Kukla, Fran and Ollie

Are you old enough to remember the Kukla, Fran and Ollie show? The creator of the show was Burr Tillstrom and he was also the puppeteer. The show premiered in Chicago in 1947. It became an NBC show in 1949 and aired from 6:00 - 6:30pm on weekdays.

Kukla and Ollie (Oliver J. Dragon) were both puppets and Fran was actually Fran Allison a radio comedian and singer. There were a few other puppets that appeared as well. The show was set as a Punch and Judy type show with a small box theater with curtains.

The show, which was canceled in 1957 is not available on VHS or DVD. Burr Tillstrom did not market the show with toy manufacturing and the like and any Kukla, Fran and Ollie memoribilia is hard to find. In 1979, Kukla and Ollie appeared on the television game show Match Game and Tillstrom also bought them out for a number of performances int he 1980s. Tillstrom passed away in 1985.

Here is a clip from the show: