Before there was Cookie Monster and Big Bird, there was Lamb Chop, a soft, sassy, hand puppet lamb that won over generations of children. And of course, behind Lamp Chop was the incredibly talented ventriloquist puppeteer that animated her, Shari Lewis.
Shari and Lamb Chop first appeared on the TV show “Captain Kangaroo” in 1956, and from 1960 to 1963 were the stars of “The Shari Lewis Show,” along with Lewis’ many other puppet creations, like Charlie Horse and Hush Puppy.
Now, almost seven decades after Lamb Chop made her first TV appearance, Lewis is the subject of “Shari & Lamb Chop,” a new documentary from Lisa D’Apolito, the director behind the Gilda Radner documentary “Love, Gilda.” The movie is coming to theaters on July 17.
In a first trailer released this week, Lewis is described as a pioneer of children’s TV, someone who, through humor and candor, inspired children and little girls especially to reach for the stars. As her daughter, Mallory Lewis, who is now the torch bearer of Lamb Chop, says, Shari knew that “you create confident and curious human beings by showing them how to do something, and then applauding their success.” Lewis herself called self-esteem “the most important lesson for children to get.”
The film will also cover the adversity Lewis faced — the talented singer and actress struggled to be seen as “more of a one trick pony.”
“When my show was cancelled, that was the only time I ever went to Lamb Chop and cried with her,” she’s heard saying in the trailer.
While the short trailer doesn’t mention her Jewishness, it’s impossible to tell Shari Lewis’ story without touching on it. Her father, a professor at Yeshiva University who became the official magician of the city of New York, was a huge inspiration for Lewis. And of course, Lamb Chop’s Jewish-themed episodes from her Peabody-winning ’90s show are unforgettable.
It’s so thrilling that the story of this Jewish legend is finally getting the big picture treatment.