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Kukla, Fran and Ollie

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TV Series

The Resume

    (October 13, 1947-May 1, 1957)
    Early TV show featuring the talents of puppeteer Burr and his creations with host Fran Allison
    Centered around Burr Tillstrom's puppets interacting with each other and host Fran Allison usually in some type of skit
    Won a Peabody in 1950 and an Emmy in 1954
    Originally titled 'Junior Jamboree'

Why Kukla, Fran and Ollie might be annoying:

    It moved between two networks, varied in run time between fifteen to thirty minutes, and, the number of shows per week ranged from one to five.
    The cast, crew, puppets and fans are referred to as Kuklapolitans.
    Most episodes were never recorded, or if they were, have long since been lost.
    Many people were unaware of Burr Tillstrom's existence and assumed Fran Allison was doing the voices.
    Some people had a little trouble separating reality from fiction, such as sending in handkerchiefs when one of the puppets sneezed.
    It's been suggested that it high ratings among adults was due to men being attracted to Fran Allison.
    The critics liked it.

Why Kukla, Fran and Ollie might not be annoying:

    It premiered on creator Burr Tillstrom's birthday.
    It actually got higher ratings among adults than children.
    It was the first network TV program to be broadcast from a ship.
    It was the first network TV program to be broadcast in color.
    It got up to 10,000 letters per week; celebrities that wrote the show fan letters included John Steinbeck, Orson Welles, Marlon Brando, Tab Hunter, and Tallulah Bankhead.
    If not totally improvised during the usually live broadcast, it was usually written the day of the broadcast.
    Burr Tillstrom did all the puppet work and voices and most of the writing.
    There was no merchandising.
    The show was honored with a U.S. postage stamp in 2009.
    Kukla and Ollie appeared as panelists on the popular game show, 'Match Game.'

Credit: tom_jeffords


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 15 Votes: 46.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 75 Votes: 42.67% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 24 Votes: 54.17% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 16.67% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 11 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 28 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 16 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 20 Votes: 45.00% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 123 Votes: 46.34% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 13 Votes: 23.08% Annoying