Sigmund and the Sea Monsters

Let me tell you a tale, a very scary tale, about two boys who were surfing one day, on a very weird beach 'round Dead Man's Point where there are haunted sea caves, they say...

Following "Lidsville" came a vehicle for yet another rising teen heartthrob (who would soon be forgotten). "Sigmund and the Sea Monsters" starred Johnny Whitaker, a youngster who'd first gained attention on the hit sitcom "Family Affair," who went on to star in several films for Disney. One day at the beach, Sid Krofft noticed a mound of seaweed floating near the shore. As the tide rolled in and rolled out, it looked as if the seaweed was a monster, dancing playfully in the water. This sparked the idea for Sid's next show.

Sigmund (Billy Barty) was a young sea monster who wound up in the care of two boys -- much to the chagrin of his family, who wanted Sigmund to turn to a life of evil. The boys hid the sea monster in their clubhouse, always trying to keep their housekeeper (Mary Wickes) and nosy neighbor (frequent guest star Margaret Hamilton) from seeing him. The parents were noticeably absent, and I don't think their absence was ever explained (though most kid characters on Krofft shows had no contact with their parents -- perhaps that's why their shows were so successful!).

The first Krofft show to make it past season one, the flamboyant Rip Taylor was added as a genie in the second season... once again proving that the Kroffts were having a gay old time (as if Margaret Hamilton wasn't enough for one show!).

In May 1973, during the filming of the opening episode of season two, a light came crashing down on the Styrofoam cave set, igniting a fire that obliterated the entire Sigmund stage (along with the neighboring "Barnaby Jones" sets) and sent Rip Taylor running in "fish drag" and flippers all the way down Hollywood Boulevard back to the hotel where he was staying. One cameraman sustained severe third degree burns and two others were injured but everyone else escaped unscathed. Production was shut down for three weeks, as everything had to be rebuilt from the ground up.

Unlike Butch Patrick, Johnny Whitaker readily agreed to sing... though his singing skills were somewhat questionable. The songwriters, however, had a proven track record -- songwriters Danny Janssen ("The Partridge Family," "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!") and Bobby Hart (The Monkees) who'd collaborated a few years earlier on "Josie and the Pussycats," wrote the original songs for the show. Whitaker sang three different theme songs for the show, and most of the songs from the first season made it to Whitaker's album "Friends... Music from the Television Series Sigmund and the Sea Monsters." Sid wanted the series to open with a song that told the backstory -- as all of his previous shows did -- but the studio insisted on using "Friends" as the original theme song to promote the album. When Season 2 rolled around, "Friends" was dropped from the opening credits and replaced with an original tune. mp3s of the album began circulating online, and were later available as a digital download for people who bought the 2011 Vivendi re-release of Season 1 of the series.

Should be noted that on July 29, 1973, the Kroffts hit the stage for a performance that would gain wide exposure decades later. Headlined by the Brady Bunch Kids (who were touring the country at the time), their Hollywood Bowl show featured Whitaker (whose series debuted a week later), Jack Wild, and a host of Krofft regulars ranging from Pufnstuf to Hoodoo the Great. The show was professionally filmed and broadcast in syndication over Thanksgiving weekend that November. 22 years later, a heavily truncated version of the show premiered on Nick at Nite (Witchipoo, Hoodoo and many other characters were excised), it was released uncut on VHS in 1998, and TV Land aired both the cut and uncut versions frequently after the turn of the century.The way it was edited, it appears that Whitaker opened the show with his rendition of "Friends." Unfortunately, he was clearly very nervous and lipsynching would-be hit "Friends" to a pre-recorded track. Not his finest moment.