Early life and career Shermet was born in
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, on August 1, 1920. After that, she moved to
New York City, where she began work with the Al Paul Lefton Co. agency as an advertising
copywriter at the age of 19. Throughout her career, Shermet credited her early work in advertising, as well as her studies at
Carnegie Tech (now
Carnegie Mellon University in
Pittsburgh), where she studied acting and graduated in 1941, for her longevity in the
entertainment industry. Her first major broadcast acting role came in March 1950 when she was cast as Miss Duffy in ''
Duffy's Tavern, a long running radio situation comedy. Shermet relocated to Puerto Rico, where Duffy's Tavern'' was produced and recorded, for the role. A pioneer of early television, Shermet starred in two shows which aired on
WOR-TV in
New York City,
Songs You’ve Never Heard Before and ''Won't Want to Ever Hear Again'', in which she performed tunes and songs requested by viewers. In 1964, Shermet had a notable role as Cousin Melancholia on an episode of
The Addams Family. From 1972 to 1977, Shermet provided the voice of the Henrietta Hippo puppet for all 196-episodes of the children's television show,
New Zoo Revue. In a 2000 interview with the
Archive of American Television, Hazel Shermet spoke of her prolific acting career, telling the interviewer Karen Herman, "I'm proud of the fact that I was able to work in all the mediums and raise two kids and be married to somebody that was working all the time. I hope people remember me as professional, as versatile and as somebody who loved every minute of it. I hope I gave a lot of joy," noting that "Acting for me is like eating for most people. When I'm 90 and the phone rings, I'll put my teeth in, hobble to the phone and see if it's my agent." Shermet's husband, screenwriter and two-time
Emmy Award nominee, Larry Rhine, died in 2000. ==Death==