Lewis, Shari (1933–1998)

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Lewis, Shari (1933–1998)

American puppeteer, ventriloquist, and entertainer . Born in New York City on January 17, 1933; died of complications from uterine cancer in Los Angeles, California, on August 2, 1998; daughter of Abraham Hurwitz (a college professor) and Ann Hurwitz (a school music coordinator); attended Herman Ritter Junior High School, New York; attended Music and Art High School, New York; married Stan Lewis (an advertising executive, divorced); married Jeremy Tarcher (a publisher), in 1958; children: (second marriage) one daughter, Mallory Tarcher.

Perhaps best remembered for her mischievous sock puppet Lamb Chop, the diminutive puppeteer and ventriloquist Shari Lewis was one of the most beloved and respected performers in children's television. The winner of 12 Emmys, five for her PBS series "Lamb Chop's Play-Along" (1992–97), Lewis had just launched a new show, "The Charlie Horse Music Pizza," when she died of complications from uterine cancer.

Born in 1933 and raised in New York, Lewis started playing the piano at age three and pulling rabbits out of hats at four. Her mother Ann Hurwitz was a music coordinator for the New York City Board of Education, and her father Abraham Hurwitz was a college professor and amateur magician. In addition to practicing her music, which included piano, violin, and accordion, Lewis excelled as a ventriloquist. She made her first appearance on a television variety show at age 13, and starred in NBC's "Facts 'n' Fun" at 18. In 1956, she and her sassy puppet Lamb Chop made their first television appearance on "Captain Kangaroo," and by 1960 the duo, who by this time had added pals Hush Puppy and Charlie Horse, premiered on their own NBC Saturday morning program, "The Shari Lewis Show." The program ran until 1963,

when television began producing animated shows for the younger set.

Except for a syndicated half-hour series, "The Shari Show" (1975–76), Lewis struggled for three decades before gaining another foothold in the television market. In the interim, she performed in Las Vegas, conducted symphony orchestras, and penned over 60 children's books. Lewis finally returned to television with "Lamb Chop's Play-Along," a PBS production premiering in 1992, which ran for five years. The show's easy format of music, comedy, riddles, and puns was always tempered by Lewis' goal to teach as well as entertain. Off-camera, she became an impassioned activist, hoping to expand the choices for children's television viewing. In 1993, she took Lamb Chop to Capitol Hill to plead with broadcasters to improve programming for children. "We need the best you grown-ups have to offer," she said through Lamb Chop. "If you give it to us, we will give you the good stuff back."

Lewis also tried to fill in the gaps herself. When she noticed that there was a lack of programming for Jewish children, she came up with the primetime specials "Lamb Chop's Special Chanukah" and "Shari's Passover Surprise." Sensing a need to foster music appreciation, she designed "The Charlie Horse Music Pizza." The show was but a year old when she was diagnosed with cancer in June 1998. Just hours after hearing the news, she was back rehearsing, hoping to shoot as many episodes as possible before starting chemotherapy.

Following the dissolution of an early marriage, Lewis wed publisher Jeremy Tarcher, with whom she had a daughter, Mallory Tarcher . A woman of boundless energy, Lewis filled her hours away from performing with family activities, including rafting trips with her husband. About all she didn't do was drive or keep house. "My mother told me not to learn anything that I didn't want to do," Lewis said in a 1992 interview with People magazine, "so I never learned to wash a floor or clean a toilet."

Ironically, Lewis' death on August 2, 1998, came just three days after the death of another beloved puppeteer, Robert E. Smith, Buffalo Bob of the "Howdy Doody Show." "She was a true advocate for kids," said Peggy Charren , founder of Actions for Children's Television. "Shari inherently understood what children need in order for them to grow up healthy, happy and wise. And she did it with laughs: Hers was a warm and fuzzy sense of humor…. Unlike a lot of people who operate in children's programming, Shari cared about children. She was in it for love."