Ep 863: Lisa D’Apolito • Daniel Kremer

Returning to the podcast in this first segment is the documentary filmmaker Lisa D'Apolito ("Love, Gilda"). Coming-of-age can be difficult, but is always more bearable when you have someone who connects with you on a cellular level. Shari Lewis - a children’s television  pioneer before Fred Rogers, Jim Henson, and others - was one of those people. She was a dancer, singer, and magician, but was best known as the ventriloquist behind sock puppets Charlie Horse, Hush Puppy and, of course, Lamb Chop. This heartfelt and entertaining doc charts the life, loves, and career hits and misses of the spunky perfectionist who forever changed the face of children’s television. Featuring ventriloquists she inspired and nostalgia-laden clips, this upbeat portrait brims, like Lewis, with warmth and charm. "Shari & Lamp Chop" is the tonic we all need to reconnect with our inner children, and celebrate pure imagination. "Shari & Lamp Chop" is currently enjoying a theatrical run. Visit the website for details. Returning to the podcast in the second segment is the documentary filmmaker Daniel Kremer. He was last on the podcast back in May of 2018. Perhaps at first glance, the filmography of Silvio Narizzano appears unremarkable. Thanks to his sleeper hit "Georgy Girl" (1966), he's known largely as a 'one-hit wonder' director. Upon closer inspection, however, likely no other filmmaker used cinema as effectively to exorcise personal demons in ways both ugly and beautiful. And few directors' sensibilities were more gay, both overtly and covertly. Film historian Daniel Kremer is your tour guide through an obscure, perplexing body of work heretofore ignored and often unfairly shunned. "Cruel, Usual, Necessary: The Passion of Silvio Narizzano" is an essay documentary of discovery. —Imprint Films