost,” “D.C. Follies” and the prime-time assortment shows “Donny and Marie” and “Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters.”

Sid, left, and member Marty Krofft airs with immoderate of the life-size puppets created for their syndicated bid “D.C. Follies” successful Los Angeles successful 1987.

(Reed Saxon / Associated Press)

Because the shows often featured eccentric and larger-than-life characters, Sid erstwhile told The Times that radical were convinced the ideas came from utilizing psychedelics. But helium insisted the concepts were calved during his regular runs on the Los Angeles coastline.

“I’m a runner, and I thought of them during my runs connected the formation astatine Santa Monica,” Sid said. “That’s wherever they came from.”

While the 1970s were the defining decennary for the Krofft brothers, they got their commencement arsenic puppeteers decades prior.

In a long-standing rumor, Sid and Marty were said to beryllium fifth-generation puppeteers. In an interrogation with The Times, Sid confessed that the full happening was a prevarication concocted by a publicist successful the 1940s. Their father, Peter Krofft, was a timepiece salesman and joined Sid erstwhile helium was connected circuit arsenic a teenager.

Sid was calved July 30, 1929, successful Montreal. The brothers immigrated to New York City from Canada with their father. Sid started moving arsenic a nonrecreational puppeteer astatine property 10. By the clip helium was 15, helium had joined the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus arsenic “the world’s youngest puppeteer.” By his precocious 20s, helium was moving arsenic the opening enactment for large manufacture figures similar the Andrews Sisters, Judy Garland and Cyd Charisse. That’s astir the clip helium hired his member — who was 7 years younger and a salesman — arsenic his assistant.

“I desperately needed an adjunct and saw this arsenic a large accidental to bring retired my member Marty,” Sid said of his youngest brother. “That azygous infinitesimal successful my beingness is what started our long-running vocation together.”

They aboriginal created cabaret-inspired “Les Poupées de Paris,” which opened successful 1961 astatine the Gilded Rafters successful the San Fernando Valley, past played astatine Hollywood’s P.J.’s. It toured the state passim the ’60s.

While Sid was the originative unit down their projects, Marty was the brains down the concern operation.

Sid Krofft sits for portraits astatine his location successful Los Angeles successful 2021.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Sid wrote a tribute to his member for The Times aft his death.

“Marty and I were lipid and vinegar,” helium wrote. “We worked successful antithetic ways, but if you shook america up, we were a large dressing.”

The brothers’ narration was publically known to beryllium rocky astatine times. “It’s not casual for 2 brothers to enactment together,” Marty told The Times.

Their shows were debased budget; changeable connected sets that were erstwhile thought to beryllium outdated by the 1980s. But the brothers maintained the rights to their originative properties, and immoderate of their astir fashionable stories had revivals oregon remakes.

In 2009, Universal Pictures adapted “Land of the Lost” into a $100-million box-office flop astir the tales of a household stranded successful a dinosaur-ridden jungle.

In 2018, the brothers were honored with a beingness accomplishment grant astatine the Daytime Emmys, and successful 2020, they received stars connected the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2021, Kroff resurfaced successful the nationalist oculus with an Instagram Live amusement called “Sundays With Sid.” Marty created his ain YouTube bid soon aft called “Mondays With Marty.”