Every day brings a new story. And each day contributes to the art of story telling -- in prose and poetry, in music, on the stage, on the screen, and, of course, in books.
Today is a story of January 17th.
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It is the 17th day of the year, leaving 348 days remaining in 2023.
She told her stories with her sock puppets, the most famous one being Lamb Chop. Although almost all of their work was done with children as the main audience, Lamb Chop once got to speak before a more influential group -- the U.S. Congress. During Lewis' testimony in 1993 concerning a bill to protect children's television programming, she asked for, and received, permission to have Lamp Chop say a few words. (It's true. It's in Congressional Record.)
At an early age, Lewis showed a flair for ventriloquism, and her father -- Abraham Hurwitz, dubbed the ""official magician" of New York City by Mayor LaGuardia -- encouraged the talent by hiring a coach for her.
When she was 19, she won the top prize on the TV show, Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. Five years later, she was on Captain Kangaroo, introducing Lam Chop to the world. Several TV performances later, Lewis had her own TV show, The Shari Lewis Show, which premiered in 1960.
Her career as a TV host was similar to that first show -- corny jokes, her puppets, and live skits. While hosting her show, she appeared on several other programs, including Car 54, Where are You?, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. British TV soon came calling, and she appeared on BBC shows such as Royal Variety Performance.
But she stayed involved in children's TV in America, hosting Lamb Chop's Play Along and The Charlies Horse Music Pizza in the 1990s
Over her career, she won 12 Emmy Awards, seven Parents' Choice Awards, a Peabody Award, and a Kennedy Center Award for Excellence and Creativity.
Lewis died in 1998.
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