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, 2000. 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. Just like Play-Along, 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.

Plot

The show 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

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

Season 1 (1998)

#List of EpisodesRelease Date
1Back StoryJanuary 5, 1998
2My Dog Has FleasJanuary 6, 1998
3Musicians of BremenJanuary 7, 1998
4Blow HardJanuary 8, 1998
5Follow the LeaderJanuary 9, 1998
6Spooky Opera ShowJanuary 12, 1998
7A Pirate's LifeJanuary 13, 1998
8The AuditionJanuary 14, 1998
9Group SoupJanuary 15, 1998
10RapunzelJanuary 16, 1998
11Toy ExchangeJanuary 19, 1998
12Charlie on the RunJanuary 20, 1998
13Wise QueenJanuary 21, 1998
14Star-Spangled CharlieJanuary 22, 1998
15Charlie's AntJanuary 23, 1998
16Whistle While You WorkJanuary 26, 1998
17JazzyJanuary 27, 1998
18Hush Puppy the HeroJanuary 28, 1998
19Can I Sing You My Song?January 29, 1998
20Drum ShowJanuary 30, 1998

Season 2 (1999)

#List of EpisodesRelease Date
21One Man BandJanuary 3, 1999
22The George & Bill ShowJanuary 10, 1999
23Goodbye, HelloJanuary 17, 1999

Cancellation

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]

Reception

Critical reception

Awards

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

  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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