Kukla, Fran and Ollie is an early American television show using
puppets. It was created for children, but soon watched by more adults
than children. It did not have a script and was entirely ad-libbed. It
was broadcast from Chicago between 1947 to 1957. Comedienne Fran
Allison starred, interacting with puppets, Kukla and Ollie (and
sometimes other puppets) whose puppeteer was the show's creator, Burr
Tillstrom. After the original run, the team appeared in other
productions over several decades.Burr Tillstrom was the creator and
only puppeteer on the show, which premiered as the hour-long Junior
Jamboree locally on WBKB in Chicago, Illinois, on October 13, 1947.
The program was renamed Kukla, Fran and Ollie (KFO) and transferred to
WNBQ (the predecessor of Chicago's WMAQ-TV) on November 29, 1948. The
first NBC network broadcast of the show took place on January 12,
1949. It aired from 6:00â€"6:30 p.m. Central Time, Monday through
Friday from Chicago."Fran" was Fran Allison, a radio comedian and
singer who usually was the only human to appear on screen, filling the
role of big sister and cheery voice of reason as the puppets engaged
each other concerning their foibles. The design style of puppets was
in the style of Neapolitan puppet shows, or Punch and Judy without the
slapstick, but their personalities were less caricatured.The puppet
cast included "Kukla", the earnest leader of the troupe; "Ollie", or "
Oliver J. Dragon", a roguish one-toothed dragon (who would slam his
flat chin on the stage in frustration or roll on his back to be
endearing); Madame Oglepuss, a retired opera diva; Buelah Witch, a
liberated witch; Fletcher Rabbit, the troupe's mailman and resident
fussbudget who, in keeping with the show's unrestrained use of puns,
also worked at "The Egg Plant"; Cecil Bill, the troupe's union
stagehand who spoke in an unintelligible "tooie talk"; Colonel
Crackie, a Southern gentleman; Dolores Dragon, Ollie's younger cousin,
and a number of others.
puppets. It was created for children, but soon watched by more adults
than children. It did not have a script and was entirely ad-libbed. It
was broadcast from Chicago between 1947 to 1957. Comedienne Fran
Allison starred, interacting with puppets, Kukla and Ollie (and
sometimes other puppets) whose puppeteer was the show's creator, Burr
Tillstrom. After the original run, the team appeared in other
productions over several decades.Burr Tillstrom was the creator and
only puppeteer on the show, which premiered as the hour-long Junior
Jamboree locally on WBKB in Chicago, Illinois, on October 13, 1947.
The program was renamed Kukla, Fran and Ollie (KFO) and transferred to
WNBQ (the predecessor of Chicago's WMAQ-TV) on November 29, 1948. The
first NBC network broadcast of the show took place on January 12,
1949. It aired from 6:00â€"6:30 p.m. Central Time, Monday through
Friday from Chicago."Fran" was Fran Allison, a radio comedian and
singer who usually was the only human to appear on screen, filling the
role of big sister and cheery voice of reason as the puppets engaged
each other concerning their foibles. The design style of puppets was
in the style of Neapolitan puppet shows, or Punch and Judy without the
slapstick, but their personalities were less caricatured.The puppet
cast included "Kukla", the earnest leader of the troupe; "Ollie", or "
Oliver J. Dragon", a roguish one-toothed dragon (who would slam his
flat chin on the stage in frustration or roll on his back to be
endearing); Madame Oglepuss, a retired opera diva; Buelah Witch, a
liberated witch; Fletcher Rabbit, the troupe's mailman and resident
fussbudget who, in keeping with the show's unrestrained use of puns,
also worked at "The Egg Plant"; Cecil Bill, the troupe's union
stagehand who spoke in an unintelligible "tooie talk"; Colonel
Crackie, a Southern gentleman; Dolores Dragon, Ollie's younger cousin,
and a number of others.
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