Kukla, Fran and Ollie

Here’s a nice shot from home base, WNBQ, Chicago. Burr Tillstrom was the creator and only puppeteer on the show, which premiered as the hour-long ‘Junior Jamboree’ locally on WBKB in Chicago, on October 13, 1947. The program was renamed ‘Kukla, Fran and Ollie’ and transferred to WNBQ (the predecessor of Chicago’s WMAQ-TV) on November 29, 1948. The first NBC network broadcast of the show took place on January 12, 1949. It aired from 7–7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday from Chicago.

Fran was Fran Allison, a radio comedienne and singer who was usually the only human to appear on screen, filling the role of big sister and cheery voice of reason as the puppets engaged each other concerning their foibles. The design style of puppets was in the style of Neapolitan puppet shows, or Punch and Judy without the slapstick.

Fans became so attached to the show that when it was cut back to 15 minutes in November 1951, letters of outrage poured in to NBC and The New York Times. From August 1952 to June 1954, the show ran as a weekly program on Sundays from 3–3:30 p.m. When NBC canceled it, ABC TV picked up the show and returned to the 15 minute daily format airing from 7-7:15 p.m. ET until the last regular program aired on August 30, 1957, a continuous run of nearly ten years. See a clip below.

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