Shari Lewis
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Shari Lewis (born Sonia Hurwitz; January 17, 1933 - August 2, 1998) was a ventriloquist, puppeteer, and children's television show host, most popular during the 1960s.
She began hosting children's television programs on local station in New York in 1953, graduating to network television in 1960 with The Shari Lewis Show as host and puppeteer. The programs featured such characters as Hush Puppy, Charlie Horse, and Lamb Chop. The latter, who was little more than a sock with eyes, served as a sort of sassy alter-ego for Shari. Subsequent television programs introduced the characters to the children of the generation that had first come to know them.
In 1998, she died of uterine cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in Los Angeles, California.
Lewis was the recipient of numerous awards during her lifetime, including:
- 12 Emmy Awards
- Peabody Award
- John F. Kennedy Center Award for Excellence and Creativity
- 7 Parent's Choice Awards
- Action for Children's Television Award
In addition to writing over 60 books for children, she and her second husband wrote an episode of Star Trek, entitled "The Lights of Zetar".
Her first husband was Stan Lewis. Her second husband, Jeremy Tarcher, is the brother of Judith Krantz. Her only child, Mallory Tarcher, was a writer on Lamb Chop's Play-Along and The Charlie Horse Music Pizza.
Television shows
- The Shari Lewis Show - 1960
- The Shari Show - 1975
- Lamb Chop's Play-Along - 1992
- The Charlie Horse Music Pizza - 1996