Kukla, Fran and Ollie (1947–1957)

Stars:

Fran Allison, June Lockhart, Burr Tillstrom

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Fran Allison	...	Fran (1 episode, 1953)
June Lockhart		(1 episode, 1953)

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

puppetry | puppet | character name in title

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Genres:

Family | Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 1947 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC), National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

15 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On 11 August 2009 the US Postal Service issued a pane of twenty 44¢ commemorative postage stamps honoring early USA television programs. A booklet with 20 picture postal cards was also issued. On the stamp honoring "Kukla, Fran and Ollie", human star Fran Allison appears between puppets Kukla the clown and Ollie the dragon. Other shows honored in the Early TV Memories issue were: The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Dinah Shore Show, Dragnet, "The Ed Sullivan Show" (originally titled The Ed Sullivan Show), The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Hopalong Cassidy, The Honeymooners, "The Howdy Doody Show" (original title: The Howdy Doody Show), I Love Lucy, Lassie, The Lone Ranger, Perry Mason, The Phil Silvers Show, The Red Skelton Hour, "Texaco Star Theater" (titled The Buick-Berle Show, 1954-1956), The Tonight Show (which began as Tonight!), Twilight Zone, and You Bet Your Life.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Viking Women vs. the Sea Serpent (1991)

User Reviews

KFO hosted CBS Children's Film Festival (1967)

I used to watch this on Saturday mornings and enjoyed the dialogue between Fran and the puppets, as well as their comments in regards to the film being watched. Ollie, who was a dragon, would often get flustered or frustrated with the suspense in the film and collapse his long neck onto the "stage". This show was fantastic!

When I first read that this show was filmed in the '40s & '50s I too was shocked. Yet, when I continued to search for further info I discovered the following on Wikipedia.

"In 1967, KFO began hosting CBS Children's Film Festival. In this context, their conversations were restricted to a brief introduction, commercial segues and a summary of the film, and could only provide a hint of what had made KFO so popular. Many people know the troupe only from this filmed show and their later taped series for PBS."

I would have loved to have seen the original show.