Kukla, Fran and Ollie was an early television show using puppets, originally created for children but soon watched by more adults than children. Like many early shows, it did not have a script and was entirely ad-libbed. Image File history File links Kfotv. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... Italic text Wayang shadow-puppet created in Bali, in the early 20th century. ... See AdLib for the computer sound card manufacturer. ...

Burr Tillstrom was the creator and only puppeteer on the show, which premiered as the hourlong Junior Jamboree locally on WBKB in Chicago 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 6–6:30 p.m. Central Time Monday through Friday. Burr Tilstrom (October 13, 1917 in Chicago, Illinois - December 6, 1985 in Palm Springs, California) was a puppeteer and the creator of Kukla, Fran and Ollie. ... WLS-TV, officially branded as ABC7 Chicago, is an American television station in Chicago, Illinois owned and operated by the American Broadcasting Company, known nationwide as ABC. ABC7 Chicago produces its broadcasts at 190 North State Street in The Loop and transmits its signal from the Sears Tower. ... This article is about Illinois largest city. ... October 13 is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... WMAQ-TV, officially branded as NBC5 Chicago, is a American television station in Chicago, Illinois owned and operated by National Broadcasting Company and present-day NBC. Broadcasting from facilities at NBC Tower on North Columbus Drive and its Magnificent Mile street-level Studio 5 on North Michigan Avenue, the station... November 29 is the 333rd (in leap years the 334th) day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... NBC (an abbreviation for National Broadcasting Company, its former corporate name) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ...

Fran was Fran Allison, a radio comedian and singer who was usually the only human to appear onscreen, 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,^[1] the earnest leader of the troupe (who looked like a clown but wasn't one); Ollie, or Oliver J. Dragon, was 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 Ooglepuss, a retired opera diva; Beulah Witch, a liberated witch; Fletcher Rabbit, the troupe's mailman and resident fussbudget; Cecil Bill, the troupe's union stagehand who spoke in "tooie talk;" Colonel Crackie, a Southern gentleman; Dolores, Ollie's cousin, and a number of others. Fran Allison (b. ... A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh. ... Ercole de Roberti: Concert, c. ... A Neapolitan is a resident of Naples, Italy or the language of Naples, the surrounding region of Campania, and most of southern Italy. ... A stained glass illustration of Punch by Professor Ignorant Punch and Judy is a popular puppet show featuring Punch and his wife Judy. ... Chinese dragon, color engraving on wood, Chinese school, 19th Century The dragon is a mythical creature typically depicted as a large and powerful serpent or other reptile with magical or spiritual qualities. ... The Teatro alla Scala in Milan. ... This article is part of the Witchcraft series. ... Mailman can be: mail carrier, a person who delivers mail GNU Mailman, e-mail software This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... A Trade Union (Labour union) ... is a continuous association of wage-earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment. ... The U.S. Southern states or the South, also known colloquially as Dixie, constitute a distinctive region covering a large portion of the United States, with its own unique heritage, historical perspective, customs, musical styles, and cuisine. ...

Like Jack Benny's radio program, KFO's humor relied on building a relationship between its characters and the audience over time. The humor was quite tame by the standards of later comedy. There were few laugh-out-loud jokes per show—KFO relied on the humor of familiarity, much like The Honeymooners. Jack Benny caricatured by Sam Berman for 1947 NBC promotion book Jack Benny (February 14, 1894, Chicago, Illinois – December 26, 1974, Beverly Hills, California), born Benjamin Kubelsky, was an American comedian, vaudeville performer, and radio, television, and film actor. ... For the film, see The Honeymooners (2005 film). ...

KFO evoked not only loyalty but also a deep belief in its characters from regular viewers. Fans became so attached to the show that when it was cut back to 15 minutes in November, 1951, letters of outrage poured in to NBC and The New York Times. The Bob & Ray Show was the replacement 15-minute program and had considerable vitriol heaped on it by angry KFO viewers. From August, 1952 to June, 1954 KFO ran as a weekly program on Sundays from 3–3:30 p.m CT. It was then picked up by the ABC network and returned to the 15 minute daily format until the last regular program aired on August 30, 1957, a continuous run of nearly ten years. The New York Times is a newspaper published in New York City by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ... Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding were an American comedy duo that began in radio in the late 1940s with a daily 15-minute show titled Matinee With Bob & Ray. ... The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ... August 30 is the 242nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (243rd in leap years), with 123 days remaining. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

After the original series ended in 1957, Tillstrom continued to search for a place for the Kuklapolitans, doing a daily five-minute show for NBC, and even appearing on Broadway. In 1967, KFO began hosting The 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. Broadway theatre[1] is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... PBS re-directs here; for alternate uses see PBS (disambiguation) PBS logo The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is a non-profit public broadcasting television service with 349 member TV stations in the United States. ...

In 1979 Kukla and Ollie appeared as panelists on Match Game. Burr also brought the troupe to the Goodman Theatre in Chicago for a series of live performances in the early 1980s. The Match Game was a long-running American television game show, most often hosted by Gene Rayburn. ... The Goodman Theatre The Goodman Theatre is a theater in Chicagos Loop, and part of Chicago theatre. ...

For the ten years that it appeared live, KFO was a hugely successful show that counted Orson Welles, John Steinbeck, Tallulah Bankhead, Ben Grauer and Adlai Stevenson among its many adult fans. The show had sponsors like Life magazine and Ford Motor Co., who surely weren't trying to reach children. James Thurber once wrote that Tillstrom was "helping to save the sanity of the nation and to improve, if not even to invent, the quality of television." George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American theatre and film producer and director, and a theatre, radio and film actor. ... John Ernst Steinbeck (February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) is one of the best-known and most widely read American writers of the 20th century. ... Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 - December 12, 1968) was an American actress, talk-show host and bon vivant. ... Ben Grauer (born Staten Island, New York, June 2, 1908, died New York City, May 31, 1977) was an American radio and TV personality, following a career as a child actor in the 1920s, both in film and on Broadway. ... Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician, noted for intellectual demeanor and advocacy of liberal causes in the Democratic party. ... A cover of Life Magazine from 1911 Life has been the name of two notable magazines published in the United States. ... 2002 Ford Fiesta in the UK. The Ford Motor Company (sometimes nicknamed Fords or FoMoCo, (NYSE: F) is an automobile maker founded by Henry Ford in Detroit, Michigan, and incorporated on June 16, 1903. ... James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894–November 2, 1961) was a U.S. humorist and cartoonist. ...

KFO can claim a number of television firsts, including the first ship-to-shore telecast and the first color television broadcast of a network program. Burr was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1986 for his many contributions to the medium. See TV (disambiguation) for other uses and Television (band) for the rock band European networks National In much of Europe television broadcasting has historically been state dominated, rather than commercially organised, although commercial stations have grown in number recently. ... The Television Academy Hall of Fame was founded by a former president of the Television Academy, the late John H. Mitchell, to honor individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to television. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Notes

Watch

• Kukla, Fran and Ollie clips

Kukla is also the Russian word for doll.

External link

• The Unofficial Kuklapolitan Webpage

See also

• "The Man Who Hated People", a 1950 short story by Paul Gallico about a fictional television show about an ensemble of puppets and a young woman whose ad-libbed interaction engages the attention of a huge national audience of all ages