Marty Krofft, the TV creator behind the iconic children’s shows “The Banana Splits Adventure Hour,” “H.R. Pufnstuf” and “Land of the Lost,” died from kidney failure on Saturday in Los Angeles, his representatives told the Associated Press. He was 86.
Dubbed the “King of Saturday Mornings,” Krofft and his brother Sid were puppeteers-turned-producers whose kids shows, which prominently featured dolls and puppets, changed the children’s TV landscape. The two were also behind the classic series “Sigmund and the Sea Monsters” and “D.C. Follies,” and primetime variety shows “Donny and Marie” and “Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters.”
The brothers returned to TV in 2016 with the Nickelodeon show “Mutt & Stuff”; Marty was 78 at the time and Sid was 86.
“Marty is sharp and tuned in to what audiences want, and is, in a good way, aggressive and sticks to his guns,” Greg Siegel, a development executive at Legendary Digital Media, told The Times in 2016.
Born in Montreal on April 9, 1937, Krofft is the youngest of the sibling duo, born to Russian parents.
More to come.
