Shari Lewis: Creator of Lamb Chop
Shari Lewis (January 17, 1933 – August 2, 1998) was an American ventriloquist, puppeteer, children’s entertainer, television host, dancer, comedian, singer, actress, author, and symphony conductor. She created and performed the sock puppet Lamb Chop, which debuted on Captain Kangaroo in March 1956 and became her signature character across multiple television programs spanning four decades.
Early Life and Education
Lewis was born Phyllis Naomi Hurwitz in New York City to Jewish parents Ann (née Ritz) and Abraham Hurwitz, an education professor at Yeshiva University originally from Vilnius, Lithuania. Her father, called New York’s “official magician” by Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia during the Great Depression, taught her specialized magic acts by age 13. She had one sister, Barbara, and received instruction in acrobatics, baton twirling, juggling, ice skating, piano, and violin.
Career and Achievements
Lewis won first prize on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts in 1952, establishing herself early in television. On July 5, 1953, she made her hosting debut on Facts N’ Fun, an NBC variety show on WRCA-TV featuring games, crafts, songs, and comedy skits with ventriloquist dummies Samson and Taffy Twinkle. The program ran until September 26, 1953.
She moved to WPIX in 1953 to host Kartoon Klub, a live-audience variety show featuring Randy Rocket and Taffy Twinkle alongside reruns of Crusader Rabbit. The program was retitled Shari & Her Friends on September 23, 1956, then Shariland a month later. Lewis won New York-area Emmy Awards for Shariland and for Hi Mom (1957–1959) on WRCA-TV, which introduced characters Charlie Horse, Hush Puppy, and Wing Ding. Lamb Chop appeared on Hi Mom after its Captain Kangaroo debut.
NBC’s The Shari Lewis Show debuted October 1, 1960, replacing The Howdy Doody Show, and ran until September 28, 1963. The program featured Hush Puppy (a shy, goofy character with a Southern accent), Charlie Horse (snarky and sarcastic), Lamb Chop (a sassy alter-ego made from a sock with eyes), and Wing Ding (a black crow). Lewis occasionally guest-starred in shows including Car 54, Where Are You?, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and Love, American Style. In 1961, she played Dulie Hudson in Watching Out for Dulie, a United States Steel Hour production.
From the late 1960s into the early 1980s, Lewis appeared in British programs such as the Val Doonican Show and the Royal Variety Performance. She briefly hosted The Shari Show, a syndicated puppet program, in 1975. Lamb Chop’s Play-Along began a three-year run on PBS in 1992, designed as an audience participation show to counter passive television viewing. After it ended, Lewis and her husband Jeremy Tarcher created The Charlie Horse Music Pizza, motivated by the removal of music classes from a third of elementary schools’ curricula.
Lewis’s voice work included Princess Nida in the animated segment Arabian Knights from the 1968 series The Banana Splits Adventure Hour and the titular character in Famous Studios’ Honey Halfwitch theatrical shorts. With Tarcher, she co-wrote “The Lights of Zetar” for the original Star Trek series in 1969. She wrote over 60 children’s books, produced 17 home videos, and conducted major symphonies in the United States, Japan, and Canada.
Notable Events and Milestones
The faith-based video Lamb Chop’s Special Chanukah was released in 1996 and won the Parents’ Choice Award. Lewis and Lamb Chop appeared in a PrimeStar commercial in 1997. In 1993, Lewis testified before Congress in favor of protections for children’s television, with Lamb Chop granted permission to speak alongside her.
Awards and Honors
Lewis won a Peabody Award for her work in children’s television. She received New York-area Emmy Awards for Shariland and Hi Mom. Lamb Chop’s Special Chanukah received the Parents’ Choice Award in 1996.
Additional Resources
Shari Lewis’s career and legacy are documented extensively in biographical archives and television history resources. Her work as a performer, creator, and advocate for children’s media remains influential in the field. More detailed information about her life, television programs, and contributions to children’s entertainment is available through Wikipedia and other entertainment history databases.
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