Meet 'Lamp Chop' Star Shari Lewis' Daughter Mallory Who Is a Ventriloquist & Puppeteer like Her

Shari Lewis's daughter did not only take after her mother through physical appearance, but she also went beyond genetics to inherit her talent as a ventriloquist and a puppeteer.

Parents generally want their children to find their path and do what makes them happy, and when it turns out that their child's dream is to take after them, it becomes the icing on the cake.

For Shari Lewis, her daughter, Mallory Lewis, became the third generation of her family to work with puppets, keeping up the legacy and making her mom proud.

SHARI WANTED TO BE A BALLERINA

The puppet entertainment started with Shari's father, Abraham Hurwitz. Before the late TV host could talk, she had already gotten introduced to the art of ventriloquism, but as she grew, she strived to make another path for herself.

The New York-born entertainer's path took her to ballet, but when she could not land a job as a ballerina, she returned like the prodigal daughter and asked her father for a puppet to learn with.

Abraham's connections got Shari an opportunity to get tutored by the renowned ventriloquist John W. Cooper, and with the newly acquired skills, she debuted the children show, "Facts and Fun."

The latter began what would later become a successful career where the mom-of-one used humor to teach parents and children valuable life lessons.

Although "Facts and Fun" was successful, the puppeteer's rise to fame came when she created "Lamb Chop."

It debuted in '57, on an episode of NBC's "Captain Kangaroo." It got greenlighted and went on to have an unbeaten run for years.

In the early '90s, the show got rebooted as "Lamb Chop Play-Along," and Shari, who was already a mother to Mallory at this point, worked with her daughter, with the latter acting as a producer.

A LEGACY CONTINUED

Apart from "Lamb Chop," the puppet the Emmy winner became identified with throughout her career, she created other successful TV shows like "The Kartoon Klub," "Shariland," and "The Shari Show."

She also wrote tons of children's books like "Things That Kids Collect," and "Magic for Nonmagicians."

Shari's life was about providing informal education for children and bringing them joy at the same time. She lived her life doing that until uterine cancer took her life in' 98.

At the puppeteer's death, it looked like "Lamb Chop" would retire, but Mallory stepped up and continued her mother's legacy with the puppet that is forever 6-year-old and talks with a New York accent.

In 2001, the Malibu resident who refers to the sock in the shape of a lamb puppet as her sister performed with it for the first time at a KISMET event in Washington D.C.

In an interview at the time, the writer, describing the puppet said,

"She's [sincere]; she has the honesty of a kid, she has the wisdom of a kid, and she has the smart mouth of an adorable only child."

In a separate interview, Mallory said having "Lamb Chop,"

"Made me feel very happy because it was like a part of my mom was still alive. It did bring up a lot of emotions but not in a bad way."

MALLORY IS CONTENT

In 2007, the puppeteer and her puppet performed at the MDA Labor Telethon, and they got introduced as "Shari Lewis children."

In 2017, during the entertainer's 20th anniversary with "Lamb Chop," she admitted in an interview that the puppet doing anything other than entertaining children would mean she had to grow up, and she didn't want that.

The two share a joint Instagram account filled with photos of their events. Aside from performing with the puppet, Mallory writes children's books, and her work, "Phonics 4 Babies" got dedicated to Shari's lifetime commitment to giving children as much information as possible, in the most respectful way possible.

Just like her late mom, the ventriloquist is a mom to James Abraham Tarcher Hood.

The young man's acronym is his Instagram handle, and his father is Brad Wood, Mallory's first husband, and a man who fills his IG account with nature photography.

The puppeteer is currently married to Brian Cummings. Based on the latter's Facebook profile, he was formerly the fire chief at LA Fire Department and now works as a technical adviser for station 19, as well as a public speaker for a career survival group.

Mallory is content with her life; she is confident Shari is proud of what she's achieved with "Lamb Chop" and lives life every day knowing she's doing what she loves.