The Story Behind Land Of The Lost
How a blockbuster evolved from a cheesy kids’ show
BY Jul 27th 2009 10:10AMFILED UNDER: Features
Out in the UK this week, Will Ferrell and director Brad Silberling are venturing into the Land Of The Lost.
But, like so many recent Hollywood productions, it’s an update of a 1970s TV show from across the pond, a kids’ adventure series that many of us in Blighty have never seen.
So just what is Land Of The Lost? And how did it go from nostalgic, low-budget telly to summer blockbuster?
Our story begins in the 1950s…
1. Kicking Off With The Kroffts
Land Of The Lost was grown in the brain-garden of Sid and Marty Krofft, a pair of brothers who developed a flair for puppetry at an early age.
It was Sid who first got into making and performing puppet shows, with his father – a clock salesman, not a puppeteer himself, despite their legendary, erroneous biography – joining him on tour around the world.
While they were away, younger brother Marty began to rummage through trunks containing some of the older puppet creations and started to make money putting on his own shows.
In 1958, the pair got a gig working on a show at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, opening for Judy Garland, which also went on a successful tour.
Following that, they mixed things up by creating an “adult” puppet show - "Les Poupees de Paris" - at a dinner club in Los Angeles called the Gilded Rafters. Mae West, Richard Nixon and Liberace were in the audience on opening night.
Plenty more work followed, with the Kroffts accepting commissions from fairs, amusement parks and such famous names as Walt Disney. The man behind the Mouse House even gave them some good advice, which is paying off today.
“He told me", Marty recalled to the LA Times, "'The one thing to remember is, don't ever sell anything you create and always put your name above the title, whatever you do. They'll fight you off from doing it, but stick to it...'”
Next: Pufnstuf And Other Stuff
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