“Here we are, back with you again!”

Join us to watch select episodes of Kukla, Fran and Ollie on the big screen in our Robert R. McCormick Theater. Be sure to also visit Madame Ooglepuss in Chicago: Crossroads of America on the second floor.

In 1947, puppeteer Burr Tillstrom brought an extraordinary troupe of performers already familiar to many Chicagoans to local television station WBKB. Joined by their front-of-stage friend Fran Allison, the Kuklapolitans—Oliver J. Dragon, Beulah Witch, Cecil Bill, Madame Ooglepuss, Fletcher Rabbit, Colonel Crackie, and Kukla himself—were welcomed into hundreds of thousands of American homes on network television shows of a variety of lengths and formats in the 1950s. Working without a script, the cast of Kukla, Fran and Ollie improvised conversations about everyday life laced with humor, astute commentary on current events, original music, and perennial features. While the show left network air in 1957 due to cost issues, in 1970 it reappeared on PBS for a 26-part series produced by WTTW.

Included with general admission.