"H.R. Pufnstuf" (1969) TV series

Creators:

Marty Krofft
Sid Krofft
(more)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

6 September 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

Who's your friend when things get rough?

Plot:

A young boy named Jimmy has in his possession a magic flute named Freddie that can talk and play tunes on its own...

Plot Keywords:

Flute | Puppet | Witchcraft | Character Name In Title

Cast

Jack Wild	...	Jimmy (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Billie Hayes	...	Witchiepoo (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Lennie Weinrib	...	H.R. Pufnstuf / ... (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Joan Gerber	...	Additional Voices / ... (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Walker Edmiston	...	Additional Voices / ... (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Sharon Baird	...	Lady Boyd / ... (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Roberto Gamonet	...	H.R. Pufnstuf (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Joy Campbell	...	Cling / ... (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Angelo Rossitto	...	Clang / ... (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Johnny Silver	...	Ludicrous Lion / ... (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Harry Monty	...	Various Characters / ... (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Jon Linton	...	Various Characters / ... (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Andy Ratoucheff	...	Various Characters / ... (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Scutter McKay	...	Various Characters / ... (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Robin Roper	...	Various Characters / ... (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Jerry Landon	...	Living Island tree / ... (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Felix Silla	...	Polka Dotted Horse / ... (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Buddy Douglas	...	Living Island tree / ... (4 episodes, 1969)

Series Directed by
Hollingsworth Morse		(17 episodes, 1969-1970)

Series Writing credits
Paul Harrison		(17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Marty Krofft		(17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Sid Krofft		(17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Lennie Weinrib		(17 episodes, 1969-1970)

Series Produced by
Malcolm Alper	....	associate producer (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Marty Krofft	....	producer (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Sid Krofft	....	producer (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Si Rose	....	executive producer (15 episodes, 1969-1970)

Series Original Music by
Gene Page		(17 episodes, 1969-1970)

Series Cinematography by
Kenneth Peach		(17 episodes, 1969-1970)

Series Art Direction by
William Martin		(17 episodes, 1969-1970)

Series Costume Design by
Evenda Leeper		(17 episodes, 1969-1970)

Series Makeup Department
Beau Hickman	....	makeup artist (17 episodes, 1969-1970)

Series Production Management
Chuck Colean	....	unit manager (17 episodes, 1969-1970)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Chuck Colean	....	assistant director (17 episodes, 1969-1970)

Series Art Department
Nicky Nadeau	....	creative designer (17 episodes, 1969-1970)

Series Sound Department
Harold Lewis	....	sound recordist / sound recording (17 episodes, 1969-1970)

Series Special Effects by
Tim Baar	....	special effects (17 episodes, 1969-1970)

Series Stunts
Jesse Wayne	....	stunt coordinator (16 episodes, 1969-1970)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Earl C. Williman	....	best boy electric (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Anthony Pistone	....	gaffer (15 episodes, 1969-1970)
George Rader	....	head grip (15 episodes, 1969-1970)

Series Animation Department
Coral Kerr	....	character designer (unknown episodes)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Oda Broulard	....	costumer (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Ronnie Ross	....	costumer (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Ken Harvey	....	costumer (15 episodes, 1969-1970)

Series Editorial Department
Gene Ruggiero	....	supervising editor (17 episodes, 1969-1970)

Series Music Department
Harold Belfer	....	stager: musical numbers (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Les Szarvas	....	composer: special material (4 episodes, 1969)

Series Other crew
Trudy Bennett	....	assistant to producers (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Donald A. Ramsey	....	production coordinator (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Dell Ross	....	script supervisor (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Robert Waugh	....	supervision (17 episodes, 1969-1970)
Rolf Roediger	....	puppet fabricator (14 episodes, 1969-1970)
Marty Krofft	....	presenter (4 episodes, 1969)
Sid Krofft	....	presenter (4 episodes, 1969)

Production Companies

• Sid & Marty Krofft Television Productions

Distributors

• Fabulous Films (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Gold Key Entertainment
• Nederlandse Omroepstichting (NOS) (1970) (Netherlands) (TV)
• Rhino Entertainment Company (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures

Runtime:

USA:30 min (including commercials) (17 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, California, USA

Company:

Sid & Marty Krofft Television Productions

Trivia:

The Krofft's sued McDonalds for copyright infringement because the characters of Mayor McCheese and Big Mac bore a strong resemblance to the Pufnstuf character. They also noted similarities between the living trees and the apple pie trees.

Quotes:

[Witchiepoo has been frozen by the North Wind]
H.R. Pufnstuf: I've seen Popsicles in my day, but this is the first time that I've ever seen a WITCH-sicle!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Muppets Tonight: (#2.7)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

H.R. Pufnstuf

Frightening and traumatic

This show, and many other Krofft programs (i.e. Lidsville and Land of the Lost), scared the hell out of me. In 1979 HR was deep in syndication, but that didn't stop a 4 year old from finding it. You'd sit down and watch, allured by the surreality, the "stranger in a strange land" themes and the larger than life puppet-like characters. You'd expect a benign Sesame Street-like program full of soft freindly characters. But in the land of Krofft all things are slightly twisted, mysterious, surreal. Just look at the expressions they've sewn into the faces of the characters. Dark man, dark. You'd be a little tense for the first 15 minutes, but then Freddy the Flute would bite Witchiepoo on the finger or some hitherto inanimate object would turn around and talk and freak the hell out of you, push you right over the cliff into full throttle terror... I remember crying hysterically and trying explain to my grandmother the freaky stuff that just went down on TV. She probably thought I was crazy. This stuff permeated my dreams and nightmares for years. I deeply repressed all things Krofft and then around age 20 learned that this show actually existed. Boy was I relieved, I hadn't made it all up. Absolutely priceless program, I've got some on tape.

Remember the sleestak? Enik? Chaka? That's a whole nother source of Freudian terror.