ECP Episode 338: Kukla, Fran and Ollie - "Fran's Birthday" (November 20, 1950)
Fran celebrates her birthday, and I learn where to find celebrity photos
338: Kukla, Fran and Ollie – “Fran’s Birthday”
What I watched: An episode of the early children's show Kukla, Fran and Ollie. The series starred the titular Fran Allison, with all other roles being played by series creator and puppeteer Burr Tilstrom. "Fran’s Birthday" was directed by Lewis Gomavitz and aired on Monday, November 20, 1950 at 7:00 PM on NBC. Video is available on the official KFO YouTube channel.
What happened: We open with Kukla and Ollie starting to make an angelfood cake, which is meant to be a surprise for Fran’s birthay. They both have cute little monogrammed hats. Madame Ooglepus arrives and is shocked to hear thet Fran is having another birthday. I’ve been there. Kukla mixes in a very generous amount of salt, pepper, and baking soda, enough to make himself sneeze.
Fran pops up, forcing Kukla to hide his work. Kukla says he’s going to a masquerade party to explain his outfit. Fran talks about going on a trip to Youngstown, Ohio for holiday shopping with Buelah Witch. Ollie pops up and is promptly unable to keep the secret. Fran promises she’ll act like she’s still surprised.
Kukla and Ollie continue making the cake. Fletcher appears, and is ashamed to learn that he’s forgotten Fran’s birthday. Kukla tells him he can contribute by adding some milk to the cake. Ollie says he’s getting Fran the RCA Victor opera album, of course. Probably got it as a comp. They both listen to the serious opera, and are serious together. Ollie is trying to sincerely convey opera appreciation, while Kukla is just worried about the cake. Ollie sings a Happy Birthday song to the tune of one of the arias.
Sadly, all this goofing around (and possibly Kukla’s overuse of baking powder) has resulted in a cake that’s a flat disc, resembling a 45 record more than anything edible. They decide to try again. Meanwhile, Madame Ooglepuss sings another operatic Happy Birthday song to Fran, congratulating her for not being as old as Madame O herself.
In a suspiciously short amount of time, Kukla and Ollie have produced a new cake, one that seems to have collapsed in on itself. Reminds me of my attempts at baking. When Kukla tries to put a candle in, it collapses like a balloon. Fran sings a little bit of “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve”, since they’re being so proactive about their holiday plans.
What I thought: November 20 was, in fact, Fran’s birthday, so this was an episode that was actually in line with the date it was celebrating (at least if you were on one of the stations that got KFO live.) It’s a fun little thing that the show can do annually, and it’s fun when Buelah comments “again?” But how come we’re never celebrating any of the other Kuklapolitans’ birthdays? Nobody did anything for Cecil Bill’s birthday!
Most of this episode is in the format of a cooking show, although I’m not sure how popular that was as a genre at this point in the TV. However, it’s played more for comedy than educational value, unlike some of the previous cooking and crafting on KFO. To be honest, I don’t have too much to say about this episode. It was fun!
TV Guide: Continuing to work our way through that issue of the Mirror, we have a “letters to the editor” section that seems to just be simple factual requests or to show a picture of a radio star. I guess this is what people had to do in the pre-Wikipedia days. It’s kind of charming.
Coming up next: We dip into the backlog for At Home, and then return to the Kuklapolitans for “Ollie’s Culture Corner.”