"Kukla, Fran and Ollie" (1947) TV series 1947-1957

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

Lewis Gomavitz

Seasons:

unknown

Release Date:

13 October 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Puppetry | Puppet | Character Name In Title

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Fran Allison

...

Fran (1 episode, 1953)

Runtime:

15 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Company:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Trivia:

One episode of the show was broadcast in color in fall 1949, in Washington, D.C., as a demonstration to the FCC of RCA's line-sequential color TV system. The same episode was performed live a second time the same afternoon, for network broadcast in black and white, but using the experimental color cameras.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Nanny: Curse of the Grandmas (#2.5)" (1994)

The first great TV puppet show!

"Kukla, Fran and Ollie" premiered on October 13, 1947 and had a continuous run until 1957. The Kuklapolitans continued to appear on television in various shows: "Kukla and Ollie" in the early 60s, and as hosts of The CBS Children's Film Festival from 1967 to 1984. They also had a show on PBS in the early 70s, and appeared in specials in the 70s and 80s. Burr Tillstrom created and performed all the characters and they still seem real to me today!