Over the
years, the Kuklapolitan
Website has received numerous requests for the same
information, so here are the answers to those Frequently
Asked
Questions. If you have more questions or
information, please email
me. And many thanks
to Jim Engel for the above artwork!
What
was Kukla, Fran and
Ollie? KFO
was unique in
television history: a live, daily, ad-libbed puppet show
that was
watched by more adults than children.
When
did the show premiere? KFO first aired on
October
13, 1947 as Junior
Jamboree.
It changed to Kukla,
Fran and Ollie
within a few months.
When
did it go off the air? KFO's first run
ended in
1957, but the Kuklapolitans were on the air in one form or
another
until the mid 1980s.
When
were Burr Tillstrom and Fran Allison born? Are they
still alive? Burr was born on
October 13,
1917 and Fran was born on November 20, 1907. Burr died on
December 6, 1985
and Fran died on June 13, 1989.
Were
they married? No. Fran was
married to
Archie Levington. Burr never married.
Where
can I get copies of the show? All existing
episodes of KFO
(over 800!) are available free on YouTube.
Is "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" in
the Public Domain? No. All rights are
held by The Burr Tillstrom Copyright Trust, which is happy
to share if the use is appropriate. For info, contact info@kukla.tv.
Where are the Kuklapolitans now? Burr willed all
his KFO items
to the
Chicago
History Museum.
The Kuklapolitans can be viewed by special appointment in
some cases,
but it's far easier to see the many papers Burr left to
the
museum. You must call first.
Where can I get more
info about
the show? Right here!
Check The Story of the
Kuklapolitans page for many magazine articles about
the troupe, or
go the the History page for a
timeline of
significant events.
Where can I see a
photo of my
favorite character? There are many
photos of all
the Kuklapolitans on the Photos
page.
Were
any of the these characters on the show: Lambchop,
Foodini, Pinhead,
Lucky Pup, Jolo the Clown, Rootie Kazootie, Beany, Cecil
the Seasick Sea Serpent, Farfel, Froggy
the Gremlin, Elmer the Elephant, Bertie the Bunyip, etc.? No. Here's a
list of
all the Kuklapolitans: Kukla, Oliver J. Dragon,
Madame Ophelia
Ooglepuss, Buelah
Witch, Fletcher Rabbit, Colonel Richard Hooper Crackie,
Cecil Bill,
Mercedes, Doloras
Dragon, Werner von Worm, Mrs. Dragon, Mrs. Witch, Miss
Coo-Coo, Paul
Pookenschlagel, Mrs. Bufforfington, Perry Porpoise, Hubert
Skunk,
Herbert Hare, Felicia Rabbit, Honey Bird, and of course,
Fran! Here are
photos of all the Kuklapolitan Players.
Who performed which
characters? Burr performed all
the
characters and was the only puppeteer on the
show.
Which
character said only "tooie tooie" or "tooey tooey"? Cecil
Bill, the show's union stagehand. You can hear him
sing "Tooie
Talk" on the Audio page.
What does Kukla's name
mean? "Doll" in Russian
and
Greek. For the full story, read this article
from 1952.
Where
can I get copies of films that were shown on The CBS Children's Film
Festival,
like Skiny and Fatty,
and Three Nuts for
Cinderella? Only a few films
are
available for purchase. Check my CBS
page
for more info, or leave a note in my CBS
Forum to ask about others.
Where
can I find the Kukla and Ollie puppets I had as a child? Actually, you
probably never
had
one! Burr never allowed any puppets of his
characters to be sold,
although other toys were
sold. There
was a counterfeit Ollie
sold in the 50s,
but no Kukla was ever made. Some puppet-type
toys were sold in the 60s.
Wasn't there a piece
about the
Berlin Wall on the show? No, but he did do
a series of
"hand
ballets" on That Was
The Week That
Was. The most famous was his Berlin
Wall ballet.
Will the
Kuklapolitans ever return to the air, like Kermit the Frog
did after
Jim Henson's death? No. Burr's
Will specifically prohibits anyone from performing the
characters.
