Shari Lewis (January 17, 1933 – August 2, 1998) was an American ventriloquist, puppeteer, and children's television show host, most popular during the 1960s and 1990s. She was best known as the original puppeteer of Lamb Chop, first appearing on Hi Mom, a local morning show that aired on WRCA-TV (now WNBC-TV) in New York City.
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing For A Children's Series, Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s or Pre-School Children’s Series, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming - Informational/Factual
Nominations
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program, Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series, Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Series, Gemini Award for Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Program or Series, Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Pre-School Pr...
Movies
Lamb Chop's Special Chanukah, The Shari Lewis Collection, Eat Me!
TV Shows
The Charlie Horse Music Pizza, Lamb Chop's Play-Along, Arabian Knights, The Shari Lewis Show
Star Sign
Capricorn
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Quote
1
All fantasy is about exploring facets of your personality that aren't surface, facets not dealt with in everyday life. When you deal with a puppet, you're allowing a sub-personality to emerge and create itself. You don't create it; it does what it wants to do. You know how you hear writers say the character takes over? Well, if the puppet doesn't take over, the puppet isn't worth doodley-squat!
2
I don't contemplate these things. I'm very intuitive and instinctive about what I do. There's a story about a man with a long beard. Somebody asked him one day: "Do you sleep with your beard outside of the blanket or under the blanket?" and from that moment on he didn't sleep! He kept watching where his beard was. What I do works and I'm not analytic. (on the enduring appeal of Lambchop)
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Fact
1
Release of her book, "Shari Lewis Presents 101 Things for Kids to Do". [1987]
2
Release of her book, "Folding Paper Toys" by Shari with Lillian Oppenheimer. [1993]
3
Release of her book, "Spooky Stuff". [1979]
4
Release of her book, "Shari Lewis Presents 101 Games and Songs for Kids to Play and Sing". [1993]
5
Release of her book, "Making Easy Puppets". [1967]
6
Release of her book, "Toy-Store-in-a-Book". [1979]
7
Release of her book, "One-Minute Animal Stories". [1986]
8
Release of her book, "One-Minute Christmas Stories". [1987]
9
Her parents encouraged her to perform and, by the age of 13, her father taught her to perform specialized magic tricks. She also received instructions in acrobatics, juggling, ices-skating, baton twirling, violin and piano. She was taught ventriloquism by John W. Cooper. She continued piano and violin at New York's High School of Music and Art, dance at the American School of Ballet and acting with Sanford Meisner of the Neighborhood Playhouse. She attended Barnard College for one year but left college to go into show business.
Shari Lewis hosted her first kids TV shows "Facts N'Fun", "Kartoon Klub"/"Shari & Her Friends", "Shariland" and "Hi Mom"/"Family" on WNBT/WRCA Ch. 4 and on WPIX TV Ch. 11 in NYC. "Facts N'Fun" was seen Sunday afternoons on WNBT TV Ch. 4 in NYC from Sunday July 5, 1953 to Sunday September 26, 1953. "Kartoon Klub"/"Shari & Her Friends" Monday to Saturday evenings on WPIX TV Ch. 11 in NYC from Tuesday July 6, 1954 to Saturday December 22, 1956. "Shariland" was seen first on WPIX TV Ch. 11 in NYC on Saturday Evenings from Saturday October 13, 1956 to Saturday December 22, 1956 and later on WRCA TV Ch. 4 in NYC Saturday mornings from Saturday August 16, 1957 to Saturday August 16, 1958. "Hi Mom"/"Family" was seen weekday mornings on WRCA TV Ch. 4 in NYC from Thursday August 15, 1957 to Friday March 20, 1959.
$9 Million
