Rare Treats: Hi, Mom (1957)

 New York was a hotbed for children's show hosts in the 50's, 60's, & 70's. Most discussions center around guys like Chuck McCann (WPIX), Soupy Sales, Sandy Becker, & Sonny Fox (WNEW), but have a tendency to forget there was also a woman in the mix.

That would be Shari Lewis.

By 1957, Shari was a fixture at WRCA (now WNBC), where she was brought in a few years earlier to take over the Kartoon Klub, which later was renamed The Shari Lewis Show, then Shariland until it ended in 1956. Seems show business was in Shari's blood, as her father was a magician who was deemed the "official magician" of New York by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia more than 20 years earlier, during the Great Depression.

After a guest appearance on CBS' Captain Kangaroo introduced America to Lamb Chop, Shari returned to WRCA to co-host Hi, Mom, which ran for a couple of years (1957-9). 

Edit, 8/17/23: The video has been deleted. Luckily, Gilmore Box uploaded the open:

Yeah, I know. The audio is down too low for some of you. The Paley Center in New York may have at least one full episode, but I don't know for sure.

No rating. Just a public service.