| My parents met at a radio station sometime in the late1940s / early1950s. The call-letters were WSOY - so named for the city where the station was based: Decatur, Illinois. The “S-O-Y’ part comes from the nickname for Decatur, proudly self-described as:
THE SOYBEAN CAPITAL OF THE WORLD
My parents loved radio. They were children of the Great Depression, and the radio was a godsend, a magical escape from the dreariness of no hope, no future, no money. My father’s childhood was spent listening to a big old Philco console player, and my mother’s family would go to her aunt’s home in Palestine, Illinois because there, in the living room, was a giant radio. Families and neighbors would gather on Sunday evenings on a rug in front of the big speakers and listen to their favorite show:
THE CHASE AND SANBORN HOUR
It aired on Sunday evenings and millions of Americans tuned in to listen. The star? A ventriloquist act named Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.
Ventriloquism was a skill, a talent that made everyone laugh and forget the depression.
Then the advent of TV. Can you imagine?
When I was watching as a little boy our media choices were not so voluminous. This was back in another era, something called “the 1960s.” In those days, there were three (count ‘em, three!) networks and - I am not making this up – A TOTAL OF SIX CHANNELS TO CHOOSE FROM!
The first program I remember, one that my parents were all-too-happy to watch with me, was THE SHARI LEWIS SHOW.
Ms. Lewis was a ventriloquist - a very good one - and her imaginary friends were always clever, funny, and full of life: Lambchop, Hush Puppy, Charley Horse and Wing Ding. |
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Publicity photo of Shari Lewis and her puppets Lambchop and Charlie Horse from The Ford Show, 7 April 1960. Lambchop was the most popular of the cast (and is still popular!), and a perfect foil for Shari Lewis. Shari was always kind and positive and the ‘leader’ of the gang. Lambchop was sassy and always looking for a punch line.
I started experimenting with sock puppets soon after - with the blessing of my mother and father - who didn’t see ventriloquism as an outdated, old-fashioned, stereotypical entertainment form that was oh so far from hip and cool. They were, in a word, SUPPORTIVE. A sock with button eyes, yarn for hair and it talks! Why not? I became a ventriloquist.
Fast forward a couple of decades. It’s the mid-1990s. I have been booked on The Branson Belle, a big boat that floats around Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri and features a couple of shows a day in dinner-theater setting.
Its steady work, middle of the summer, and the owners of the boat - SILVER DOLLAR CITY - have provided a condominium for my wife and our two very young children.
I showed up at the boat one night and the restaurant manager approaches me during my soundcheck.
“You have a special guest tonight.”
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Shari Lewis was in Branson for a short run, playing one of the many theaters in town. She was still vibrant (her latest TV show “Lambchop’s Play Along” was airing on PBS at the time, and my kids were avid viewers. I personally loved the theme song: “THE SONG THAT DOESN’T END” - think John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt”). She was still a television star - at the time some five decades into a career in TV. Almost incomprehensible for anyone, much less a ventriloquist!
Shari Lewis came and watched me perform two shows!
Gracious, kind, complimentary, and funny, she posed for a picture. I was and am overwhelmed. She had motivated and inspired me to a career, and I thanked her profusely for what she had done for me.
She invited me to her show. I attended (OF COURSE!) and was blown away.
To have a successful ventriloquist act there are 3 main characteristics needed: - clever, unique, interesting characters (puppets).
- excellent technique (not moving your lips and manipulating the puppets), and
- excellent content (jokes, songs, patter, dialogue, bits of business).
Shari Lewis, in her 60s at the time, was ageless on stage. The theater was sold out - young, old, teens and twenty-somethings in the audience. She held court for 80 minutes and was mesmerizing.
Shari Lewis passed away in 1998 at age 65. Her daughter, Mallory, currently tours performing a ventriloquist act, very much in honor of, and as a familial tribute to, her mother. Even as far as bringing the ever-sassy Lambchop to life in front of audiences of all ages around the globe.
I've included a backstage picture of Shari Lewis with me, taken some 30+ years ago. It is one of my most cherished show business pictures/mementos. I do not keep many.
I have shared the stage with iconic household names from the worlds of pop music, theater, motion picture and television: Tina Turner, Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano, Chris Rock, and much more, but this encounter - this moment with Shari Lewis - is the one I consider my favorite.
I’m glad I can share it with you.
Thanks for reading!
Taylor P.S. Please give a listen to the podcast I am pleased to be part of: STORIES UNLIMITED. Download it on APPLE and SPOTIFY. If you are looking for a special, unique, one-of-a-kind personalized comedy video please use the CAMEO app and book me!
Finally, please consider downloading the Dry Bar Comedy+ App on Android or Apple to watch my two Dry Bar Comedy Specials: Hysterical Perspective and Puppet Regime.
Podcasts Spotify Cameo Irreversible (my book)
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