17 Things You Don’t Know About ‘HR Pufnstuf’

Throughout the seventies, brothers Sid and Marty Krofft tapped directly into the glorious chaos of a child’s mind, and poured that inspiration directly onto the screen. In their time in the spotlight, the dynamic duo of kids TV created some of television history’s most celebrated shows like Land of the Lost, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, and The Bugaloos. Of course, these weird visionaries would have been nothing without their first (and probably most beloved) creation, a massive, silly dragon named HR Pufnstuf. The continuing adventures of the friendly mayor of Living Island and his attempts to thwart the dastardly deeds of Wilhelmina W. Witchiepoo, were a fixture of a lot of kids’ Saturday mornings in the early seventies. Like all the best stuff, there’s more to this cracked kids show than meets the eye. Here are some things you might not know.

1. Sid and Marty Krofft Got Their Start on ‘The Banana Splits Adventure Hour’

The Saturday morning cartoon needed some people who could create imaginative costumes on a budget for a live-action segment. When the Krofft brothers delivered with gusto, NBC asked them to develop their own Saturday morning TV show.