 Every baby-boomer remembers getting up on Saturday morning to watch "The Shari Lewis Show." Shari was best know as the ventriloquist and puppeteer for this popular children's program but prior to that, she attended the High School of Music and Art.  She was born Sonia Phyllis Hurwitz, January 17, 1933, and lived in the Parkchester Projects in East Bronx, NY. As a teenager, Phyllis studied piano and violin while at M&A and graduated in 1949 (see the above graduating class photo from the spring 1949 yearbook). As she moved forward as a performer, she changed her first name to Shari and despite a short marriage to Stan Lewis, she decided to keep her new last name. After a long and fulfilling career, Shari Lewis died from uterine cancer and pneumonia on August 2, 1998. The Shari Lewis Show made its debut on the NBC Television network on October 1, 1960. The show ran until September 28, 1963. As you're reminiscing, check out how talented Shari was as she performed the craft that she loved.
6 Comments
Rosalie Davis
1/18/2019 12:38:17 pm
She was so very talented and she loved kids. I loved Lambchop. So so funny 3/7/2019 05:35:31 pm
Shari started appearing on TV (WPIX) in NY as early as 1956 and introduced Lambchop on Captain Kangaroo. I remember Seeing Shari perform at Flushing H.S. when I was quite young, circa 1957. In 1993, I brought my young children to her performance at Ravinia Park in a Chicago suburb (we had our Lambchop puppets with us). Afterwards, I sent her a letter telling her how much she was loved and appreciated over the generations... and awed at how she hadn't aged one bit! I received the sweetest response, a letter that I still treasure. She was one of a kind. 3/7/2019 05:54:34 pm
I've got so many pleasant memories of the innocence of youth. Shari Lewis played a gentle role in keeping my childhood sane. Remembering her, always brings a smile to my face.
June Zeger
1/19/2023 01:10:52 pm
Shari Lewis was a wonderful lady... and an inspiration... I named my daughter after her, because I loved so many things that she did... . Leave a Reply. |
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