Shari Lewis, American Ventriloquist, Puppeteer, Magician, Children’s Entertainer, Teacher, Author and Musician: Madeline’s Monthly Musical Tips Blog/Article & Radio Show for July 2025
Our Blog and Radio Show celebrates the life and work of Shari Lewis, an American ventriloquist, puppeteer, magician, children’s entertainer, teacher, author of over 60 books for children, and musician.
Many of the world’s teachers, ventriloquists, entertainers, nurses, medical missionaries, psychologists, medical doctors, mathematicians, biologists, chemists, scientists, engineers, writers, and others have studied and played musical instruments since they were children. These eminent individuals have integrated music into their thinking process.
Also included is an article on keeping your child’s school skills current during the summer.
Article of the month: “5 Tips to Instantly Improve Your Business” by Madeline Frank, Ph.D.
Feature Question for July 2025: How did Classical music play a part of Shari Lewis’s life as an American ventriloquist, puppeteer, magician, children’s entertainer, teacher, author, and musician and what musical instruments did she play?
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/one-minute-musical-radio-show/
Early Years:
Phyllis Naomi Hurwitz, Shari Lewis, was born on January 17, 1933 in New York City to Ann Ritz Hurwitz and Abraham B. Hurwitz, Jewish parents. Her father was a professor at Yeshiva University born in Lithuania. “Her father was named New York City’s official magician by Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia during the great Depression.” (Wikipedia Shari Lewis) Her Mom, a pianist, was one of six music coordinators for the City of New York’s Board of Education. She had a sister Barbara.
Both her parents were educators and entertainers and she followed in their foot steps!
Shari began studying the piano at 2 with her mom. “Her father taught her magic acts with Jewish content.” At the age of thirteen she performed her first magic act. She studied ventriloquism “from John Cooper, with whom she practiced on a park bench.” She also had lessons in juggling, acrobatics, ice skating, and baton twirling.
At New York’s High School of Music and Art she studied piano and violin. She studied ballet at the American School of Ballet and studied “acting with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse.”
Shari won first prize for her puppetry on CBS’s Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts in 1952. She was 19. “On July 5, 1953, she made her first “hosting debut on “Facts N’Fun” an NBC owned WRCA-TV”. It was a one-hour variety show. “She engaged her viewers and studio audience members in games, hobbies, craft making, songs, stories, informational segments, interviews with guest performers and personalities.” She “performed witty comedy skits with two ventriloquist’s dummies, Samson and Taffy Twinkle.” The show continued until September 26, 1953. She then replaced “Ted Steele as host on WPIX’s Kartoon Klub which featured a variety format with a live studio audience. Lewis performed with Randy Rocket and Taffy Twinkle. She would also perform magic tricks and interview members of her studio audience and guest personalities.”
Later “the show changed its title to Shari & Her Friends on September 23, 1956, and then to Shariland a month later.”
She “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, and Lamb Chop.” where she introduced Lamb Chop. (Wikipedia Shari Lewis)
In 1958, Shari Lewis married Jeremy Tarcher, television producer and publishing. Their daughter Mallory Hurwitz Lewis was born on July 8, 1962.
Her first network program for NBC was “The Shari Lewis Show”, “which debuted on October 1, 1960, continued through September 28, 1963, featuring Lamb Chop, Wing Ding, and her puppet pals.
“In 1961, she played title character Dulie Hudson in “Watching Out for Dulie”, a United States Steel Hour production and guest-starred in TV shows , Car 54 Where Are You?, The Man from U.N.C.L.E and Love American Style.”
She performed in touring companies, did television specials, and conducted over 100 orchestras in the United States, Japan, and in Canada after 1963. She also “performed in national and summer stock productions of “Damn Yankees”, “Bye, Bye Birdie”, and “Funny Girl”.”
*1968-1976: Shari Lewis stared in her own TV series in England (BBC-1).
*Late 1960s- early 1980s: Shari Lewis performed in many British Shows. “The Val Doonican Show” and the “Royal Variety Performance “and did television series and specials in Canada and Australia.” (Shari Lewis by Janet Beyer, The Shalvi /Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish women)
*1975: She hosted a syndicated puppet show, “The Shari Show”.
* 1992: “Her show Lamb Chop’s Play Along began a five-year run onPBS.”
Shari Lewis and her husband Jeremy Tarcher created “The Charlie Horse Music Pizza” for elementary schools to introduce students to music education and the fun of creating music. (Wikipedia Shari Lewis)
In 1996, “the faith-based video Lamb Chop’s Special Chanukah was released and received the Parents’ Choice Award of the year.”
In 1993, “Shari Lewis appeared before Congress in 1993 to testify in favor of protections for children’s television, Lamb Chop gained permission to speak. An accomplished musician, Lewis conducted major symphonies in the United States, Japan, and Canada. She wrote over 60 children’s books and “produced 17 home videos.”
Shari Lewis and her husband, Jeremy Tarcher, “co-wrote an episode for the original series of “Star Trek”, “The Lights of Zetar” (1969).” (Wikipedia Shari Lewis)
“Shari Lewis was accomplished businesswomen in an era when women were largely left out of the conversation. She was one of the few women to run her own television production company. Constantly innovating and adapting to the needs of her audience and the market, Lewis extended the longevity of her career decade after decade. Her contributions—particularly the creation of Lamb Chop and her puppet pals—forever changed the history of children’s television.” (“Lewis & Lamb Chop, The Team That Change Children’s Television”, Nat Segaloff & Mallory Lewis, 2022).
Shari Lewis won many Awards and Honors:
· 12 Emmy Awards
· 1960 Peabody Award
· 1963 Monte Carlo Prize for the World’s Best Television Variety Show
· 1983 John F. Kennedy Center Award for Excellence and Creativity
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7 Parents’ Choice Awards
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Action for Children’s Television Award
- 1995 American Academy of Children’s Entertainment award for Entertainer of the Year
- Dor L’Dor award of the B’nai B’rith (1996)
- 3 Houston Film Festival awards
- Silver Circle Award of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (1996)
- Film Advisory Board Award of Excellence (1996)
- 2 Charleston Film Festival Gold Awards (1995)
- Houston World Festival silver and bronze awards (1995)
- New York Film and Video Festival Silver Award (1995)
Shari Lewis was an American ventriloquist, puppeteer, magician, children’s entertainer, teacher, author, conductor, and a lifelong musician. She was a wife and mother. Shari Lewis and her puppet Lamb Chop were loved by millions. She died on August 2, 1998 in Los Angeles, California.
How to keep your child’s school skills current during the summer:
1) This summer find out what programs your library has for your child. Share with your child the joys of reading in your home every evening.
2) Are you planning to take your child on vacation this summer? How about having a journal for your child to write in about their vacation? Ask them what they learned about each place they visited and what they enjoyed most about each place.
3) Ask your child to help you cook dinner for the family by having them help you with a recipe. They will be reading and assisting in measuring out ingredients, which will help them in both math and science.
4) The local science and history museums offer classes for children. Find one that will be most interesting to your child.
5) To teach your child the fun way to understand fractions and decimals through the rhythm of music, order a copy of “Musical Notes On Math” by Madeline Frank, Ph.D.
Amazon.com (Kindle)
- Barnes and Noble(Nook)
- iTunes
5a) Have your child help you make up Flash Cards in bright colors and letters to learn multiplication tables and vocabulary words.
“5 Tips to Instantly Improve Your Business ” by Madeline Frank, Ph.D.
Maxey Jarman was a red headed, shy young man who was intrigued by science and raised to be a devout Baptist. He enjoyed working with radios and cars while attending a public high school in Nashville, Tennessee that had a program in engineering and technology. Maxey also helped start the first radio station in Nashville, WSM. After high school he became a student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, in electrical engineering. As he was finishing his junior year at MIT, Maxey’s father, James Franklin Jarman, asked him to come home to Tennessee and help start a new shoe store, eliminating his previous partner who had done unethical things.
His father had Maxey work, for a year as a laborer, in the Nashville plant to learn the shoe business from the ground up. Later Maxey worked in the shoe store of the new Jarman Shoe Company. After 9 years learning the shoe business, Maxey Jarman became President and his father became the Chairman of the company.
Maxey saw an opportunity for expanding their shoe business and decided on a logical step-by-step plan of how to do it. He changed the Jarman Shoe Company name to General Shoe Company during the depression and moved into retail. In Michigan, Maxey, “bought a tanning plant”, produced shoeboxes, and supplied his manufacturing plants with chemicals, cement, and finishes. He purchased other companies increasing his shoe line to include children’s and women’s shoes and apparel. He increased profits by selling his products through retail stores General Shoe Company purchased.
In 1959, General Shoe Company changed its name to Genesco, Inc. By 1968, Maxey’s Jarman’s Genesco, Inc. had reached a billion dollars in sales with 83,000 employees worldwide.
Maxey Jarman, President and CEO of Genesco was a devout Baptist who pursued many philanthropic Christian causes. For many years Mr. Jarman taught Sunday School Classes at his Baptist Church.
Fred Smith, Sr. came to work for Maxey Jarman at his General Shoe Company when he was 20 years old. Maxey became his mentor and friend for over 43 years. Fred Smith, Sr. became the mentor of Zig Ziglar and Dr. John Maxwell.
What are 5 of Maxey Jarman’s leadership lessons that you will want to remember?
1) Maxey Jarman “listened respectfully” and “stressed” clarifying ideas by putting them down on paper. When a problem comes up, write the problem down, and write a solution for solving it! When Fred Smith had been working for Mr. Jarman for 3 months, he came in with a list of problems that he saw at the company. Mr. Jarman said after listening to Fred’s list, “Fred, I want you to take the next three weeks and write out solutions for each and every thing you found wrong.” When Fred returned to see Mr. Jarman, 3 weeks later, he had no solutions to the problems. Fred Smith said, “Mr. Jarman stuck his long finger in my face and said, “We want you here and we want your suggestions, even criticisms, but don’t you ever criticize anything until you have a better way worked out on paper to prove what you say and improve the condition.” Bacon said, “Writing makes an exact man.” Mr. Jarman worked on his personal development by making a list of the things he wanted to work on each year. He would put it in writing so it was specific and clear. In his company he said, “Emergencies were the evidence of poor planning.” He had few emergencies. He was reading to gain new knowledge every day and developing his mind.
2) Mr. Jarman was driven by responsibility, discipline and for getting results. You could always count on him. Mr. Jarman’s ” favorite story was how Jeb Stuart would sign his reports to General Robert E. Lee, “Yours to count on”, (YTCO). When Jeb Stuart wrote it he meant it and so did Maxey Jarman.
3) Mr. Jarman was always looked for opportunities for the future. He said, “Be grateful for all things.” He told Fred Smith, Sr. “It’s not the plants we have built, but the people we have helped develop that makes me the proudest.” Mr. Jarman was always helping others. He said, “Don’t try to strengthen people in their weaknesses; it’s less productive than utilizing their strengths.”
When someone said something about another executive saying, “He acts like he owns the place.” Maxey responded, “I’m glad he believes that, and I wish everybody here believed it and acted that way.” Fred Smith said, “He wanted everybody to have a genuine sense of ownership because he knew the motivation that developed”.
4) Before he made a decision he was open-minded. Once he made a decision he was decisive. Fred Smith said, “Mr. Jarman would quickly review a decision when he thought it involved a moral mistake. Once he had the books opened just to give an employee a $2.85 refund because “The question isn’t how much trouble, but do we owe it?” Mr. Jarman was honest, filled with character, and integrity.
5) Mr. Jarman did not believe in wasting time. He always stayed on the topic at hand and liked people to get to the point and be clear and decisive. His conversations were always business like and stayed on the topic.
What was Maxey Jarman’s mission statement for his company?
“Genesco’s mission is to become the most customer-focused company in the footwear industry, with consistent performance in the top quartile as measured by market share, sales growth, return on assets employed and operating income.”
By following Maxey Jarman’s 5 lessons on leadership you will have a stronger company with happier employees. (C) 2025, 2015 Madeline Frank.
If you need a speaker/ video speaker contact Madeline at: [email protected]
“Musical Notes On Math” by Dr. Madeline Frank teaches your child fractions and decimals, the fun easy way, through the rhythm of music, Winner of the Parent To Parent Adding Wisdom Award is available in book form, newly updated as an e-book on Kindle, Nook, or iBook.:
· com(Kindle)
· Barnes and Noble(Nook)
· iTunes
Dr. Madeline Frank’s book “Leadership on a Shoestring Budget: Timeless Principles for Everyday Use, helps businesses stay afloat in times of trouble. She calls her innovative observations, Tuning Up Your Business. For over 25 years she has helped countless people create their great image brand, and communication style that makes them irresistible. Click on the following Amazon.com link to order your copy of “Leadership On A Shoestring Budget”
“The Secret of Teaching Science & Math Through Music” shares scientific evidence, medical evidence, test results, and true stories of the world’s scientists, medical doctors, and mathematicians who have studied and played musical instruments since they were children by Madeline Frank, Ph.D. Click below:
- com(Kindle)
- Barnes and Noble(Nook)
“Madeline’s Midnight Melodies- Music From around the World”. This CD complements her books with a blend of dance music, gigues, tangos, ballet and favorites including “Danny Boy”, Puccini’s “O Mio Babbino Caro”, Debussy’s “Claire De Lune” and others. “Madeline’s Midnight Melodies” CD is now available for purchase by downloading a song, downloading the album click below:
Amazon | iTunes
Wishing you and your family a Happy July 4th from your Non-Invasive Medicine…Music Expert, Madeline
For over 30 years, Dr. Madeline Frank has helped children and adults overcome problems through Classical music. Madeline Frank, Ph.D., DTM is an award-winning teacher, an amazon.com best-selling author, researcher, speaker, conductor, and concert artist. She has discovered a scientific link between studying a musical instrument and academic and societal success. Madeline Frank earned her Bachelor and Master’s degree from the Juilliard School of Music. Her education has included scholarships at the Juilliard School, Indiana University, and the University of Cincinnati and she has a violin performance diploma from the North Carolina School of the Arts. (C) 2025 Madeline Frank.