H.R. Pufnstuf
Updated: 12/20/2025, 12:56:58 PM Wikipedia source
H.R. Pufnstuf is an American children's television series created by Sid and Marty Krofft. It was the first independent live-action, life-sized-puppet program, following on from their work with Hanna-Barbera's program The Banana Splits Adventure Hour. The seventeen episodes were originally broadcast Saturday from September 6, 1969, to December 27, 1969. The broadcasts were successful enough that NBC kept it on the schedule as reruns until September 4, 1971. The show was shot at Paramount Studios and its opening was shot at Big Bear Lake, California. Reruns of the show returned on ABC Saturday morning from September 2, 1972, to September 8, 1973, and on Sunday mornings in some markets from September 16, 1973, to September 8, 1974. It was syndicated by itself from September 1974 to June 1978 and in a package with six other Krofft series under the banner Krofft Superstars from 1978 to 1985. Reruns of the show were featured on TV Land in 1999 as part of its Super Retrovision Saturdaze Saturday morning-related overnight prime programming block and in the summer of 2004 as part of its TV Land Kitschen weekend late-night prime programming block, and it was later shown on MeTV from 2014 until 2016. In 2004 and 2007, H.R. Pufnstuf was ranked No. 22 and No. 27 respectively on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever. Fast food chain McDonald's later emulated aspects of the series for its long-running advertising campaign "McDonaldland", and the company was successfully sued by the Krofft brothers in 1977 for copyright infringement.
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Tables
| No. | Title | Original release date | |
| 1 | "The Magic Path" | September 6, 1969 (1969-09-06) | |
| Jimmy and H. R. Pufnstuf infiltrate Witchiepoo's castle to rescue Judy Frog so that they can get directions to the Magic Path. The Magic Path is the only way off Living Island. Will Jimmy and Freddy get back home? | |||
| 2 | "The Wheely Bird" | September 13, 1969 (1969-09-13) | |
| Jimmy and H. R. Pufnstuf use a bird-shaped "Trojan Horse" as a ruse to enter Witchipoo's castle and recover Freddy from Witchiepoo. | |||
| 3 | "Show Biz Witch" | September 20, 1969 (1969-09-20) | |
| When shyster Ludicrous Lion convinces Jimmy that he has a super-duper pogo stick for sale that could bounce him home, H. R. Pufnstuf and Jimmy conduct a talent show to raise the money. | |||
| 4 | "The Mechanical Boy" | September 27, 1969 (1969-09-27) | |
| After catching him trying to steal her boat, Witchiepoo puts a spell on Jimmy that turns him into a mechanical boy and commands him to acquire Freddy for her. The Clock People have to find a way to cure Jimmy. | |||
| 5 | "The Stand In" | October 4, 1969 (1969-10-04) | |
| When H. R. Pufnstuf's sister Shirley comes to Living Island to make a movie, Jimmy and Freddie get parts in it. Together, they hatch a plot to get Witchiepoo into the movie so that Jimmy can steal her Vroom Broom to escape. | |||
| 6 | "The Golden Key" | October 11, 1969 (1969-10-11) | |
| Jimmy buys a map to the location of the Golden Key which unlocks the Golden Door (a secret way off of Living Island), Witchiepoo captures H. R. Pufnstuf and imprisons him in her dungeon diverting Jimmy from his escape. | |||
| 7 | "The Birthday Party" | October 18, 1969 (1969-10-18) | |
| It's Jimmy's birthday and Pufnstuf and his friends fix a surprise birthday party for him. Witchiepoo invites herself to Jimmy's party and steals Freddy by rendering the partygoers helpless with laughing gas. | |||
| 8 | "The Box Kite Kaper" | October 25, 1969 (1969-10-25) | |
| Jimmy and Freddy attempt to fly from Living Island in a giant box kite during a kite-flying contest. | |||
| 9 | "You Can't Have Your Cake" | November 1, 1969 (1969-11-01) | |
| Witchiepoo hides in a cake to steal Freddy. Also, Judy Frog teaches the gang a pre-Michael Jackson Moonwalk dance. | |||
| 10 | "The Horse with the Golden Throat" | November 8, 1969 (1969-11-08) | |
| The Polka-Dotted Horse accidentally swallows Freddy causing a big catastrophe with Dr. Blinky, H. R. Pufnstuf, and Jimmy. | |||
| 11 | "Dinner for Two" | November 15, 1969 (1969-11-15) | |
| Jimmy and Freddy both age 70 years when the Clock Family's time machine malfunctions. Witchiepoo mistakes Jimmy for an old man and falls in love with him. | |||
| 12 | "Flute, Book and Candle" | November 22, 1969 (1969-11-22) | |
| Freddy gets turned into a mushroom by the touch of Witchiepoo's evil mushrooms. Jimmy disguises himself as a beggar (in the guise of Jack Wild's Artful Dodger character from the 1968 film Oliver!) to rescue Freddy from the spell. | |||
| 13 | "Tooth for a Tooth" | November 29, 1969 (1969-11-29) | |
| Disguised as a little girl, Witchiepoo visits Dr. Blinky about a bad tooth. But she breaks into fits of rage when the pain becomes too much forcing the doctor to calm her down via love potion. | |||
| 14 | "The Visiting Witch" | December 6, 1969 (1969-12-06) | |
| Witchiepoo receives a message from headquarters that the Boss Witch is coming to Living Island for an inspection. In a plot to impress the Boss Witch, she ends up kidnapping H. R. Pufnstuf. | |||
| 15 | "The Almost Election of Witchiepoo" | December 13, 1969 (1969-12-13) | |
| Witchiepoo runs for Mayor of Living Island challenging H. R. Pufnstuf with another of her spells. | |||
| 16 | "Whaddya Mean the Horse Gets the Girl?" | December 21, 1969 (1969-12-21) | |
| H. R. Pufnstuf's sister Shirley stars in a movie to raise money for Living Island's anti-witch fund. | |||
| 17 | Jimmy Who?" | December 27, 1969 (1969-12-27) | |
| Jimmy gets amnesia that Dr. Blinky and Witchiepoo take turns trying to cure with flashbacks from earlier episodes. | |||
| Performer | Character(s) | Voice(s) |
| Sharon Baird | Stupid Bat | Lennie Weinrib |
| Judy Frog | Joan Gerber | |
| Shirley Pufnstuf | ||
| Lady Boyd | End credits vocals | |
| Joy Campbell | Orson Vulture | Lennie Weinrib |
| Cling | No voice | |
| Robert Gamonet | Pufnstuf | Lennie Weinrib |
| Angelo Rossitto | Seymour Spider | Walker Edmiston |
| Clang | No voice | |
| Johnny Silver | Dr. Blinky | Walker Edmiston |
| Ludicrous Lion | ||
| Jerry Landon | ? | |
| Jon Linton | ||
| Scutter McKay | ||
| Harry Monty | ||
| Andy Ratoucheff | Tick Tock | Lennie Weinrib |
| Robin Roper | ? | |
| Felix Silla | Polka-Dotted Horse | Lennie Weinrib |
References
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- Video clip of "The Altered State of Druggachusetts" Archived April 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEY96hDHxcM
- Nike Dunk Low Premium SB (Pufnstuf) Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Nike Skateboarding at skiptomyshttp://www.skiptomyshoe.com/cart/Nike-Dunk-Low-Premium-SB-Pufnstuf-pr-334.html
- Blogspot.comhttps://web.archive.org/web/20051210021051/http://hrpufnstuf.blogspot.com/
- Instagramhttps://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/kaufdrop_13/1339478261994727859
- Entertainment Weeklyhttps://www.ew.com/hr-pufnstuf-nick-jr
- Jeffrey Kripal, Secret Body: Erotic and Esoteric Currents in the History of Religions, University of Chicago Press, p. 2