Sid Krofft on his brother Marty and their 'oil-and-vinegar' success
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Marty Krofft was my baby brother, so this is very difficult for me to write.
I was almost 8 years old when Marty was born in Montreal, Canada, April 4, 1937.
In 1957, while I was the opening act for Judy Garland, my assistant found a new job, and as a puppeteer, I was in a terrible position. I desperately needed an assistant and saw this as a great opportunity to bring out my brother, Marty. That single moment in my life is what started our long-running career together.
When Marty arrived, he had been working as a salesman and could see that I lacked on the business end. As an artist and a dreamer, it was a relief to not have to deal with negotiations and scheduling and chasing money when I wasn’t paid on time. I found that part of being a performer so draining, but Marty really loved it and helped my dreams grow, which quickly became our dreams together.
Read more: Marty Krofft, co-creator of 'H.R. Pufnstuf' and other popular children's shows, dies at 86
I’m not going to sugarcoat things and I won’t pretend that all of this wasn’t without tremendous difficulty. It’s not a shock that Marty and I didn’t get along all the time. They even made fun of our arguments at the end of the episodes of "D.C. Follies."
Marty and I were oil and vinegar. We worked in different ways, but if you shook us up we were a great dressing.
We were a great team.
The dreamer and the businessman … we were Sid and Marty Krofft! We toured the world with my puppet act, had our own theme park, merchandise with our name on it, made movies, and man did we make some trippy TV shows!
When I look back, I am so very grateful to Marty and everything he did for me back then. There was something really beautiful that happened when Marty and I worked together as a team. We made memories that will live on through our fans forever.
I love you, Marty.
Till we meet again …
Sid Krofft is half of the television-producing duo (with his brother Marty) that had hits in the 1970s including beloved shows like “H.R. Pufnstuf,” “Sigmund and the Sea Monsters,” “The Bugaloos,” “Land of the Lost" and the “Donny & Marie” variety show.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
