The Bugaloos facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Bugaloos
Title card
Genre	Children's television series Comedy
Created by	Sid and Marty Krofft
Starring	John McIndoe Caroline Ellis John Philpott Wayne Laryea Martha Raye Billy Barty Sharon Baird Joy Campbell Van Snowden
Voices of	Walker Edmiston Joan Gerber
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	17 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	Sid and Marty Krofft
Running time	0:22 (per episode)
Production company(s)	Sid & Marty Krofft Television Productions
Distributor	CBS Television Distribution
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 12, 1970 (1970-09-12) – September 2, 1972 (1972-09-02)

The Bugaloos is a fun American TV show for kids. It was made by brothers Sid and Marty Krofft. The show first aired on NBC on Saturday mornings from 1970 to 1972.

Later, you could watch reruns of the show every day from 1978 to 1985. It was part of a special group of seven Krofft shows. The series is about a music group of four British teenagers. They wear cool insect-themed outfits. They are always trying to escape the tricky plans of Benita Bizarre, a character played by Martha Raye.

What is The Bugaloos About?

The story of The Bugaloos happens in a magical place called Tranquility Forest. The main characters are a popular teenage band called The Bugaloos. They dress up like insects with wings and antennae. They can even fly using their wings! Sometimes, they fly on surfboards too.

The Bugaloos are peaceful and friendly. But they are always chased by an unfriendly, jealous old lady named Benita Bizarre. She lives in a giant jukebox. She uses it to play her own loud and annoying "music."

Benita is not a good singer. She gets very angry because The Bugaloos' music is so popular and cheerful. She often plans complicated ways to stop them or make them her slaves. She uses a strong weapon called the Stereo Zapper. This device can make anyone fall asleep very quickly. The Bugaloos sometimes travel in their "Bugaloo Buggy." This colorful car was specially made for the show by George Barris.

Meet the Characters of The Bugaloos

The Bugaloos Band Members

• I.Q. (played by John McIndoe) - He is a grasshopper who plays the guitar. He also sings the main vocals for the band.
• Harmony (Wayne Laryea) - She is a bumblebee. Harmony plays the keyboard and sings backup.
• Courage (John Philpott) - He is a ladybug. Courage plays the drums and sings backup vocals.
• Joy (Caroline Ellis) - She is a butterfly. Joy plays percussion instruments and sings both lead and backup vocals.

The Villains of Tranquility Forest

• Benita Bizarre (Martha Raye) - She is a jealous, untalented, and mean old lady. Martha Raye also played a similar character, the Boss Witch, in the H.R. Pufnstuf movie. This helped her get the role of Benita.
• Woofer and Tweeter (played by Joy Campbell and Van Snowden, with voices by Walker Edmiston and Joan Gerber) - These are two talking stereo speakers. They are Benita's clumsy helpers who always agree with her.
• Funky Rat (played by Sharon Baird, voiced by Walker Edmiston) - He is Benita's driver and main helper. He speaks with a German accent. The Funky Rat costume was also used for a similar character in Pufnstuf.

Other Fun Characters

• Sparky (played by Billy Barty, voiced by Walker Edmiston) - He is a friendly firefly that The Bugaloos take care of.
• Nutty Bird - This bird delivers messages to and from The Bugaloos.
• Peter Platter (voiced by Walker Edmiston) - He is a DJ for radio station KOOK in Rock City.
  • Mike (voiced by Joan Gerber) - Mike is Peter Platter's talking microphone. He is quite sassy!
• Magico The Magician (voiced by Walker Edmiston) - A very talented magician and hypnotist.
• Gina Lolawattage (voiced by Joan Gerber) - She is a firefly singer and actress. She really likes Sparky, who is her biggest fan.
• Bluebell Flower (voiced by Joan Gerber) - This is a giant talking flower. She warns The Bugaloos about danger, like Benita's latest plans. She acts like their "alarm bell."
• The Grapevine (voiced by Joan Gerber) - This is a bunch of talking grapes. They help Bluebell share bad news with The Bugaloos. This is a fun nod to the famous song "I Heard it Through the Grapevine."

The Music of The Bugaloos

Hal Yoergler was the music director for the show. He wrote many of the songs and produced The Bugaloos album in 1970. The lyrics for the show's main theme song were written by Norman Gimbel. The music was composed by Charles Fox.

Gimbel and Fox also wrote other famous songs. These include "Killing Me Softly with His Song" and theme songs for shows like Happy Days and The New Adventures of Wonder Woman. The band Collective Soul even covered The Bugaloos theme song. It was on a 1995 tribute album called Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits.

The Bugaloos released an album in 1970 through Capitol Records. It had studio versions of some songs from the show. Here are the songs on the album:

Side 1

• "If You Become a Bugaloo"
• "The Senses of Our World"
• "For a Friend"
• "Believe"
• "It's New to You"

Side 2

• "Fly Away With Us"
• "Older Woman"
• "Just the Memory Stays Around"
• "Gna Gna Gna Gna Gna"
• "Castles in the Air"
• "The Bugaloos (Theme Song)"

One song from the album, "For a Friend," became a small hit. It appeared on the Billboard music chart in December 1970. The song "Just the Memory Stays Around" was only on the album and not in any episode. The album was re-released on CD in 2000 and 2006.

The Bugaloos recorded 15 songs in total. Besides the 11 on the album, four more songs were in the TV show but were never officially released. These songs are:

• "Sparky"
• "I'm As Happy As Can Be"
• "I Really Love You"
• "Flicker Town"

List of Episodes

The Bugaloos on Home Video

The complete Bugaloos TV series was released on DVD in May 2006. This set included all 17 original episodes. They were digitally cleaned up and shown uncut.

The DVD also had special features. These included comments from creator Sid Krofft and director Tony Charmoli on the first episode. Cast members John Philpott, Caroline Ellis, and John McIndoe also shared their thoughts on some episodes. They were interviewed too. Plus, there was a video jukebox with songs from the show and a photo gallery. You could even take an interactive I.Q. Test hosted by John McIndoe!

Future Plans for The Bugaloos

At Comic Con in 2015, Sid and Marty Krofft shared exciting news. They wanted to create a new version of The Bugaloos for younger kids. There were rumors that singer Cyndi Lauper might play Benita Bizarre.

In 2017, at another Comic Con, they showed a preview of a pilot episode. This pilot was made for Nickelodeon. It featured Lise Simms as Benita Bizarre. However, in May 2018, Marty Krofft said in a radio interview that Nickelodeon did not pick up the pilot. He mentioned they were re-filming the pilot. He also said that Randy Jackson would be involved with the music.

The Bugaloos in Pop Culture

The Bugaloos is a special childhood memory for the two main characters in the 2000 movie The Tao of Steve. Syd (Greer Goodman) and Dex (Donal Logue) discover they both had Bugaloos stickers on their Josie and the Pussycats lunchboxes when they were kids. This helps them become friends.