Shari Lewis

Shari Lewis
Lewis with her puppets, Lamb Chop and Charlie Horse, 1960.
Born	Sonia Phyllis Hurwitz (1933-01-17)January 17, 1933 The Bronx, New York, United States
Died	August 2, 1998(1998-08-02) (aged 65) Los Angeles, California, United States
Cause of death	Uterine Cancer & Viral Pneumonia
Occupation	Ventriloquist, puppeteer, author, children's television show host
Years active	1952–1998
Spouse(s)	Stan Lewis Jeremy Tarcher
Children	Mallory Lewis

Sonia Phyllis Hurwitz (January 17, 1933 – August 2, 1998), better known as Shari Lewis, was an American ventriloquist, puppeteer, and children's entertainer and television show host. She was best known as the original puppeteer of sock puppet Lamb Chop, first appearing on Hi Mom, a local morning television show that aired on WRCA-TV (now WNBC-TV) in New York City.

Lewis was born Sonia Phyllis Hurwitz to Jewish parents Ann Ritz and Abraham Hurwitz, an education professor at Yeshiva University. She had one sister. Her parents encouraged her to perform and her father, who had been named New York City's "official magician" by Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia during the Great Depression, taught her to perform specialized magic acts by age 13. She also received instruction in acrobatics, juggling, ice skating, baton twirling, piano, and violin. She was taught ventriloquism by John W. Cooper. She continued piano and violin at New York's High School of Music and Art, dance at the American School of Ballet, and acting with Sanford Meisner of the Neighborhood Playhouse. She attended Barnard College, but left after one year to go into show business.