D.C. Follies is a syndicated sitcom which aired from 1987–1989. The show was set in a Washington, D.C. bar, where a bartender played by Fred Willard would welcome puppet caricatures of politicians and popular culture figures.[2]
The show's use of puppets that mimicked popular culture and political figures was similar to the British series Spitting Image; it was produced by Sid and Marty Krofft, well-known puppeteers in the United States who were responsible for popular children's television shows including H.R. Pufnstuf[5] and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. The show was originally funded and syndicated nationally by New York-based Syndicast Services Inc.
Frequently appearing puppet characters included
Former Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and then-President Ronald Reagan and Vice-President George H. W. Bush. When Bush was elected President in 1988, Vice-President Dan Quayle also became a regular. The former and current presidents were portrayed as having a special Presidents' Table at the bar, where they sat together.
A series of three "Best of D. C. Follies" VHS tapes were released, with each volume containing two episodes.[8]
On August 4, 2017, Shout! Factory announced they had acquired the rights to the series and subsequently released D.C. Follies – The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 on November 14, 2017.[9]
^D.C. Follies - 'The Complete Series' Starring Fred Willard, from Sid and Marty Krofft! Shout! Factory to release a 4-DVD set into stores this fall 2017-08-05 at the Wayback Machine
^Best in Show: Watch Fred Willard's Most Memorable Roles - The New York Times
follies, syndicated, sitcom, which, aired, from, 1987, 1989, show, washington, where, bartender, played, fred, willard, would, welcome, puppet, caricatures, politicians, popular, culture, figures, genrecomedycreated, bysid, marty, krofftwritten, bylarry, arnst. D C Follies is a syndicated sitcom which aired from 1987 1989 The show was set in a Washington D C bar where a bartender played by Fred Willard would welcome puppet caricatures of politicians and popular culture figures 2 D C FolliesGenreComedyCreated bySid amp Marty KrofftWritten byLarry ArnsteinWayne KlineBob Dolan SmithJohn DebilisMike KirchenbaumE Jeffrey SmithJeff ZimmerDirected byRick LockePresented byFred WillardStarringMaurice LaMarcheJoe AlaskeyCountry of originUnited StatesOriginal languageEnglishNo of seasons2No of episodes44ProductionProducerSid amp Marty KrofftRunning time30 minutesProduction companiesSid amp Marty Krofft PicturesNegative Entertainment 1987 1988 Cannon Films 1988 1989 1 DistributorAccess SyndicationReleaseOriginal networkSyndicationOriginal releaseSeptember 26 1987 1987 09 26 September 1 1989 1989 09 01 Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Style 3 Frequently appearing puppet characters included 4 Accolades 5 Home media 6 References 7 External linksSynopsis EditThe show a satire made frequent sardonic comments on cold war and late 1980s politics and pop culture Although Willard was the only live actor appearing regularly each episode featured a celebrity guest including Martin Mull Robin Leach Leslie Nielsen Bob Uecker and Betty White In one episode Robert Englund showed up as his Freddy Krueger character and in a special Christmas episode an un billed actor played Santa Claus 3 4 Style EditThe show s use of puppets that mimicked popular culture and political figures was similar to the British series Spitting Image it was produced by Sid and Marty Krofft well known puppeteers in the United States who were responsible for popular children s television shows including H R Pufnstuf 5 and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters The show was originally funded and syndicated nationally by New York based Syndicast Services Inc Frequently appearing puppet characters included EditFormer Presidents Richard Nixon Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter and then President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H W Bush When Bush was elected President in 1988 Vice President Dan Quayle also became a regular The former and current presidents were portrayed as having a special Presidents Table at the bar where they sat together First Ladies Nancy Reagan Barbara Bush and Marilyn Quayle Woody Allen Jim Bakker and his then wife Tammy Faye Bakker Cher Sam Donaldson Senator Robert Dole Governor Michael Dukakis Whoopi Goldberg Katharine Hepburn Rev Jesse Jackson Michael Jackson Don King Henry Kissinger Ted Koppel Madonna Sean Penn Edwin Meese Oliver North Tip O Neill Dolly Parton John Poindexter Dan Rather Geraldo Rivera Pat Robertson Sylvester Stallone Oprah Winfrey British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth II Prince Charles and his then wife Princess Diana Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and wife Raisa Gorbacheva Pope John Paul II Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeni Sid and Marty Krofft themselves as newspaper vendors 6 Accolades EditThe series was nominated for two Emmy Awards 7 Home media EditA series of three Best of D C Follies VHS tapes were released with each volume containing two episodes 8 On August 4 2017 Shout Factory announced they had acquired the rights to the series and subsequently released D C Follies The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 on November 14 2017 9 The show has been made available via video on demand at Amazon Video and iTunes 10 References Edit BFI WILLARD GIVES D C FOLLIES A HUMAN TOUCH Chicago Tribune Fred Willard on DC Follies TelevisionAcademy com Interviews FoundationINTERVIEWS on YouTube An Interview with Fred Willard About His Delightful Career Vulture No Strings Attached The Puppet Satire of D C Follies Mental Floss D C Follies Guests Are Full of Foam Los Angeles Times Television Academy VHS Collector D C Follies The Complete Series Starring Fred Willard from Sid and Marty Krofft Shout Factory to release a 4 DVD set into stores this fall Archived 2017 08 05 at the Wayback Machine Best in Show Watch Fred Willard s Most Memorable Roles The New York TimesExternal links EditD C Follies at IMDb Official website Sid and Marty Krofft interview about the show Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title D C Follies amp oldid 1093267363, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
