Mally Lewis & Lamb Chop

Beck/Smith Syndicate
(www.arcamax.com/entertainmenttoday/s-213928-670885)

KEEPING UP THE GOOD WORK: Mallory Lewis, daughter of late, beloved children's entertainer/ventriloquist extraordinaire Shari Lewis, is keeping her mom's legacy very much alive. Not only does Mallory have her own puppet characters -- which she has performing in Starz Home Entertainment's upcoming "Phonics 4 Babies" series of DVDs -- she also voices an old friend. "I was mom's producer and head writer, and I was pregnant when she died," recalls Mallory, whose son is now 8 years old. "I always assumed my son would grow up in Lamb Chop's world and I knew that she wasn't done. I was getting letters from kids asking 'Is Lamb Chop dead, too?' I was touring around the country accepting posthumous awards for my mom, and I went to one in Minneapolis … Without saying anything to anyone in advance, in case I wanted to chicken out, I had Lamb Chop with me behind the podium and at the appropriate moment brought her out, and she said, 'Shari would be so proud, Thank you,'" recalls Mallory, recreating the sassy puppet's voice. The crowd went wild, natch.

Now Mallory and producers Joe and Cassandra Giangrasso are aiming to help tiny tykes get a leg up in learning the English language with their fun line of DVDs. "Baby's First Words" (60 minutes), the debut title in the series, will be in stores Sept. 25.

Mallory Lewis, daughter of legendary children’s performer Shari Lewis, is the star of Starz Home Entertainment’s new direct-to-DVD series Phonics 4 Babies, which debuts in stores in September. Here's what this Malibu mom had to say: “My son Jamie is eight years old and this summer is the first time in his young life that I have not overscheduled him. During the school year, he gets the bus to his highly competitive prep school at 7:00 am and then he gets home at 4:00 pm. From there, the schedule is karate, homework, bath and bed. This summer Jamie will be spending two weeks at day camp, one at computer camp and one at filmmaking camp (his choice). The rest of the time will be devoted to play, play, play. We live in Malibu, so we’ll be spending some time at the beach. We will also be playing video games (yuck), reading and relaxing. We both need a break and we are both looking forward to it.”