Whatever Happened to Emmanuel Lewis From ‘Webster’?

Emmanuel Lewis may be 55 years old now and largely away from the spotlight, but fans will always remember him as the adorable little boy who starred in Webster in the 1980s. The ABC sitcom premiered in 1983 and followed Webster after he was taken in by his godfather, George Papadopolis, played by Alex Karras, and George’s wife, Katherine, played by Susan Clark. Lewis quickly became the heart of the show and, for a while, one of the most recognizable child stars on television.

Before Webster, Lewis had already been working in commercials, including ads for Campbell’s Soup, Life cereal, and Burger King. According to accounts of the show’s development, ABC programming executive Lew Erlicht saw Lewis in a Burger King commercial and wanted to develop a series around him. The project that eventually became Webster was originally centered more on Karras and Clark, who were married in real life, but when the casting director met Lewis, they loved him so much they decided to center the show around him, and audiences agreed.