The Charlie Horse Music Pizza
| The Charlie Horse Music Pizza | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Family Entertainment |
| Written by | Colman deKay |
| Directed by |
Niles Davenport Stan Jacobson |
| Presented by | Shari Lewis |
| Starring |
Dom DeLuise Wezley Morris Chancz Perry |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 23 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Golden Books Family Entertainment KCET |
| Release | |
| Original network |
PBS (1998–1999) PBS Kids (1999–2000) |
| Original release | January 5, 1998 – January 17, 1999 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Lamb Chop's Play-Along |
The Charlie Horse Music Pizza is an American children's television show that was shown on PBS in the United States from January 1998 and 1999. Re-runs aired until late 2000. Re-runs are currently airing, again, on PBJ. It is a spin-off of the series 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 Lamb Chop's Play-Along, The Charlie Horse Music Pizza was shot at the CBC studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
The show takes place around a pizzeria on the beach. Alongside the original cast of Lamb Chop, Hush Puppy, Charlie Horse, and Shari, Charlie Horse Music Pizza introduced four new characters – Take-Out, a big anthropomorphized orangutan who makes deliveries on roller skates (played by Chancz Perry); Fingers, a giant 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); and Junior, who works at the pizzeria part-time, and plays musical instruments, such as the tuba for his high school marching band (played by Wezley Morris).
The series was put on hiatus after the May 18 episode aired due to Lewis' treatment in a local hospital. It was then cancelled when she died on August 2.
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired (U.S. dates) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | |||
| 1 | 20 | January 5, 1998 | January 17, 1999 | |
| 2 | 3 | January 3, 1999 | January 17, 1999 | |
Season 1
| # | 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)
| # | List of Episodes | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | One Man Band | January 3, 1999 |
| 22 | The George & Bill Show | January 10, 1999 |
| 23 | Goodbye, Hello | January 17, 1999 |
VHS releases
There Are VHS Tapes in 1998 to 1999 Releases from Sony Wonder.
| # | List of Volumes and more | Release Date | No. of Videos |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Volume 1 | February 10, 1998 | 5 |
| 2 | Volume 2 | February 10, 1998 | 5 |
| 3 | Volume 3 | March 31, 1998 | 5 |
| 4 | Volume 4 | March 31, 1998 | 5 |
| 5 | Volume 5 | March 9, 1999 | 3 |
Funding
- The NAMM International Music Products Association
- Remo
- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting
- Annual financial support from Viewers Like You