The Bugaloos

The Bugaloos
The Bugaloos in Tranquility Forest (L-R): Caroline Ellis as Joy, Wayne Laryea as Harmony, John McIndoe as I.Q., Billy Barty as Sparky & John Philpott as Courage
Format	Children's television series
Starring	John McIndoe Caroline Ellis John Philpott Wayne Laryea Martha Raye Billy Barty Sharon Baird Joy Campbell Van Snowden
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	17
Production
Producer(s)	Sid and Marty Krofft
Running time	0:25 (per episode)
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Original run	September 11, 1970 – September 2, 1972

The Bugaloos is an American children's television series produced by brothers Sid and Marty Krofft in 1970. This Krofft live action puppet show aired on Saturdays from 1970 to 1972. The Bugaloos were a musical group comprised four British-accented teenagers, each with antennae and wings, who lived in Tranquility Forest and had their own rock band. They wore bug-oriented outfits which allowed them to fly (though on occasion flying on surfboards), and were constantly beset by the evil machinations of Benita Bizarre (played by comedienne Martha Raye), who was covetous of the Bugaloos’ musical prowess.^[1]

The show was produced by Sid and Marty Krofft, and aired on NBC from 1970 to 1972. Like its predecessor H.R. Pufnstuf (1969), The Bugaloos ran for only one season (1970-1971), with reruns airing the following year (1971-1972). It was shot in Los Angeles, California.

Touted as the British version of The Monkees, over 5,000 aspiring Bugaloos auditioned to cast the four leads, each having to demonstrate aptitude in dance, singing, and acting. Among those auditioning in spring 1970 was Elton John's former manager, John Reid, as well as rock musician Phil Collins, who joined the art-rock band Genesis later that year.^[2][3] Reid and Collins had been two of the three finalists for the role of "I.Q." given to McIndoe, who has joked, "If one of those guys had gotten it instead of me, rock-'n'-roll history might have changed," McIndoe wrote. "Whenever I see them, I say, `Hey guys, you were lucky you didn't get the part.'"^[4]

Seventeen episodes of the series were produced. An album of Bugaloos music was released in 1970, and their song "For A Friend" actually charted as a minor hit^{[citation needed]}. The complete series was released on DVD in May 2006. Cast members John Philpott, Caroline Ellis, John McIndoe and creator Sid Kroftt added commentary tracks to several episodes.

Characters

• Actor / Character Name / Role In the Band
  • Wayne Laryea / Harmony (a bumblebee) / keyboards
  • John Philpott / Courage (a ladybug) / drums
  • Caroline Ellis / Joy (a butterfly) / percussion, lead and backup vocals
  • John McIndoe / I.Q. (a grasshopper) / guitars and lead vocals

Among the Bugaloos' many friends were:

• Sparky (portrayed by Billy Barty, in the first of many roles he would play from the Krofft Brothers), a firefly who was taken in by The Bugaloos
• Nutty Bird, local messenger who periodically delivered messages to and from the Bugaloos
• Peter Platter, a DJ for radio station KOOK in nearby Rock City
• Magico The Magician, magician & hypnotist extrordinaire
• Gina Lolawattage, firefly singer & actress who becomes smitten with her #1 fan, Sparky

Martha Raye as the outrageous Benita Bizarre.

Though peace loving and almost hippy-like, The Bugaloos were pursued by an evil, jealous old crone named Benita Bizarre, played by Martha Raye, who lived in a gigantic jukebox, and used it to broadcast her own brand of blaring, obnoxious, unpleasant music. A terrible singer, she was furious at the popularity of The Bugaloos' more melodic, upbeat sound, and she plotted elaborate, unsuccessful schemes to destroy or enslave the titular protagonists. Benita was aided by two bumbling henchmen, Woofer and Tweeter (Joy Campbell and Van Snowden), and her chauffeur and chief flunky, Funky Rat (Sharon Baird). Raye also appeared the same year in the HR Pufnstuf movie as the Head Witch, and the Funky Rat costume was also used for essentially the same role (the Head Witch's Chauffeur.)

Music

The title song The Bugaloos was written by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox, the songwriters of Killing Me Softly with His Song.^[1] A cover of The Bugaloos, performed by Collective Soul, is included on the 1995 tribute album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, produced by Ralph Sall for MCA Records.

The Bugaloos released an album in 1970 (Capitol Records ST-621), featuring studio recorded versions of the songs performed on the show. The track list is as follows:

Side 1

1. "If You Become a Bugaloo"
2. "The Senses of Our World"
3. "For a Friend"
4. "Believe"
5. "It's New to You"

Side 2

1. "Fly Away With Us"
2. "Older Woman"
3. "Just the Memory Stays Around"
4. "Gna Gna Gna Gna Gna"
5. "Castles in the Air"
6. "The Bugaloos (Theme Song)"

One single was released in conjunction with the album: "For A Friend"/"The Senses Of Our World" (Capitol 2946)

• Note: The track "Just the Memory Stays Around" did not appear in any episode, and is available only on the LP. Also, not all the songs featured on the show were included on the LP.
• The LP was re-released on CD in January 2000 by "Vivid Sound" in Japan and in 2006 by "Cherry Red Records" of London.
• The Bugaloos' theme song was covered by Collective Soul on the tribute album entitled Saturday Morning Cartoons' Greatest Hits (1995).

Notes

External links

• Tranquility Forest -- The Bugaloos!!
• http://www.vicksburg.com/~pegasus/ Fansite
• The Bugaloos at the Internet Movie Database
• World of Krofft - (featuring "Krofft Kollectibles Museum")