Mallory Lewis is continuing her mother’s legacy and making it her own at the same time. Shari Lewis was a famous children’s entertainer and ventriloquist. One of her most iconic characters was Lamb Chop, a sassy sock puppet. Shari died in 1998 at 65 years old. Mallory took over the character in 2000.
With Mallory’s help, Lamb Chop is now reaching a whole new generation. She is even on TikTok, making her a modern puppet. Mallory loves sharing the character with everyone, both young and old.
Shari created the character of Lamb Chop and debuted it on Captain Kangaroo in 1956. The character would go on to appear on The Shari Lewis Show in 1969. During the '70s and '80s, Lamb Chop would pop up on television specials. In 1992, Shari and Lamb Chop got their own show with PBS’ Lamb Chop's Play-Along.
Mallory grew up with Lamb Chop. "To me, it was completely normal growing up in show business and in this weird world of puppets," Mallory explained to People. "I'm often asked what it was like growing up with a famous mom, and I don't quite know because to me, she was just mom."
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Mallory didn’t expect to follow in her mother’s footsteps. "I did not want to be a ventriloquist. I did not want to be an entertainer,” she went on to say. “I was my mom's head writer, and I was her producer. And when she died, I kept getting letters and some early emails that asked, 'Is Lamb Chop dead too?'"
This broke Mallory’s heart. "I couldn't let Lamb Chop also be dead,” she stated. “So I was going around the country, accepting posthumous awards for my mom, and I was pregnant and postpartum, and my now ex-husband asked me, 'Do you want to do this?' And so, I gave it a try and it turned out I did."
Mallory always knew Lamb Chop was special but she didn’t fully understand how important the character was to so many until she started performing. "The nicest thing about hanging out with Lamb Chop is that I am greeted with love that my mother engendered," she gushed. "I've gotten to do amazing things because of Lamb Chop."
Her stepdaughter and a friend urged her to take the character to TikTok. "At first I was like, 'Oh God, not another social media platform,' but I tried it and my third video went viral. Now, I love it. My theory is that every network serves its purpose. Facebook is for fighting with family. X is for fighting with complete strangers. Instagram is for beautiful young things. But TikTok? TikTok is for entertainers," Mallory mused.
Users on TikTok shared their love of Shari. "I get lovely comments from people and it's so nice to see,” Mallory explained. “Some say, 'I had a difficult childhood and your mom was the bright spot' or 'Your mom was so classy' or 'Seeing your mom unlocks my happiest childhood memories.' Everyone comes to the table with a good memory.'"
Mallory loves that TikTok expands her audience to both the young and the more mature. "I think a lot of my TikTok fan base is people who would just like to have a few moments of peace and happiness,” she mused. “The world's a pretty scary place and I think Mom always made people feel good, feel safe, when their lives were scary as children. Now, Lamb Chop and I get to continue on with that tradition."
