sir Croftan imaginative puppeteer who teamed up with his younger brother Marty to build an entertainment empire behind this com. trippy TV shows as well banana Splits Adventure Hour, Human resources Pufnstoff and Land of lossHe died. He was 96 years old.
Crofteight years Marty’s senior and the creative force of their business, died Friday in his sleep at the Los Angeles home of his friend and business partner, Kelly Killian. Marty died in November 2023 at the age of 86.
“I have a dream, and Marty is making it happen,” Syed said of their partnership in a 2000 interview with the Television Academy Foundation.
The pair were well-known theatrical puppeteers in 1968 when they were enlisted to design the costumes for the live-action portion of the NBC series. Banana Splits Adventure Hour. Their furry animal characters (Fleeglebingo, Dangling and Snorky), members of the rock band, were an instant hit on the Saturday morning show, which ran from 1968 to 1970 (and has been in reruns ever since).
The next year, NBC asked them to create a Saturday morning children’s show, which they delivered Human resources Pufnstoffabout a shipwrecked boy (Jimmy, played by Jack Wilde) who lands on a magical island. title character, Pufnstoffwas a revamp of Luther, the friendly dragon they created for the show in 1968 Hemisphere In San Antonio.
NBC wanted a second season to follow Episode 17 first, but offered only a small increase on the rights fee, already far less than what it cost the brothers to make the show, so they declined. Pufnstoff It was canceled in 1970 but has continued to run reruns as well.
Pufnstoff‘s The psychedelic groups and outfits were a hit among college students, and the Beatles requested that a complete set of loop tapes be sent to them in England. The appearance of the show prompted many whispers that the brothers were using drugs (sure, maybe LSD too?), which Marty denied.
“You can’t do a stoning show,” he said. Hollywood Reporter In January 2016 during a visit to explore Croft archives.
The duo followed Pufnstoff with Boogaloos (1970-72), Claymation series Leedsville (1971-73), Sigmund and the sea monsters (1973-75) and Land of loss (1974-1976), which spawned an ill-fated Will Ferrell film adaptation in 2009. These shows have been popular in syndication as well.
“We’ve screwed up every kid’s mind,” Marty said. THR. “There is a Croft See – colors. There is an edge. Disney has no advantage.
In reality, CroftsThe style was so popular that McDonald’s copied it to create Mayor Mac cheese and McDonaldland For an early time The seventies Advertising campaign. the Crofts She sued, winning a seven-figure settlement in 1977.
A year ago, the brothers opened Sid and Marty’s World Croft Park at the new Omni complex in downtown Atlanta (now CNN headquarters). It is distributed over six levels, and has been described as the world’s first vertical amusement park. About 600,000 visitors came during the recession-plagued period The seventiesBut it was not enough to cover the costs and interest payments, and the park closed after only six months.
Long after other young children’s producers were impressed Hanna Barbera They were sold to conglomerates Crofts They were still developing shows as the last great ones The sixties Independents. In late 2015, they became a hit on Nickelodeon Buster and stuff (One episode even featured a guest appearance from… Pufnstoff).
the Crofts She has also developed several live variety shows including Brady Bunch hour, The Donnie and Marie Show, the Bay City Rollers Show and Barbara Mandrill and Mandrill Sisters.
They produced another children’s show hosted by Richard Pryor, based on his childhood, and their puppets toured with acts such as Judy Garland, LibresThe Mills Brothers, Tony Martin, Sid Charisse and Frank Sinatra.
Croft He was born in Montreal on July 30, 1929, and when he was young, he and his family lived in Maine, Rhode Island, and the Bronx. As for public relations, the brothers like to say they come from a long line of puppeteers dating back many generations. In fact, the story is fabricated. Their father was a watch salesman and immigrated from Greece early on XX century.
“The Crofts have been playing with dolls their whole lives,” Marty joked about the brothers’ childhood interest in puppetry. By the time he was 15, Sid was already working clubs in New York.
(They had two other brothers; Hey He died fighting in World War II, and Harry, who died last year, worked briefly at their company before turning to real estate.)
At the age of 20, he was appointed master of the Ringling Bros. Circus. and Barnum & Bailey, and Marty joined his brother full-time in 1958 after an associate left. They opened for him Dolls de parisan adults-only puppet show that became a hit, performing to sold-out crowds at a dinner theater in the San Fernando Valley.
“for him Dolls “It took us from a verb, a master’s verb, to a business,” Marty said. McLean He was there on opening night, and Richard Nixon came during his run for president.
for him Dolls take It held world exhibitions in Seattle in 1962, New York in 1964, and San Antonio in 1968. It included 240 dolls, most of them topless women, and time The magazine described it as a “dirty puppet show.”
After that, the film became so popular, “We couldn’t even get our best friends into the theater,” Syed said. It attracted an estimated 9.5 million viewers in its first decade of showing.
All of this led to shows at Six Flags theme parks across the United States — where they employed more than 100 puppeteers at one point — and appearances on television, including a regular concert on Dean Martin Show (They created a chorus of catchy puppets for the variety show before being replaced by The Gold prospectors).
Survivors include his three nieces (Marty’s daughters), Diana, Christina and Kendra. Croft underwent surgery in November and his recovery was “difficult and frustrating,” publicist Adam Fenton said.
Until recently, Croft and Killian interviewed celebrities on their Instagram Live show, Sunday with master. At the time of his death, they were putting the finishing touches on two books about his life and career, one from Croft’s perspective as a performer, the other from Croft’s perspective as a person behind the scenes.
“I loved Sid with all my heart,” she said. “He taught me more than I can put into words — about the art of Hollywood, the magic of the stage, and the depth and complexity of human nature.” “I didn’t know Sid for his shows – I only knew the man who created them. He was an extraordinary man. I dearly wish I could have spent more time with him. I will miss his big blue eyes, his cheerful smile with his dimples and the warmth that seemed to follow him wherever he went.”
