Kukla, Fran and Ollie

Kukla, Fran and Ollie was a legendary show performed by Burr Tillstrom, Fran Allison and his puppet partner Kukla. The show started as a continuity weekly (Monday through Friday) series airing in Chicago and subsequently went to NBC and ABC in the US and the BBC in the UK in the 1950s. The show ended its run in 1957, but the name 'Kukla, Fran and Ollie' lives on as an emblem of wholesome television entertainment.

Vocal technique

Fran Allison, as a singer, has a wonderful, light, and delicate voice with a sweet timbre and perfect intonation. Her unique vocal technique is combining a beautifully supported, light voice with crystal-clear diction and gentle vibrato. Fran's voice was capable of melting the toughest of hearts.

How to learn it

• Breathing basics: Fran managed her voice due to superior breath control.
• Voice registers: Learn how to distinguish voice registers and understand how to properly use chest, head, and mixed voice.
• A Mixed Voice Registry Exercise: This video explains how to manage the challenging mixed voice registry.
• Open mouth and throat: To achieve excellent articulation, proper breathing, and tone production, we have to open the mouth and throat.
• Singing with Vibrato Exercise: This video is a great way to learn how to relax your throat and use your breath more effectively, just like Fran did.
• Vibrato Exercise with Diaphragm bounce: This video helps to tie everything together by teaching you how to use your diaphragm to control your breathing.

Songs to sing

To showcase Fran's singing style, try working on the following songs:

• 'Whistle While You Work' from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
• 'Meet Me In St. Louis' from Meet Me in St. Louis
• 'My Funny Valentine' by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart

Practical advice

To master Fran's singing style, focus on:

• Supporting the breath, getting tension-free throat and tongue muscles
• Sustaining your notes
• Having clear and precise diction

Singing Carrots resources

Singing Carrots has countless resources to help you on your singing journey. Check out our vocal range test, pitch accuracy test, vocal pitch monitor, pitch training, song search, artist vocal ranges, songbook, progress statistics, singing course, and articles on breathing, voice registers, open mouth and throat, vocal health, how posture affects singing, emotion control, and more. Additionally, to help you develop a lighter, more delicate voice like Fran's, see the exercises to improve vibrato, chest, and voice registers, and diaphragm support videos.