Lamb Chop (puppet)

Publicity photo of Shari Lewis and her puppets Lamb Chop and Charlie Horse from The Ford Show, April 7, 1960.
Shari Lewis and her puppets Lamb Chop and Charlie Horse from The Ford Show, 1960

Lamb Chop is a sock puppet anthropomorphic sheep created by the puppeteer and ventriloquist Shari Lewis. The character first appeared during Lewis's guest appearance on Captain Kangaroo in March 1956 and later appeared on Hi Mom (1957–1959), a local morning show that aired on WRCA-TV in New York, New York.

History

Concept and creation

Lamb Chop has been described as a "6-year-old girl, very intuitive and very feisty, a combination of obstinacy and vulnerability...you know how they say fools rush in where wise men fear to go? Well, Lamb Chop would rush in, then scream for help."[1] Lamb Chop, in all her shows, had referred to her close friend, a girl named Lolly Pincus.

From 1960 to 1963, Lewis had her own musical-comedy network television program, The Shari Lewis Show. As children's programming turned more towards animation in the mid-1960s, she continued to perform in a wide range of venues.

In 1992, Lamb Chop and Lewis began their own PBS children's show, Lamb Chop's Play-Along, an Emmy Award winner for five consecutive years. The show was approximately 25 minutes per episode. On PBS, it premiered September 10, 1992 and was last shown on January 1, 1997. From 2007 to 2009, it was shown on Qubo.

In 1993, when Lewis appeared before the U.S. Congress in an oversight hearing on the Children's Television Act, Lamb Chop provided her own testimony.[2]

In 1998, Lamb Chop co-starred with Lewis on the short-lived spin-off The Charlie Horse Music Pizza. The show was canceled after Lewis' death in 1998.[3] The last episode of The Charlie Horse Music Pizza aired on January 17, 1999.[4]

Prior to her death, Shari Lewis sold the rights of Lamb Chop to Golden Books Family Entertainment. When Golden filed for bankruptcy, Classic Media (later renamed DreamWorks Classics and now[when?] part of NBCUniversal) acquired Golden's entertainment catalog.

Mallory Lewis reimagining

Two years after Lewis died in 1998, her daughter, producer and writer Mallory Lewis, began to perform with Lamb Chop. Mallory Lewis had worked closely with her mother when producing Lamb Chop's Play-Along and The Charlie Horse Music Pizza.[5] About her mother and Lamb Chop she said:

Shari Lewis's daughter, Mallory Lewis, with Lamb Chop in 2004

My mom was one of the world's greatest entertainers. I don't want to challenge that. I don't think it's wise to go there. But I do want to do everything that I can do for Lamb Chop. I'll help keep her going.[6]

Shari Lewis's other puppet, Hush Puppy, made his comeback at the Iowa State Fair in 2010. Until 2024 Mallory Lewis didn’t perform Charlie Horse, as doing his voice was hard on her vocal cords. He did make a comeback via social media videos in early 2024. Lewis's daughter still owns the live performing rights to the Lamb Chop characters.[7]

Mallory Lewis and Lamb Chop perform mainly for the US military. Lamb Chop is an honorary three-star general in the Marines.[8]

In the first year's collection of 9 Chickweed Lane dailies, Out Whom Shall We Gross?, the August 31, 1993 strip quotes Lamb Chop as saying, "A virtuous man's honesty exists only in proportion to the pyre upon which he atones for it."[9]

Mallory Lewis described Lamb Chop's values as a "liberal Jewish Democrat".[10]

References

  1. ^ "Lamb Chop". TV Acres. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012.
  2. ^ 1998 Congressional Record, Vol. 144, Page E1544 (August 4, 1998)
  3. ^ Oliver, Myrna (August 4, 1998). "Puppeteer Shari Lewis Dies". Hartford Courant. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  4. ^ Edelstein, Andy (January 20, 1999). "Shari Lewis' Farewell / Ch. 13 to broadcast late puppeteer's last". Newsday. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  5. ^ Albin, Kira (1997). "Shari Lewis in the Lamb Light". Grand Times. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  6. ^ Facter, Sue (July 31, 2000). "Lamb Chop is back, with a familiar voice". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 4, 2005 – via Jump Run Productions.
  7. ^ Cordova, Randy (December 31, 2015). "Shari Lewis' daughter keeps Lamb Chop alive, in Mesa 1/5". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  8. ^ Brenoff, Ann (August 28, 2012). "What Ever Happened to Lamb Chop?". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020.
  9. ^ McEldowney, Brooke (w, a). 9 Chickweed Lane by Brooke McEldowney for August 31, 1993. August 31, 1993.
  10. ^ Hammel, Cailley (August 10, 2010). "Daughter carries on Shari Lewis' Lamb Chop routine". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
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