H.R. Pufnstuf Original LP (Soundtrack) 1970

 

H.R. Pufnstuf is a children's television series produced by Sid and Marty Krofft in the United States. It was the first Krofft live-action, life-sized-puppet program. The seventeen episodes were originally broadcast from September 6, 1969, to December 27, 1969. The broadcasts were successful enough that NBC kept it on the Saturday morning schedule until August 1972. The show was shot in Paramount Studios and its opening was shot in Big Bear Lake, California. Reruns of the show aired on ABC Saturday morning from September 2, 1972, to September 8, 1973, and on Sunday mornings in some markets from September 16, 1973, to September 8, 1974. It was syndicated by itself from September 1974 to June 1978 and in a package with six other Krofft series under the banner Krofft Superstars from 1978 to 1985. Reruns of the show were featured on TV Land in 1999 as part of their "Super Retrovision Saturdaze" Saturday morning-related overnight prime programming block and in the summer of 2004 as part of their "TV Land Kitschen" weekend late-night prime programming block, and was later shown on MeTV from 2014 until 2016.

In 2004 and 2007, H.R. Pufnstuf was ranked #22 and #27 respectively on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever.

The Kroffts created the H.R. Pufnstuf character for the HemisFair '68 world's fair where they produced a show called Kaleidoscope for the Coca-Cola pavilion. The character's name was Luther, and he became a mascot for the fair.

H.R. Pufnstuf introduced the Kroffts' most-used plot scenario of a fairy tale of good versus evil, as well as their second plot scenario of the stranger in a strange land. The show centered on a shipwrecked boy named Jimmy, played by teenage actor Jack Wild. He is 11 years old when he arrives on the island and turns 12 in the episode called "The Birthday Party". Jimmy and a talking flute named Freddy take a ride on a mysterious boat, but the boat was actually owned by a wicked witch named Wilhelmina W. Witchiepoo (played by Billie Hayes) who rode on a broomstick-vehicle called the Vroom Broom. She used the boat to lure Jimmy and Freddy to her castle on Living Island, where she was going to take Jimmy prisoner and steal Freddy for her own purposes.

The Mayor of Living Island was a friendly and helpful anthropomorphic dragon named H.R. Pufnstuf, performed by Roberto Gamonet and voiced by the show's writer Lennie Weinrib, who also voices many of the other characters. The dragon rescued Jimmy and protects him from Witchiepoo, as his cave was the only place where her magic had no effect.

All of the characters on Living Island were realized by large cumbersome costumes or puppetry of anthropomorphic animals and objects. Everything was alive on the island, including houses, boats, clocks, candles, and so forth; virtually any part of the Living Island sets could become a character, usually voiced in a parody of a famous film star such as Mae West, Edward G. Robinson, or John Wayne.

Characters

Main

Jimmy (portrayed by Jack Wild) – A young English human who was lured to Living Island by an enchanted boat. Witchiepoo controlled the boat with the aim of stealing Jimmy's magic talking flute named Freddy.

H.R. Pufnstuf (performed by Roberto Gamonet, voiced by Lennie Weinrib in a Southern accent) – A friendly dragon who is the Mayor of Living Island.

Freddy the Flute (voiced by Joan Gerber) – A magic talking flute that is owned by Jimmy. He is often targeted by Witchiepoo.

Cling and Clang (performed by Joy Campbell and Angelo Rossitto) – Two short mute keystone cops who work for H.R. Pufnstuf as his Rescue Racer Crew. Cling wears red and Clang wears green. Although they appear vaguely animal-like with their beaked faces, and furry three-toed feet, the Kroffts have said they are actually bells, hence their names.

Wilhelmina W. Witchiepoo (portrayed by Billie Hayes) – The primary antagonist of the series; a wicked but ineffective witch who has been targeting Freddy the Flute to use him in her own agendas. She rides a large rocket-powered broom with a steering wheel called the Vroom Broom. She is mean to everyone around her, even her henchmen, whom she constantly whacks with her wand. Yet when faced with failure, she usually starts to pity herself, by asking "Why me?"

Orson Vulture (performed by Joy Campbell, voiced by Lennie Weinrib) – A stuffy, somewhat inept vulture who is one of Witchiepoo's henchmen. As her favorite flunky, he multitasks as her sounding board, butler, and co-pilot on her Vroom Broom. Orson once made the mistake of asking what the W. in his boss' name stood for. The answer: WHACK!

Seymour Spider (performed by Angelo Rossitto, voiced by Walker Edmiston) – A dim-witted spider who is another of Witchiepoo's henchmen. As her second favorite flunky, he primarily serves her as an alternative sounding board and hairdresser.

Stupid Bat (performed by Sharon Baird, voiced by Lennie Weinrib) – A bat who is the least favorite and least seen of Witchiepoo's henchmen. He mainly serves as her messenger. As his name implies, he is not very bright and his messages are usually delivered one second too late.

Skeleton Guards – Two skeletons who guard Witchiepoo's castle. They are easily spooked, and will often run from danger in a flash, but not before their armor and capes fly off in a cartoonish fashion.

Others

Dr. Blinky (performed by John Silver, voiced by Walker Edmiston impersonating Ed Wynn) – An owl who is Living Island's local physician and scientist. Dr. Blinky is also the head of H.R. Pufnstuf's "Anti-Smog, Pollution, and Witch Committee".

Judy the Frog (performed by Sharon Baird, voiced by Joan Gerber) – A singing, dancing frog who is one of H.R. Pufnstuf's friends and the resident entertainer. Judy is based on Judy Garland, whom Sid Krofft had previous toured with and opened for.

Pop Lolly (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) – A living lollipop who makes and sells candy and other sweet goods.

Cheese Guards – Two guards that are living pieces of cheese who work for Pop Lolly. They would often help Pop Lolly fend off a group of Hippie Ants who want to have free candy.

Ludicrous Lion (performed by John Silver, voiced by Walker Edmiston impersonating W. C. Fields) – A lion who works as a peddler and owns a horse-drawn wagon. He is quite cunning and not always so honest when it comes to money. Although slightly shady and greedy, he is officially one of the Good Guys where he would often help to thwart Witchiepoo's plots.

Polka-Dotted Horse (performed by Felix Silla, voiced by Lennie Weinrib) – A good-natured horse who works for Ludicrous Lion.

Tick Tock (performed by Andy Ratoucheff, voiced by Lennie Weinrib) – A mobile alarm clock that warns the good characters when Witchiepoo is coming and informs them of various other dangers.

Grandfather Clock (voiced by Walker Edmiston) – A mobile grandfather clock who is married to Grandmother Clock.

Grandmother Clock (voiced by Joan Gerber) – A mobile grandmother clock who is married to Grandfather Clock.

Miss Wristwatch (voiced by Joan Gerber impersonating Zsa Zsa Gabor) – A glamorous rich mobile human-sized wristwatch.

Hippie Ants - A group of ants that would try to have free candy from Pop Lolly.

The Boyds - A bunch of birds that serve as Living Island's residential band. The Boyds are based on The Byrds.

Lady Boyd (performed by Sharon Baird, voiced by Joan Gerber) – A blue bird who is the lead singer of The Boyds. She was often seen singing the end theme to this show.

Shirlee Pufnstuf (performed by Sharon Baird, voiced by Joan Gerber impersonating a younger Shirley Temple) – A dragon who is H.R. Pufnstuf's sister and a famous actress.

Max Von Toadenoff the Great (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) – A monocled toad who works as a film director. Max von Toadenoff the Great is based on Erich von Stroheim.

The Good Trees – Several walking, talking trees who always help out H.R. Pufnstuf and the good guys. In the film Pufnstuf, the song "Living Island" described them as the "Hippie Trees of Peace and Love". They consist of:

Hippie Tree – (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) A tree with sunglasses and dreadlocks who often speaks in hippie slang.

Madame Willow (voiced by Joan Gerber) – Also known as the Dowager Tree, Madame Willow is an older, elitist female tree with a lorgnette.

Chief Redwood (voiced by Walker Edmiston) – Also known as the Indian Tree, Chief Redwood dons a feathered headdress and speaks in stereotypical Native American fashion.

There is an older, male tree who may or may not be the husband of Madame Willow.

There is another female tree whose lips are always in the shape of an "O".

There is a baby tree.

The Evil Trees – Three trees on Witchiepoo's side that speak in a Transylvanian accent.

Evil Tree #1 – (voiced by Lennie Weinrib impersonating Béla Lugosi) – The leader of the Evil Trees.

Evil Tree #2 – (voiced by Walker Edminston impersonating Peter Lorre).

Evil Tree #3 – (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) A tree that always speaks in rhyme.

The Mushrooms – A group of talking mushrooms on Witchiepoo's side that turn whoever touches them into mushrooms. The mushroom leader smokes a cigar and speaks like Jimmy Cagney.

The Crustaceans – They are shown in several episodes as well as the closing theme song, some crab-like characters who are never named or introduced. There is a family of them, much like the living clocks and the living trees. They almost never say anything, but one of them has a couple of brief lines in "The Almost Election of Witchiepoo."

Witchiepoo's Castle – A talking, living entity that is home to Witchiepoo and her minions. There is also a door inside the castle that is a separate living entity as well as living pillars.

Dr. Blinky's House – A broken down house, propped up with crutches with a bandage on one side and an ice pack atop its chimney. It suffers from explosive sneezing that it has no control over. This usually sends Pufnstuf and friends running for cover, although it has been occasionally used to thwart Witchiepoo's plans enough for her to tell the house to cover its door when it sneezes. It houses several other inanimate talking characters such as fireplace (who speaks like Edward G. Robinson), a test tube (voiced by Walker Edmiston) and a candle (voiced by Walker Edmiston). There is a talking human skull (who speaks like Boris Karloff) and a few talking books, one of which is named Charlie (voiced by Lennie Weinrib). Charlie's brother, an evil black book of spells, is kept on Witchiepoo's nightstand.

The Winds – The Winds of Living Island are often called upon by H.R. Pufnstuf to blow Witchiepoo out of the sky. They consist of the North Wind (voiced by Walker Edmiston in a shivering voice), the South Wind (voiced by Joan Gerber in a southern belle voice), the East Wind (voiced by Walker Edmiston in a Chinese accent), and the West Wind (voiced by Lennie Weinrib impersonating John Wayne).

Production

After creating costumes for characters in the live-action portion of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, Sid and Marty Krofft were asked to develop their own Saturday morning children's series for NBC. The plot was recycled from Kaleidoscope, a live puppet show the Kroffts had staged in the Coca-Cola pavilion of the HemisFair '68 world's fair in 1968, including several key characters from this show, such as Luther the dragon and a silly witch. Other ideas were cultivated from Sid's life. As a child, he'd charged friends buttons, not pennies, to view puppet shows in his back yard;[6] buttons were standard currency on Living Island. Sid and Marty had toured with their puppets as the opening act for Judy Garland, and they based Judy the Frog on her. Ludicrous Lion bears more than a passing resemblance to Irving, the eponymous lion in a pilot they had made in 1957 called Here's Irving.

Sid's friend, Lionel Bart, asked him to view a rough cut of the movie adaptation of Oliver. Sid took notice of young actor Jack Wild and immediately decided that was the kid he wanted to play the lead in his television series. Only two actresses auditioned to play Witchiepoo. The first was then-unknown Penny Marshall,[8] but it was felt that she was not right for the part. Stage veteran Billie Hayes came in next, set into a maniacal cackle and hopped up on a desk. She was given the part on the spot.

For Marty Krofft, the production was a particular headache. Marty accepted guardianship of Jack Wild while the teenage boy was in the United States filming the show. He later described bringing Wild into his home as a mistake, considering he already had his hands full with two young daughters.

Like most children's television shows of the era, H.R. Pufnstuf contained a laugh track, the inclusion of which the Kroffts were initially against. Sid Krofft commented "We were sort of against that, but Si Rose—being in sitcoms—he felt that when the show was put together that the children would not know when to laugh." Marty Krofft added "the bottom line—it's sad—you gotta tell them when it's funny. And the laugh track, (Si) was right. It was necessary, as much as we were always looking to have a real laugh track, a real audience. In comedies, if you don't have them (laugh track), you're in big trouble, because if you don't hear a laugh track, it's not funny. And that's the way the audience (at home) was programmed to view these shows."

Witchiepoo later appeared in the Lidsville episode "Have I Got a Girl For Hoo Doo" where she lands a date with Horatio J. Hoodoo. H.R. Pufnstuf appeared in a segment of Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, as well as in the Lidsville episode "Have I Got a Girl For Hoo Doo", where Hoo Doo conjures Pufnstuf as Witchiepoo's date for a witches' dance. The Krofft Superstar Hour also involved characters in two segments The Lost Island (which H.R. Pufnstuf was in) and Horror Hotel (which Witchiepoo, Orson Vulture, Seymour Spider, and Stupid Bat are featured with Hoodoo). The Kroffts also loaned out the character, with Hayes reprising her role, for The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, in which she appears as the sister of the Wicked Witch of the West (portrayed by Margaret Hamilton).

Theme song

The show's theme song, titled "H.R. Pufnstuf", was written by Les Szarvas but is also credited to Paul Simon. Simon's credit was added when he successfully sued The Kroffts, claiming that the theme too closely mimicked his song "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)". He is credited as the song's co-writer in TeeVee Tunes's Television's Greatest Hits Volume 5: In Living Color.

A cover of the show's theme song, performed by The Murmurs, is included on the 1995 tribute album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, produced by Ralph Sall for MCA Records.

Cast

Jack Wild – Jimmy

Billie Hayes – Wilhelmina W. Witchiepoo

Enjoy

Big Ty To Tony For this Soundtrack

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