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You and your daughter will never see another human again!
-GargoyleGargoyles
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Born Sonia Hurwitz in The Parkchester section of
the Bronx,NYC in 1922.
Shari Lewis was given exposure and training in the
arts by her parents and their friends.
Her father Dr.Abe Hurwitz was a public school
math and science teacher..who was also a talented
magician.
Her mother was a musician and arranger..both
Dr.Hurwitz and his wife taught their daughter music
and magic.
Ms.Lewis also took lessions in dance and she learned
about ventriloquisim from a family friend ventriloquist
John Cooper.
She developed her talents and she was enrolled into
NYC's Music & Art High School.
She was unable to continue her dance lessions..due
to a bout with the measles.
But?
She did become a talented ventriloquist and singer and
magician.
Ms.Lewis also developed her talents as a musician,
songwriter,arranger,conductor,scriptwriter and actress.
During the summer..she would perform in the Catskills
at numerious mountain resorts with her parents.
When she was in her teens..she appeared at theaters
and nightclubs and she went onto make her tv debut on
"Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts Show"on CBS.
Her abilities as a performer soon came to the attention
of station execs at WNBT(WRCA now known as WNBC TV)
Ch.4 in NYC.
And she was hired to mc a Sunday afternoon children's
wraparound program"Facts N'Fun!".
Which made it's debut on WNBT TV during the summer
of 1953.
At the beginning of her career in kids tv..Ms.Lewis
didn't work with hand puppets..she used the standard
knee figuires.
On "Facts N'Fun!" and later on her second kids tv
series"Kartoon Klub"/"Shari & Her Friends!"(Which was
seen Monday to Saturday evenings on WPIX TV Ch.11 in
NYC from 1954 to 1956).She worked with three knee puppets
"Samson"(The crooked talent manager),"Randy Rocket"(The
astornaught)and"Taffy Twinkle"(A silly farm girl).
"Shari & Her Friends" was cancelled in 1956 following
a creative dispute with Ch.11's film director..Mr.Fred
Thrower.
It was not until 1957..as she was preparing for a
guest appearance on"Captain Kangaroo".
That Ms.Lewis created and performed with the
character..for which she is best remembered.
Mr.Bob Keeshan..the co-creator and host of
"Captain Kangaroo"didn't want Ms.Lewis to work
with a knee figuire..believeing that they were
clumsey and unreal.
He asked her to create and perform with a
different type of puppet.
She soon came up with the character of "Lamb
Chop" a hand puppet that allowed her to say
witty and brash wisecracks that the otherwise
coy Shari would never utter.
"Lamb Chop"made her debut on Keeshan's pioneering
educational kids tv show.
And she became a hit with the children.
That same year..Ms.Lewis hosted WRCA TV Ch.4
NYC's"Shariland"during the Saturday morning scheduale.
The show was a hit..but..it soon fell prey to creative
interferrence from station management.
"Shariland!"was dropped after one season on the
air..the same fate befell Ms.Lewis' second kids tv
program"Hi Mom!"
She left "Hi Mom!"after one season and she didn't
return to kids tv..until the fall of 1960.
When Ms.Lewis was hired to mc another kids tv
show"The Shari Lewis Show!".
Debuting in October of 1960..the series had
Ms.Lewis dealing with the problems of the program's
eccentric cast members"Mr.Gladly"(Played by Ronald
Radd),"Mr.Goodfellow"(played by Mort Marshall),
"Billy Bully"(played by Gerry Mathews) and"Kenny Ketcham"
The bumbling private Detective(Played by Dom Deluise).
Ms.Lewis' puppet characters"Lamb Chop","Charlie Horse",
"Hush Puppy" and"Wing Ding"(Who had appeared with her
on"Shariland!")also performed in skits on the program.
Sadly.
"The Shari Lewis Show"only lasted three season..The
heads of NBC TV dropped the show and by 1964..they
divested themselves of their live action children's shows
in favor of creating and producing cartoons.
Ms.Lewis' appearances on tv during the 1960's were
limited to guest spots on talk shows,variety shows,game
shows and commercials.
Her only other tv effort was doing the voice of
"Princess Nadjia"for the"Arabian Knights"TV Cartoon
segment of"The Bananna Splits Adventure Hour"Kids tv
show.
She didn't return to kids tv until 1975.
When She mc'd a minni series of kids tv specials
"The Shari Show"which was seen on tuesday afternoons
on The NBC TV Network.
On this program..Ms.Lewis was the programming
director for a tv network owned and runned by"Mr.Bearly"
and his staff of animal puppets.
Based upon the format of"The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
.."The Shari Show"delt more with a child's emotional
problems than on entertainment and craftmaking.
The show was not a hit and was quickly cancelled
after one season.
Ms.Lewis went to work on other venues..including
writting children's books,a newspaper collum for kids
and conducting symphony orchastras.
She also wrote,co-produced and performed on
the last installment of"The NBC Children's Theater"
tv series"The Portrait Of Us".
The program was created as a means of teaching
children about the US Census program.
The show won an Emmy for Ms.Lewis and her co-
producer animation legend Joe Barbera.
She didn't return to children's tv..until 1992.
When PBS TV hired her to host a children's wraparound
show based upon her successful series of children's videos
"Lamb Chop's Play Along!".
The show had Ms.Lewis engaging her viewers and
some kids on the show in games,craftmaking,hobbies,
stories,songs and comedy and puppet skits as a means
of having them participate in the fun..instead of just
watching as passive viewers.
"Lamb Chop's Play Along!"was a hit and it remained
on the air until 1998.
Ms.Lewis then went to work on another series
..one that would encouage music appreciation.
"Charlie Horse's Music Pizza"had Ms.Lewis
perform music,songs and games with her viewers
and comedy and puppet skits with her two regulars
Mr.Dom Del Luise(Who played"Cookie The Cook)and
Mr.Wesley Morris who played"Junior".
The show was another success..but..it was
short lived.
When she returned to the tv studios in
Canada to tape the second season.
Ms.Lewis was feeling extreme pain..
a trip to her doctor revealed that she was
terminally ill with cancer.
She was forced to cancel the series and
she returned home to The USA.
Where she entered Cedars-Sini Medical
Center.
Shari Lewis died during the summer of
1998.
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