Those who follow Susan on Facebook know she is very vocal about her political views. Some liberal, some conservative…some Libertarian….a devoted animal activist who speak out against PETA. The discussions she instigates are informative and fun.

Sheena and Susan haven’t described the show very much, but gave us a preview of the discussions they will be having. Gun control, campaign financing, the 2008 election, and more all in 1 hour. They both seemed to posses very similar viewpoints, so I am glad they will be taking calls from the audience.

“Two Chicks Talking Politics” will be debuting the first week of May on LA Talk Radio. A one hour a week show (time to be announced). I can’t wait!

SID & MARTY KROFFT, the legendary creators of H.R. PUFNSTUF, SIGMUND & THE SEA MONSTERS, BUGALOOS, LIDSVILLE and more children’s TV favorites of the 70′s will make a rare appearance at the Every Picture Tells A Gallery in Santa Monica on Saturday, November 20 at 5:30 PM.

The gallery will feature an extensive exhibit of photographs, original art and production design from the shows, limited edition prints and collectible toys. Prior to the reception, the American Cinematheque’s Aero Theatre will screen the feature film, PUFNSTUF at 3:30 PM.

Every Picture Tells A Story is located at:
1333 Montana Avenue,
Santa Monica, CA 90403.
Phone is (310) 451-2700.

For more information and art,
contact:
Lee Cohen
lee@everypicture.com

Celebrities Support Online Auction for Los Angeles Pet Rescue Organization
Annual online event for Precious Paws to feature lunches with actors, entertainment memorabilia

LOS ANGELES, CA (October 27, 2010) – Stargazers rejoice: the Celebrity Experience and Entertainment Memorabilia Auction will be held from October 28th – November 7th. The online auction supports Precious Paws, a non-profit animal rescue organization based in Encino, Calif. The auction, held exclusively on the Precious Paws eBay store, will include star-powered items for fans and Hollywood followers of all ages.

Among featured auction items are VIP tickets to a Bon Jovi concert in New York City with a backstage meet and greet with Richie Sambora. Another show-stopping item comes from Adrianne Curry, who has donated a custom designed midi chopper airbrushed with her first Playboy pictorial.

“I know the effort and heart that was poured into this bike, and if it can bring someone half the happiness it brought me in the name of charity, I’ll be a very happy woman,” said Curry. “I got both of my babies (Sgt. Pepper and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds) from Precious Paws, and can think of no one else I would have given my bike to.”

The auction also features opportunities to have lunch with notable celebrities, including: Eric Roberts, an Academy Award nominee for his role in “Runaway Train”; Cherie Currie of the Runaways; Susan Olsen, known for her role as Cindy on “The Brady Bunch”; Erin Murphy, known for her role as Tabitha Stevens on “Bewitched”; Emmy Award winning soap star Drew Tyler Bell; and Rod Rodenberry.

“I have known Georgyne La Lone and Penny Juday for years and I know how dedicated they are to their cause. I am happy to help by offering a lunch with myself to support their organization, Precious Paws,” said Rod Rodenberry, the son of legendary “Star Trek” creator Gene Rodenberry.

For additional information about the Celebrity Experience and Entertainment Memorabilia Auction, please go to their official auction website or contact Georgyne LaLone, president and founder of Precious Paws, at GeorgyneLaLone@PreciousPaws.org.

About Precious Paws

Since 2003, Precious Paws has been rescuing unwanted companion cats and dogs in Southern California from both the streets and local shelters. A 501(c)3 registered non-profit organization, Precious Paws is dedicated to spaying or neutering, vaccinating, and testing each animal rescued before they are placed for adoption into permanent homes. For more information, please visit www.preciouspaws.org.

Auction Catalog

Two VIP tickets to a Bon Jovi concert in New York City in the spring of 2011, including a backstage meet and greet with Richie Sambora

Two VIP tickets to a Bon Jovi concert in Las Vegas in the spring of 2011, including a swag bag

Lunch with Susan Olsen and Erin Murphy

Lunch with Eric Roberts

Lunch with Rod Rodenberry

Lunch with Drew Tyler Bell

Two tickets to a Cherie Currie concert and a backstage meet and greet in 2010/2011

Adrianne Curry’s midi chopper

A phone call from Bobby Sherman

Entertainment memorabilia galore

Download Press Release Here

Also Krofft/Brady related, up for bid is Adrianne Curry’s (wife of Chris Knight/Peter Brady) midi chopper from <a href=http://www.beverlyhillschoppers.com/" Beverly Hills Choppers.

It seemed like a sure thing…Will Ferrell and dinosaurs, what better way could you bring Krofft productions to the 21st century? Whatever happend, it didn’t work and some momentum was lost. That leaves the question of how to get the next Krofft movie on the big screen. H.R. Pufnstuf and Sigmund the Sea Monster were already in the pipe prior to Land of the Lost, so let’s explore them.

With the recent release of “Where the Wild Things Are”, Spike Jonze illustrated both what to do, and what not to do when mixing low-tech costumes and high-tech effect. The character of H.R. Pufnstuf can learn a lot from Wild Things. Sid and Marty are still costume masters, so expect them to up the anti. They can also learn from the story, as Marty said “Don’t mess with what worked“. Removing the 70s camp, and inserting some 21st century realism without loosing the childhood innocense will make Pufnstuf a wonderful film. A cameo from Billie Hayes is also a must.

Sigmund on the other hand could be tricky. Where Pufnstuf takes place in the magical “Living Island”, the Sigmund story takes place in the ‘real world’. The entire premise is camp. The story and costumes would require an update. Does Sigmund still talk? Does the story take on a Waterhorse style? It would be amazing to see the story of Johnny and his pal Sigmund come to the big screen (music and all), but I just can’t imagine how it would work. Maybe Pufnstuf would pave the way.

One of the problems I see is that Sid and Marty aren’t doing enough self promotion. They are not following the advice of Walt Disney that Sid quotes often, “keep your name above the title”. It wasn’t “Sid & Marty Krofft’s Land of the Lost”, it was “Will Ferrell in Land of the Lost”. Yes, they are releasing more and more of their shows online (Hulu, iTunes, etc), but not promoting it well. They partnered with the already dieing MySpace, which has done nothing for their online presence except associate them with trashy chicks and dudes hoping to hook up (I’m not saying everyone on MySpace is that way, but it is the overwhelming majority).

Sid and Marty, get your name back “above the title”.

Science fiction/fantasy sculpturist Vincent Villafranca turned us on to Bigfoot and Wildboy the other day, and now we’re obsessed with watching all the episodes on Youtube. It’s just so wrong, from the Sean Cassidy-haired Wildboy to Bigfoot’s penchant for leaping high up in the air so that his shaggy crotch occupies the dead center of the screen. THis is the reason our formative years were more like deformative years.

Many of the Krofft shows are given unfair criticism. These people tend to forget that “C.H.I.P.S.”, “Starsky and Hutch” and “The Six Million Dollar Man” were top shows at the time. If you watch those shows today, they suffer from the same dated feel as “Bigfoot and Wildboy”.

Of all the Krofft shows, I remember watching this one the most as a 6-7 year old boy. I remember this was the only Saturday Morning show besides Land of the Lost that my father would watch with me. It had the same feel and story as some primetime hits of the day.

I think I need to bring more Bigfoot and Wildboy to KROFFT.NET. Anyone with who wants to contribute is welcome, just either post in the comments or send me an email.

We are having an exclusive on-line Celebrity Experience and Entertainment Memorabilia auction starting November 5th at 7 PM PST on Ebay. It will be a ten day auction. Many of our friends have come on board to help us fundraiser for our rescues.

We are very excited to have Mark Hamill & others participating in our fundraiser. For our exclusive auction, we have lined up a handful of lunches for 2 with the celebrities listed below. We have also acquired many autographed items for this auction.

We have partnered with Auction Cause, a premier online auction company, who work hand in hand with Ebay and have held many successful celebrity based charity auctions.
This list is a work in progress, we are still working on receiving more items and celebrity experiences for our auction. Please Check Back Often!

There are other celebrities donating there time for the auction (include Star Wars‘ Mark Hamill). Go on over and support a good cause.

Here is a video from Susan Olsen discussing the event. Her foster cats want in on the act too.

Precious Paws is a non-profit pet rescue based in Los Angeles, California where Susan Olsen is on the board of directors. They provide fostering, education and assistance to pets and pet owners alike.

” ‘Wild Things’ is very, very good for us,” says Marty Krofft. “We always wanted to do low-tech costumes and high-tech heads. But it’ll be a big difference in tone, of course — we’ll be bright, not dark.”

Also, this marks the first time (that I’m aware of) that Marty admits they went to far with Land of the Lost. That they strayed to far from the original.

“We went with comedy, which got it green-lit. But we didn’t know it was going to go so far in the PG-13 direction and so close to an R rating,” he says of the unfortunate flop. “Our characters are all likable, and we have so much goodwill from our fans. So, now we know: Don’t mess with what’s worked.”

I’m glad to see that he’s had this realization. When I met Marty Krofft this past summer, I really wanted to discuss this exact issue with him, but wasn’t sure he would have been receptive. You can’t turn a family-friendly story of a popular children’s show into a raunchy comedy and expect success. It’s like drinking a beer when you were expecting milk. Doesn’t matter how good the beer is, it’ll taste like crap. (even though in this case it was crap)

Also in the article, Marty discusses plans for Electra Woman and Doctor Shrinker. Both stories would have great appeal if handled properly. Especially EW with the rash of super hero movies at the box office.

Thanks to Shemp DeYoung for pointing me to the article. Please leave your comments below.

Sid and Marty Krofft are more known for their puppet creations than their variety shows, but they had many. From Pink Lady and Jeff to Donny and Marie and of course The Brady Bunch Hour

Variety shows were a staple of television since its inception but fizzled out in the early 80s. The Brady Hour was an example of that fizzle. Why would someone want to remind us of a show that even those who were involved like to pretend it didn’t exists? KROFFT.NET asked author Ted Nichelson about what brought him to write Love to Love You Bradys: The Bizarre Story of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour

KROFFT.NET: What originally drew you to the BBVH.

TED NICHELSON: My involvement began innocently enough one evening in Ann Arbor, Michigan while reading through some news group postings on the internet. I was a student at the University of Michigan and probably had more important things to do. But I was curious about this “Brady Variety Hour” that was being rerun on an obscure cable network in Australia. People down under were having the most entertaining discussions about this supposedly terrible show. I became email friends with a few people lucky enough to see the Variety Hour and convinced one of them to record some episodes and send them to me on the other side of the globe. As a childhood fan of The Brady Bunch it was a thrill to see this cast of characters in a “new” series, much of which to this day has still not been broadcast to American audiences since its single and only broadcast in 1976-77.

KN: How did Susan and Lisa become involved in your project? Did you start it together?

TN: I began by starting a website devoted to The Brady Bunch Variety Hour which soon raised some eyebrows. Almost immediately I received an email from Maureen McCormick’s mother Irene who was so very entertained by what I had put together. In the next year this was followed by interviews with cast members such as Geri Reischl, whom I spent six month trying to locate, Chris Knight, and finally Susan Olsen. Susan was particularly awestruck by my website because she had suppressed her memories of the Variety Hour and was shocked to have them coming to the surface once again. Over several years of becoming friends and relocating to Los Angeles after graduation, I asked her if she would like to collaborate on a book about the series. Fans had been encouraging me to move forward on such a project for a long time and I knew that Susan would be the perfect compliment to such a publication.

Lisa joined the project in 2004 when we decided the format would be a coffee table book. Not only is Lisa Sutton the official ‘Bradyologist’ but she is a talented graphic designer which a lot of experience in that realm. She designed ‘Growing Up Brady‘ so she was the obvious choice for ‘Love to Love You Bradys.’

KN: There is so much information in the book, was it challenging locating the lesser known cast and crew?

TN: It was really quite difficult tracking down everyone, and was nothing less than being a private investigator. I had to call around and talk to people who knew the person I was looking for, and get enough information (such as the name of a spouse, child, or other relative) so that I could l search public records. The most difficult people to locate were Geri Reischl, Charkie Phillips, Madeline Graneto, and Robyn Blythe. I began looking for Geri about 10 years ago and at the time nobody had heard anything about her since about 1980. Now we all know her, but at the time she was completely anonymous and living a normal life.

Finding photographs of some of the deceased individuals was also extremely difficult and often took many months of hunting.

KN: What was the most difficult part of writing the book?

TN: The most challenging part of writing the book was taking all the disparate elements and great stories, then weaving them together so they began to tell a story and paint a picture of what the mid 70s was like in television. Susan and I wanted the book to have a distinct academic tone, which was part of the parody – that we took something seemingly unnewsworthy and made it interesting to read about. I think we succeeded in that goal and it turned out that the material was fun, entertaining, and historically significant. A lot of people are surprised by how interesting ‘Love to Love You Bradys’ really is.

KN: Any plans for a follow up?

TN: I think we’ve pretty much exhausted the topic of ‘The Brady Bunch Variety Hour,’ but perhaps we’ll collaborate again on something related. My next book is an autobiography with actress and comedian Geri Jewell, which should be out in 2011.

KN: Were the Krofft Brothers open to you doing the book?

TN: Sid and Marty have distinct personalities, so their individual approach in participating in the book was different. Sid likes to chat on the phone and remembers a lot of things. He invited me to come meet him a few times to discuss things further and was just the sweetest person. Marty, on the other hand, was much more business-like but also very warm and helpful. He invited Susan and I to his office where we discussed the book and then went to lunch. They were just the nicest people and I am grateful to them.

KN: Do you know if Sid and Marty have seen the book? Did they have any comment?

TN: None of us have heard from Sid and Marty so I do not know if they saw the book. If they called me I would be sure they were sent a book, so the offer is open. I think they are both so busy that they may not even be aware it is out yet.

KN: Are you a fan of any of the other Krofft works? If so, which ones?

TN: I am not very informed about their shows, but I can name them all and have watched clips on YouTube to get an idea for their creative style and to understand how it colored their involvement with ‘The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.’ I became good friends with Van Snowden, who played HR Pufnstuf, and I learned a lot of about the Kroffts and their shows by listening to him tell many great stories.

KN: After being immersed in the Krofft/Brady world for so long, how would you sum up the experience?

TN: The first thing that comes to mind is that ALL of these people on both sides are the NICEST individuals you could ever hope to meet in Hollywood. A lot of producers, directors, and actors are so very rude, egocentric, unapproachable and distracted. The Kroffts and Bradys couldn’t be farther from this stereotype. It was a true honor, privilege, and joy to meet all of them and to preserve some of their memories for the ages.

KROFFT.NET would like to thank Ted Nichelson for the interview, and urge you to get your copy of Love to Love You Bradys today.

The Life of Reilly was first shown in 2006 and is an adaptation Charles Nelson Reilly’s one-man play “Save It For the Stage: The Life of Reilly”. It is an edited version of Reilly’s longer stage show, filmed live before audiences at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood, California in October of 2004. I recently purchased the DVD from the website of the late Charles Nelson Reilly.

Charles Nelson Reilly is the reason I remained a Krofft fan for my entire life. His portrayal of Hoo Doo in Lidsville made an impression on me at the young age of only 3. His signature laugh was the only thing I remembered for years, and spent years trying to remember those early childhood dreams.

My next exposure to Charles was The Match Game. My grandmother was a huge game show fan, so I had early exposure to The Match Game, The Price is Right and many others. The familiarity with Reilly drew me to him instantly. I’ve been a huge fan since. He is an entertainer for all ages, and deserves a larger place in entertainment history.

The movie Life of Reilly is a perfect film. It starts off asking “Do you remember who Charles Nelson Reilly is?” Tragically, not enough people do. Interspersed with clips that illustrate his story, Life of Reilly shows us CNR‘s life from his own point of view…tragic, exciting and funny. The film’s impact is amplified by the passing of Reily. It is wonderful that he was able to document this prior to his death.

Sadly, the film is still not widely available on DVD. But, the good news is that you can still get it. I received an email from the directors recently:

The DVD was slated to be released early this year by the legendary New Yorker Films. Unfortunately, as you may have heard or read, New Yorker Films recently filed for bankruptcy.
…
In the mean time, for a limited time only you can get a FREE DVD Screener of the film on our website when you buy a T-Shirt for as little as $14.95.

Of course, I now have mine. I would love to see all the raw footage of Reilly’s performance, but for now I’ll be content with this extraordinary DVD.

What are you waiting for? Go get yours!

For sale is one Happy Birthday Handmade Card featuring “Kreepy Kids H.R. Pufnstuf, Mayor of Living Island, with the Magic Flute and Jimmy” from Kreepy Kids Get Kroffty Series.

This card is blank inside, comes with a matching colour envelope, measures 6″ by 4″, and comes wrapped in a cellophane bag.

Go on over to Etsy and check it out.