FAQ
Meet
Mallory Lewis
Mallory
Lewis is the daughter of Shari Lewis, the woman who created
the world-famous puppet Lamb Chop. Lamb Chop and Shari entertained
several generations of young people with their charming banter
and lively shows. Now following in her mother’s footstep,
Mallory has partnered with Lamb Chop to entertain a whole
new generation, as well as bring nostalgia back to those who
grew up with Lamb Chop themselves.
Mallory
has been deeply involved in children's entertainment her entire
life. A multiple Emmy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner
for "Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series,"
Lewis has an extensive background in all aspects of television
production, including writing, producing, and performing.
She began her career at age 12 working with her mother by
ghostwriting for her newspaper column. After writing and producing
for the Lamb Chop's Play-Along show, Lewis assumed the responsibilities
of her mother's three prime-time variety specials, and served
as executive story editor and producer of The Charlie Horse
Music Pizza.
Following
her mother's death, Lewis began appearing with Lamb Chop at
live and televised events, performing in more than 400 shows
at such venues as The Magic Castle, Performing Arts Centers
and aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2. She has toured with the
USO, entertaining the troops and their families around the
world.
As
an author, Lewis has penned 20 children's novels, including
the popular Adventurers Inc. and Zoey and Me series.
Q:
How did you start ghostwriting for your mother’s newspaper
column?
A: I was about 12 years old and I wanted a job. My mom needed
help with her newspaper column so she asked me if I wanted
to help. By the time I’d written the third column I
asked her for a byline.
Q:
Do others in your family write books?
A: My family is a family of writers. My grandfather wrote
20 books, my mom wrote 60 books, my father was a book publisher,
my aunt is Judith Krantz (magazine journalist and best-selling
author whose books have been made into mini-series), my uncle
wrote many of the scripts for the TV series, The Love Boat,
and I’ve written 20 books myself. My son writes too.
He’d written his first screen play, about Batman and
Superman, when he was four. I told him that Marvel comics
might have some issues with it, but that was what he was into
at the time. Then recently he started writing a novel about
a young girl who had a necklace with 12 charms that represented
the Greek gods. One day the Poseidon charmed glowed and the
girl was covered in a bubble of water. That’s how the
second chapter ended. It really left me wanting to know what
happened next.
Q:
What does it take to be a writer?
A: To be a writer you have to be a reader. You have to get
the rhythm of it into your soul and your brain. You learn
how to tell a story. Writing is like unfolding a flower. For
example, you start with the sentence, “There was a girl
named Marny.” Then you write, “She lived in a
small town.” Next you write, “The town had a problem.”
Each sentence is a layer that opens until you can see the
whole flower.
Q: Why did you decide to stay in the field children’s
entertainment?
A: It’s part of who I am. My family are writers and
performers. For a while I rebelled, became the Eastern Regional
Sales Manager for RCA/Columbia (Mallory Pictures Home Video
but eventually I gave up fighting and got back to what I am
— a writer, producer and performer.
Q:
Did you play with Lamb Chop while you were growing up?
A: Lamb Chop would talk to me when I was a child. I could
tell Lamb Chop anything. I would never get in trouble for
anything I told Lamb Chop because I knew she would never tell
my mom. Lamb Chop was always such a strong character. She’s
always been part of the family. My son feels that way too.
He works with me now. He started working with me when he was
eight years old doing the set-up of my sound system and calling
my music cues. It’s an important job because if the
sound system isn’t right it can ruin a show. One day
when he was nine we were in the car and he said to me, “Mom,
I didn’t think Lamb Chop was as funny with that joke
as she usually is.” Then he got a stricken look on his
face and said, “Do you think she could hear me?”
Q:
So Lamb Chop is a “person” in her own right?
A: She is. We’re not crazy, we know she’s not
human, but she is a member of our family. It’s amazing,
and I don’t think about it too much or analyze it, but
there are things Lamb Chop can do that I can’t. When
we record together Lamb Chop has perfect pitch. I don’t.
I can’t hit a high C but somehow she can. She also speaks
Spanish better than I do. Living in Southern California and
spending time in Costa Rica I know some Spanish, but she’ll
be chattering away in Spanish and sometimes I’ll have
a bizarre moment when I think, “What is she saying?”
Q:
How did you decided to work with Lamb Chop?
A: I was going around the country receiving posthumous awards
for my mom after she died. People would write and ask if Lamb
Chop was dead too. One day I brought Lamb Chop and slipped
her into the podium. At the end of my speech I pulled her
out. There was a gasp from the audience when they saw her.
All Lamb Chop said was, “Thank you so much. Shari would
be very proud.” I realized that Lamb chop was still
alive and that I wanted to work with her.
Q:
What is like working with Lamb Chop?
A: It’s a real blessing. She’s a star, so it gave
me many opportunities that other performers who are starting
out don’t have. The first show I did was Rosie O’Donnell.
Another early show was to an audience of 20,000 people. Those
kinds of audience are unusual for someone starting out.
Q:
Do you work the same way as your mother or do you have a different
style?
A: In the beginning I used to rehearse in the clothes that
my mom wore to rehearsal, which wasn’t the best since
I’m taller than she was, but I didn’t know which
of the things she did mattered and which didn’t so I
tried to be like her. Little by little I developed my own
patterns and rhythms. We have a different stage style. Her
show was tighter than mine. She was of a different generation,
plus she had different tastes. For example, mom didn’t
like to have children on stage with her. I find them hysterical,
but they’re the X factor. You never know what they’re
going to do. During one performance a 2-1/2 year old girl
crawled up on the stage with me. I signaled to my sound guy
to stop the music. I kneeled down to talk to her. The conversation
went something like this —
ML:
“Hi. Do you want to be in show business?”
Girl: “Yes.”
This got the audience laughing.
ML:
“You have a nice purse.”
Girl: “My mommy let me wear her purse. I have a lipstick.”
ML: “That’s a very pretty color.”
Then
she pulled out something intimate.
Girl:
“What’s this?”
ML: “I think that’s a good question for your mommy.
She’s the one with the bright red face.”
By
now the audience is crying from laughter. It was great fun.
At
the same time, I do some things the way my mom did. One of
the most important things I do is focus on the quality of
the performance. My mom always insisted on having a proper
sound check because without good sound a performance is ruined.
Having a proper sound check is a rider* in my contract. The
audience should have a good time and unless you have certain
things done in a professional way the performance is bad and
the audience loses.
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