Shari Lewis
Encyclopedia
Shari Lewis was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 ventriloquist, puppeteer
Puppeteer
A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, such as a puppet, in real time to create the illusion of life. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience. A puppeteer can operate a puppet indirectly by the use of strings, rods, wires, electronics or directly by his or...

, and children's television show host, most popular during the 1960s and 1990s. She was best known as the original puppeteer of Lamb Chop
Lamb Chop (puppet)
Lamb Chop is a sock puppet sheep created by comedian and ventriloquist Shari Lewis. In 1957, Lamb Chop, a ewe, first appeared with Lewis on Hi Mom, a local morning show that aired on WNBC in New York....

, first appearing on Hi Mom, a local morning show that aired on WNBC
WNBC
WNBC, virtual channel 4 , is the flagship station of the NBC television network, located in New York City. WNBC's studios are co-located with NBC corporate headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan...

 in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.

Early life

Lewis was born as Sonia Phyllis Hurwitz to Abraham Hurwitz, an education professor at Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...

, and Ann Ritz. She had one sister. Her parents encouraged her to perform, and by age 13 her father taught her to perform specialized magic acts. He had been named New York City's "official magician" by Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia
Fiorello H. LaGuardia
Fiorello Henry LaGuardia was Mayor of New York for three terms from 1934 to 1945 as a liberal Republican. Previously he was elected to Congress in 1916 and 1918, and again from 1922 through 1930. Irascible, energetic and charismatic, he craved publicity and is acclaimed as one of the three or...

 during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

. She also received instruction in acrobatics
Acrobatics
Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports...

, juggling
Juggling
Juggling is a skill involving moving objects for entertainment or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling, in which the juggler throws objects up to catch and toss up again. This may be one object or many objects, at the same time with one or many hands. Jugglers often refer...

, ice skating, baton twirling, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

. She was taught ventriloquism
Ventriloquism
Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is an act of stagecraft in which a person manipulates his or her voice so that it appears that the voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered "dummy"...

 by John W. Cooper
John W. Cooper
John W. Cooper was an African-American ventriloquist of the early 20th century. He was the first black ventriloquist on the predominantly white vaudeville circuit, and later in his life taught ventriloquism to Shari Lewis....

. Lewis continued piano and violin at New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

's High School of Music and Art
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts is a high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Center and the Juilliard School in the Lincoln Center district of Manhattan, on Amsterdam Avenue...

, dance at the American School of Ballet
School of American Ballet
The School of American Ballet is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The school trains students from the...

, and acting with Sanford Meisner
Sanford Meisner
Sanford Meisner , also known as Sandy, was an American actor and acting teacher who developed a form of Method acting that is now known as the Meisner technique....

 of the Neighborhood Playhouse
Neighborhood Playhouse
The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre is an actor training school at 340 East 54th Street in New York City, generally associated with the Meisner technique of Sanford Meisner.-History:...

. She attended Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...

 for one year, then left college to go into show business
Show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz, is a vernacular term for all aspects of entertainment. The word applies to all aspects of the entertainment industry from the business side to the creative element ....

.

Career

In 1952, Lewis and her puppetry won first prize on the TV show Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts is an American radio and television variety show which ran on CBS from 1946 until 1958...

. On Sunday afternoon, July 5, 1953, Lewis made her TV debut on a local children's program Facts N'Fun on WRCA-TV
WNBC
WNBC, virtual channel 4 , is the flagship station of the NBC television network, located in New York City. WNBC's studios are co-located with NBC corporate headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan...

 Channel 4 in New York City. The program was a variety show where she engaged her viewers and studio audiences in games, songs, stories, craftmaking, informational segments and interviews with guest performers and personalities. She also performed comedy skits with two vent figures: "Samson" and "Taffy Twinkle". The series remained on the air until September 26, 1953.

Later in fall 1953, she succeeded Ted Steel as the second and last MC
Master of Ceremonies
A Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....

 of Kartoon Klub on WPIX-TV Channel 11. Again, Lewis would host a variety format with a live studio audience and perform with two vent figures: "Randy Rocket" and "Taffy Twinkle". But the series would be set against the backdrop of an enchanted realm "Kartoonia" and also feature reruns of Crusader Rabbit
Crusader Rabbit
Crusader Rabbit is the first animated series produced specifically for television. The concept was test marketed in 1948, while the initial episode - Crusader vs. the State of Texas - aired on KNBH in Los Angeles, California on August 1, 1950....

cartoons. (Info about Lewis hosting Facts N'Fun and Kartoon Klub can be found in "The NYC Kids Shows Round Up" section of TV Party.com)

Kartoon Klub became a popular NYC children's show and later changed its title to Shari & Her Friends on Saturday, September 23, 1956.

In March 1956, Lewis made a guest appearance on Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo is a children's television series which aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for nearly 30 years, from October 3, 1955 until December 8, 1984, making it the longest-running children's television program of its day...

. It was on this children's program that she utilized "Lamb Chop" for the first time.

A year later, she would MC Shariland. Again, set against the backdrop of fairytale realm, Lewis and her puppets "Lamb Chop", "Charlie Horse", "Hush Puppy" and "Wing Ding" entertained and informed their viewers on WPIX TV Channel 11 in NYC from Saturday, October 13, 1956 to Saturday December 22, 1956.

The series was rerun on WRCA-TV in NYC from Saturday, August 16, 1957 to August 16, 1958 and won a NYC Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

 as "Best Children's Program". Lewis also briefly served as the first host performer of Hi Mom on WRCA TV Ch. 4 in NYC weekday mornings from Thursday, August 15, 1957 to Friday, March 20, 1959 and the show won a local Emmy.

Lewis hosted her first network children's program The Shari Lewis Show
The Shari Lewis Show
The Shari Lewis Show was an American Saturday morning television program for children which appeared on NBC from 1960 to 1963.The show starred Shari Lewis who was both the show's host and the puppeteer for the characters Lamb Chop, Hush Puppy and Charlie Horse. The show also starred Ronald Radd who...

, which made its debut on the NBC Television network on October 1, 1960. The show ran until September 28, 1963, and featured such characters as Hush Puppy, Charlie Horse, Lamb Chop, and Wing Ding, a black crow. Lamb Chop, who was little more than a sock with eyes, served as a sassy alter-ego for Lewis. Hush Puppy had a Southern accent and a reserved shy personality, while Charlie Horse was a slow-witted goofy character. Guest TV and movie personalities and even occasional stars often appeared on her show, as they did later on Jim Henson's Muppet series.

Capturing kids' imaginations in the early 60s, consumer versions of Lewis's initial three puppets sold briskly. Subsequent television programs re-introduced these characters (minus the black crow, whose characterization became more problematic after the 1960s) to a new generation of children.

In 1968, she and her then-husband, Jeremy Tarcher co-wrote the episode "The Lights of Zetar" for the original series of Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...

.

In 1992, her new Emmy-winning show Lamb Chop's Play-Along
Lamb Chop's Play-Along
Lamb Chop's Play-Along is a children's television series that was shown on PBS in the United States from 1992 until 1997, as well as on YTV in Canada. It was created and hosted by puppeteer Shari Lewis, and featured her puppet character Lamb Chop. Appropriately, Lamb Chop was a sheep; other...

began a five-year run on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....

. Lewis starred in another hit PBS series, The Charlie Horse Music Pizza
Charlie Horse Music Pizza
Charlie Horse Music Pizza is a children's television show that was shown on PBS in the United States from January to May 1998. Re-runs aired until late 1999. It is a spin-off of the series Lamb Chop's Play Along, and features the original cast from that show, including host Shari Lewis.The show...

, which was one of her last projects before her death. The video Lamb Chop's Special Chanukah was released in 1996 and received the Parents' Choice award of the year.

Personal Life

"Shari" Hurwitz acquired the name Lewis by a brief marriage. By her second marriage to Jeremy Tarcher in 1958, she had one daughter, Mallory.

When Lewis appeared before Congress in 1993 to testify in favor of protections for children's television, Lamb Chop was granted permission to speak. Lamb Chop's passionate, well-informed and vivid testimony made an indelible impression.

Shari Lewis was diagnosed with uterine cancer
Uterine cancer
The term uterine cancer may refer to any of several different types of cancer which occur in the uterus, namely:*Uterine sarcomas: sarcomas of the myometrium, or muscular layer of the uterus, are most commonly leiomyosarcomas.*Endometrial cancer:...

 in June 1998. While undergoing treatment at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Originally established as Kaspare Cohn Hospital in 1902, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, tertiary 958-bed hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre located in Los Angeles, California, US. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over...

 on August 2, 1998, she developed viral pneumonia
Viral pneumonia
Viral pneumonia is a pneumonia caused by a virus.Viruses are one of the two major causes of pneumonia, the other being bacteria; less common causes are fungi and parasites...

 and died at the age of 65. Her remains were cremated. She was survived by her husband, daughter and sister.

Awards/Honors

Lewis was the recipient of numerous awards during her lifetime, including:
  • 12 Emmy Award
    Emmy Award
    An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

    s
  • Peabody Award
    Peabody Award
    The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...

     (1960)
  • Monte Carlo Prize for the World's Best Television Variety Show (1963)
  • John F. Kennedy Center Award
    Kennedy Center Honors
    The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. The Honors have been presented annually since 1978 in Washington, D.C., during gala weekend-long events which culminate in a performance for—and...

     for Excellence and Creativity (1983)
  • 7 Parents' Choice Award
    Parents' Choice Award
    The Parents' Choice Award is an award presented by the non-profit Parents' Choice Foundation to recognize "the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels." It is considered a "prestigious" award among children's products, and has been...

    s
  • Action for Children's Television Award
  • 1995 American Academy of Children's Entertainment award for Entertainer of the Year
  • Dor L'Dor award of the B'nai B'rith
    B'nai B'rith
    B'nai B'rith International |Covenant]]" is the oldest continually operating Jewish service organization in the world. It was initially founded as the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith in New York City, on , 1843, by Henry Jones and 11 others....

     (1996)
  • 3 Houston Film Festival awards
  • Silver Circle Award of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
    National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
    The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences or NATAS was created in 1955 to advance the arts and sciences of television. Headquartered in New York, NATAS's membership is national and the organization has local chapters around the country....

     (1996)
  • Film Advisory Board Award of Excellence (1996)
  • 2 Charleston Film Festival Gold Awards (1995)
  • Houston World Festival silver and bronze awards (1995)
  • New York Film and Video Festival Silver Award (1995)
  • In 1998, she was posthumously awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.


In addition to writing over 60 books for children, she and her second husband wrote an episode for the third and final season of the original Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...

series entitled "The Lights of Zetar". This was produced in 1968. Lewis had hoped to play the part of "Lt. Mira Romaine," but the role was given to actress Jan Shutan.

Family

Her first husband was Stan Lewis. Her second husband, who survived her, was publisher Jeremy Tarcher, a brother of the novelist Judith Krantz
Judith Krantz
Judith Krantz , is an American novelist who writes in the romance genre. Her works include Scruples, Princess Daisy, and Till We Meet Again.-Early years:...

.

Lewis's daughter, Mallory Tarcher, wrote for the shows Lamb Chop's Play-Along and The Charlie Horse Music Pizza. She legally changed her name to Mallory Lewis
Mallory Lewis
Mallory Hurwitz Lewis is an American writer, television producer, and puppeteer. Lamb Chop is a "sock puppet" of the mother and daughter. Like Shari's daughter, Lamb Chop remains a "sister" legacy to Mallory.-Early life:Mallory Lewis was born Mallory Tarcher in New York City...

, and in 2000, she resumed her mother's work with the Lamb Chop character.

Television shows

  • Shariland - 1956–1958
  • The Shari Lewis Show
    The Shari Lewis Show
    The Shari Lewis Show was an American Saturday morning television program for children which appeared on NBC from 1960 to 1963.The show starred Shari Lewis who was both the show's host and the puppeteer for the characters Lamb Chop, Hush Puppy and Charlie Horse. The show also starred Ronald Radd who...

    - 1960
  • The Shari Lewis Show (BBC
    BBC
    The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

    ) - 1975
  • The Shari Show (syndicated) - 1975–1976
  • Lamb Chop's Play-Along
    Lamb Chop's Play-Along
    Lamb Chop's Play-Along is a children's television series that was shown on PBS in the United States from 1992 until 1997, as well as on YTV in Canada. It was created and hosted by puppeteer Shari Lewis, and featured her puppet character Lamb Chop. Appropriately, Lamb Chop was a sheep; other...

    - 1992–1997
  • Charlie Horse Music Pizza
    Charlie Horse Music Pizza
    Charlie Horse Music Pizza is a children's television show that was shown on PBS in the United States from January to May 1998. Re-runs aired until late 1999. It is a spin-off of the series Lamb Chop's Play Along, and features the original cast from that show, including host Shari Lewis.The show...

    - 1998

Specials

  • Lamb Chop's Sing-Along, Play-Along - 1988
  • Don't Wake Your Mom! - 1989
  • Lamb Chop in the Land of No Manners - 1989
  • Lamb Chop in the Land of No Numbers - 1993
  • Lamb Chop and the Haunted Studio - 1994
  • Lamb Chop's Special Chanukah - 1995
  • Shari's Passover Surprise - 1996

Episodic TV appearances

  • Lewis was included on the long list of entertainers who appeared on ABC
    American Broadcasting Company
    The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

    's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom
    The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom
    The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom is a half-hour variety show that aired on ABC from October 3, 1957 to June 23, 1960, starring the young singer Pat Boone and a host of top-name guest stars. The program was of course sponsored by Chevrolet...

    , a variety
    Variety show
    A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...

     series, which aired from 1957-1960.

  • Lewis appeared on April 14, 1960, and again on January 12, 1961, on NBC
    NBC
    The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

    's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford
    The Ford Show
    The Ford Show is a half-hour comedy/variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired in color on NBC television on Thursday evenings from October 4, 1956 to June 29, 1961....

    .

  • In "The Off-Broadway Affair", a 1966 episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
    The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
    The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...

    , Lewis guest starred as a perky, somewhat ditzy understudy
    Understudy
    In theater, an understudy is a performer who learns the lines and blocking/choreography of a regular actor or actress in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to appear on stage because of illness or emergencies, the understudy takes over the part...

    .

  • Lewis (and Lamb Chop) guest-starred on Episode 2.20, "Lamb Chop's on the Menu", of the sitcom The Nanny
    The Nanny (TV series)
    The Nanny is an American television sitcom co-produced by Sternin & Fraser Ink, Inc., and Fran Drescher in association with TriStar Television for the CBS network...

    , which premiered on February 13, 1995.

  • Lewis guest-starred on Episode 1.20, "How High is Up", of the sitcom Car 54, Where Are You?
    Car 54, Where Are You?
    Car 54, Where Are You? is an American sitcom that ran on NBC from 1961 to 1963. Episodes had various directors, the most recognized being Al De Caprio. Stanley Prager and Nat Hiken also directed several episodes. Most of its filming was on location in The Bronx, and at Biograph...

    ,which premiered on February 4, 1962.

Discography

  • Fun in Shariland originally released in 1958 on RCA Victor records, and re-released on RCA Camden Record in 1960
  • Hi Kids! on Shout! Factory
    Shout! Factory
    Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...

     CD, originally released in 1959 on Golden Records

Cultural references

  • In the episode "Dummy for Love" on Season 2 of the sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Salem the cat has digitally inserted images of himself with various celebrities such as Mother Teresa
    Mother Teresa
    Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...

     to give to Zelda so she will put in a good word for him at the Witches Council, hoping for leniency. Later, Zelda finds a hidden photo of him and Shari Lewis, and Salem nervously mumbles, "That's from my personal collection." And at the end of the episode Salem tries to pay Cupid
    Cupid
    In Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of desire, affection and erotic love. He is the son of the goddess Venus and the god Mars. His Greek counterpart is Eros...

     in anchovies to make Shari fall in love with him. Cupid declines stating that its against his principles and because Salem is a cat and she is Shari Lewis.

  • In the episode "Summer Sucks
    Summer Sucks
    "Summer Sucks" is the eight episode of the second season of the animated television series South Park, and the 21st episode of the series overall...

    " on Season 2 of "South Park
    South Park
    South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...

    ", Mr. Garrison, angered over the theft of his hand-puppet Mr. Hat, turns on his television to a caricature of Shari with Lamb Chop. He then envisions himself entering the set and approaching them with an axe. Mr. Garrison severs Shari's hand holding Lamb Chop, and tosses the puppet onto a burning grill. Shari cries out, as does Lamb Chop, while Mr. Garrison is seen back in his chair with a very wide smile on his face.

  • In the Animaniacs
    Animaniacs
    Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...

     episode "Papers For Papa" Ernest Hemingway watches Shari and Lampchop perform on tv and one of Lampchop's button eyes falls off.

External links

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