Hand puppet:Shari Lewis Puppets: Hush Puppy

Puppeteer and ventriloquist Shari Lewis first came to wide public attention as a first prize winner on the CBS television series "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts" in 1952. After hosting local television programs starting in 1953, NBC launched "The Shari Lewis Show" in 1960 as a replacement for "The Howdy Doody Show." The series continued continued to 1963, featuring Lewis's stable of puppets--Lamb Chop, Wing Ding, Charlie Horse, and Hush Puppy--with periodic appearances by celebrities and television stars, a pattern later duplicated by "The Muppet Show." Kids wanted their own versions of the puppets and Ideal Toy Corp. was happy to oblige.