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The Charlie Horse Music Pizza

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The Charlie Horse Music Pizza
GenrePreschool
Created byShari Lewis
Jeremy Tarcher
Developed byMallory Tarcher
Shari Lewis
Bernard Rothman
Written byShari Lewis
Mallory Tarcher
Bernard Rothman
Directed byNiles Davenport
Stan Jacobson
Presented byShari Lewis
StarringShari Lewis
Lamb Chop
Charlie Horse
Hush Puppy
Dom DeLuise
Wezley Morris
Chancz Perry
Chantal Strand
Opening theme"Charlie Horse Music Pizza"
Ending theme"Still Be Friends"
Country of originUnited States
Canada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes23 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerBernard Rothman
ProducerShawn Williamson
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesGolden Books Family Entertainment
KCET
Original release
NetworkPBS Kids
ReleaseJanuary 5, 1998 (1998-01-05) –
January 17, 1999 (1999-01-17)
Related
Lamb Chop's Play-Along

The Charlie Horse Music Pizza is a children's television show that was shown on PBS Kids in the United States from January 5, 1998, to January 17, 1999, with reruns continuing to air until September 3, 1999. Reruns again aired on PBJ until 2016. It is the short-lived spin-off of Lamb Chop's Play-Along and was hosted by Shari Lewis, whose strong belief in the benefits of music education for children led to the creation of the series. The Charlie Horse Music Pizza was shot at the CBC Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Charlie Horse Music Pizza was Shari's final project.

Premise

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The series takes place around a pizzeria on the beach. Alongside the original cast of Lamb Chop, Hush Puppy, Charlie Horse, and Lewis, Charlie Horse Music Pizza introduced five new characters: Take Out, a big anthropomorphized dim-witted orangutan who makes deliveries on roller skates (played by Chancz Perry); Fingers, a giant, sassy purple raccoon that lives in the dumpster behind the pizzeria (played by Gordon Robertson); Cookie, the soft-hearted opera loving cook (played by Dom DeLuise), Junior, a cool teenager who works at the pizzeria part time and plays the tuba for his high school marching band (played by Wezley Morris), and Holly, a young girl in a wheelchair (played by Chantal Strand).

Episodes

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Season Episodes Originally aired (U.S. dates)
Season premiere Season finale
1 20 January 5, 1998 (1998-01-05) January 30, 1998 (1998-01-30)
2 3 January 3, 1999 (1999-01-03) January 17, 1999 (1999-01-17)

Season 1 (1998)

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# List of Episodes Release Date
1 Back Story January 5, 1998
2 My Dog Has Fleas January 6, 1998
3 Musicians of Bremen January 7, 1998
4 Blow Hard January 8, 1998
5 Follow the Leader January 9, 1998
6 Spooky Opera Show January 12, 1998
7 A Pirate's Life January 13, 1998
8 The Audition January 14, 1998
9 Group Soup January 15, 1998
10 Rapunzel January 16, 1998
11 Toy Exchange January 19, 1998
12 Charlie on the Run January 20, 1998
13 Wise Queen January 21, 1998
14 Star-Spangled Charlie January 22, 1998
15 Charlie's Ant January 23, 1998
16 Whistle While You Work January 26, 1998
17 Jazzy January 27, 1998
18 Hush Puppy the Hero January 28, 1998
19 Can I Sing You My Song? January 29, 1998
20 Drum Show January 30, 1998

Season 2 (1999)

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# List of Episodes Release Date
21 One Man Band January 3, 1999
22 The George & Bill Show January 10, 1999
23 Hello, Goodbye January 17, 1999

Cancellation

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When Lamb Chop's Play-Along! ended, Shari and her husband Jeremy created The Charlie Horse Music Pizza to teach children about music after talking about what kids loved the most.[1] Because a third of elementary schools were cutting music class from their curriculum at the time, Shari and Jeremy felt that they should introduce kids to music through the show.[2] After Shari was diagnosed with inoperable uterine cancer, the show was put on hold on June 18, 1998, while she underwent chemotherapy at Cedars-Sinai Hospital. She died from viral pneumonia on August 2, 1998.[3] After her death, The Charlie Horse Music Pizza was cancelled.[4] The last episode of The Charlie Horse Music Pizza aired on January 17, 1999, on what would have been her 66th birthday.[5]

Awards

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Year Nominee / work Award Result
2000 Shari Lewis for playing "Host" (posthumous award; accepted by Mallory Tarcher Lewis) Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series Won

References

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  1. ^ Seaman, Debbie (May 3, 1998). "Signoff; Shari Lewis's Jazzy New Pals (Published 1998)". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  2. ^ Levy, Claudia (August 4, 1998). "Shari Lewis, Television Puppeteer, Dies at 65" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  3. ^ Kogan, Rick (4 August 1998). "Puppeteer Shari Lewis, 65, Creator, Voice of Lamb Chop". chicagotribune.com.
  4. ^ Oliver, Myrna (4 August 1998). "Puppeteer Shari Lewis Dies". courant.com.
  5. ^ Edelstein, Andy (January 20, 1999). "Shari Lewis' Farewell / Ch. 13 to broadcast late puppeteer's last". Newsday.
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