NEED TO KNOW
Sid Krofft, a popular puppeteer and TV producer known for kids shows including H.R. Pufnstuf and Land of the Lost, has died at age 96
He and his brother, Marty, received a Lifetime Achievement Emmy and a Hollywood Walk of Fame star for their work
Sid was developing new projects and sharing stories on Instagram before his death, continuing his creative legacy
Sid Krofft, whose award-winning career as a children’s television producer and puppeteer stretched across half a decade — even inspiring a theme park — has died, PEOPLE can exclusively confirm. He was 96.
Sid “passed away peacefully in his sleep on Friday, April 10 at the home of his friend and business partner Kelly Killian,” according to a spokesman. The cause was natural.
He was best known, alongside brother Marty Krofft, as the creative mind behind and co-producer of H.R. Pufnstuf, Land of the Lost and The Donny and Marie Show among other programs from the 1960s through the mid 2010s. Land of the Lost was also adapted into a 2009 film starring Will Ferrell.
In a statement, Killian said she “loved Sid with my whole heart,” adding that he “taught me more than I could ever put into words.”
“I didn’t know Sid for his shows — I only knew the man who created them. And that man was extraordinary,” Killian said. “I wish so very much that I had more time with him. I will miss his big blue eyes, his cheerful smile with his dimples, and the warmth that seemed to follow him everywhere he went.”
Adam Fenton, Sid’s publicist, described him as “an icon who did what he loved most until the very end – being out in public with his legions of fans.”
“Sid never slowed down, attending his final show where it all began just last November in his home state of Rhode Island,” Fenton said, “Sid was a beacon of light and will be greatly missed.”
Sid Krofft with H.R. Pufnstuf in 2004
Credit: Jim Smeal/BEI/Shutterstock
Born in Montreal, Canada, on July 30, 1929, Sid immigrated to the United States in 1938. He purchased his first puppet at age 10 and performed on the street — and by age 16, he had performed in vaudeville and burlesque shows in addition to appearances with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Sid spent much of the 1950s touring his marionette act in Europe, and even appeared with Judy Garland as her opening act during the latter part of the decade.
“We sold out everywhere, and it gave me another elevation,” he told PEOPLE in 2024.
Sid and Marty, his younger brother, who died of kidney failure in November 2023 at 86, eventually teamed up to create shows that played at World Fairs in Seattle, New York and San Antonio, including the adults-only musical review “Les Poupées de Paris.”
“It was always the number one attraction because no one ever saw anything like it,” Sid previously told PEOPLE. “That was my goal.”
Sid and Marty went on to open the “Showbusiness Factory” together and created various children’s television programs that gained popularity in the 1970s.
They earned an Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award in 2018 and also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They also inspired a short-lived amusement park in Atlanta in 1976 called The World of Sid and Marty Krofft.
Sid continued to tell stories late in life, including on his weekly Instagram livestream show “Sundays with Sid,” which featured a number of high profile guests, including Paul Reubens, Dita Von Teese, Joel Gray and Josh Holloway.
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Prior to his death, Sid and Killian were finalizing two books recounting Sid’s life and career prior to his death, his spokesperson tells PEOPLE. They were also developing two new children’s shows — Broomelda Snickelsnuff and Wonderwiggle, which Kelly will continue.
Additionally, Sid was working with Suzie Vignon and Joshua Disney as creative and visual producer on their project Love Sucks.
Speaking with PEOPLE in September 2024, Sid compared his long career to a treehouse built in a eucalyptus tree at his Los Angeles home, where he lived for more than five decades.
“The ladder going up is … a step at a time and it takes a long way to get to the top,” he said. “I still go up there at 95 years old. My life has been so exciting because every day I wake up and am grateful I was allowed to do all these incredible things.”
Read the original article on People
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