D.C. Follies
| D.C. Follies | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | Sid & Marty Krofft |
| Written by |
Larry Arnstein Steve Barker Wayne Kline Bob Dolan Smith John Debilis Mike Kirchenbaum E. Jeffrey Smith Jeff Zimmer |
| Directed by | Rick Locke |
| Presented by | Fred Willard |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 33 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Sid & Marty Krofft |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures Cannon Films (1988-1989) Negative Entertainment (1987-1988) |
| Distributor |
Access Syndication (1987-1988) Raymond Horn Syndication (1988-1989) MGM International Television Distribution (current) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Syndication |
| Original release | 26 September 1987 – 1 September 1989 |
D.C. Follies is a syndicated sitcom which aired from 1987–1989 and was set in a Washington, D.C. bar, where bartender Fred Willard would welcome puppet caricatures of politicians and pop culture figures. The show was satirical, and frequently commented on politicians and the political process. Although Willard was the only live actor appearing regularly, each episode brought a celebrity guest into the bar, such as Martin Mull, Robin Leach, Bob Uecker, and Betty White. In one episode, Robert Englund showed up as his Freddie Kruger character, and in a special Christmas episode an un-billed actor played Santa Claus. Another episode had Mike Tyson confront his own puppet character.
The show's use of puppets that mimicked pop 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 The Banana Splits, H.R. Pufnstuf, and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. The show was originally funded and syndicated nationally by New York based Syndicast Services Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Australian based Network Media Limited. The show aired in prime time (7:30 pm in Los Angeles, but 12:30 in Portland and Chicago, or 11:45 in New York City, but 1:30 am in Washington, D.C.).
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, where they sat together.
- First Ladies Nancy Reagan, and 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
- Pope John Paul II
- Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeni
Video releases
A series of three "Best of D. C. Follies" VHS tapes were released, with each volume containing two episodes.
The show has been made available via video on demand at Hulu, Amazon Video, and iTunes.