Shari Lewis (born Phyllis Naomi Hurwitz;[citation needed] January 17, 1933 – August 2, 1998) was a Peabody-winning American ventriloquist, puppeteer, children's entertainer, television show host, dancer, singer, actress, author, and symphony conductor.

Lewis was born to Jewish parents, Ann (née Ritz) and Abraham Hurwitz, an education professor at Yeshiva University originally from Vilnius, Lithuania.

The program was a variety show in which she engaged her viewers and studio audience members in games, hobbies, craft making, songs, stories, informational segments, interviews with guest performers and personalities.

[4] She moved to WPIX in 1953 to replace Ted Steele as host of Kartoon Klub, which featured a variety format with a live studio audience.

Lewis performed with Randy Rocket and Taffy Twinkle, and the program also featured reruns of Crusader Rabbit cartoons.

Lewis won New York-area Emmy Awards for her work on Shariland and a succeeding series on WRCA-TV, Hi Mom (1957–1959), which introduced Charlie Horse, Hush Puppy, and Wing Ding.

The show ran until September 28, 1963, and featured such characters as Hush Puppy, Charlie Horse, Lamb Chop, and Wing Ding, a black crow.

Hush Puppy had a Southern accent with a reserved, shy and goofy personality, while Charlie Horse was a snarky, sarcastic character.

[6] When Lamb Chop's Play-Along ended, Lewis and her husband Jeremy Tarcher created The Charlie Horse Music Pizza.

When Lewis appeared before Congress in 1993 to testify in favor of protections for children's television, Lamb Chop gained permission to speak.

[10] Lewis's other work included providing the voice of Princess Nida in the cartoon segment Arabian Knights, part of the 1968 series The Banana Splits Adventure Hour.

When Golden filed for bankruptcy these rights were transferred to Classic Media which was later acquired by DreamWorks Animation (now part of NBCUniversal).