Tarcher worked closely with her mother as producer of Lamb Chop's Play-Along. Jeremy Tarcher had also been part of Shari Lewis's show on PBS. After her mother's death in 1998, on the advice of family and family friend the late Dom DeLuise, Tarcher decided that Lamb Chop should live on for her many fans. In 2009, she started performing with Lamb Chop. It was during this time that she changed her surname to her mother's, Lewis, as an homage. While Lamb Chop may be described as "sassy", "please" and "thank you" are part of the repertoire. Lewis has the same hand size as her mother. Lewis said of her decision to take up the puppet: "My mom was one of the world's greatest entertainers. I don't want to challenge that. I don't think it's wise to go there. But I do want to do everything that I can do for Lamb Chop. I'll help keep her going". Lewis had never attempted to imitate Lamb Chop's voice but upon receiving a posthumous award for Shari, Lewis performed with the puppet, discovering that she had her mother's ability to effect the voice without lip movement. Lewis is also a writer of children's books, some of which star Zoey, a baby orangutan character she also puppeteers. Lewis performs extensively for military support organizations such as the USO and the Fisher House Foundation, performing arts centers, and at state fairs around the country. In 2002, Lewis helped raise $275,000 for UCLA's Neuro-Oncology Program. as well as being a founder of Jump For The Cause, a women's world record skydiving organization that has raised nearly $2 million for Breast Cancer Research. Lewis is also on the board of the Blue Ribbon. Lewis was the co-host of the 2014 AMG Heritage Awards with host Billy Gilman and David L Cook. During the broadcast she accepted the Sandy Hosey Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Artists Music Guild. Prior to her death, Shari Lewis sold most of the rights pertaining to Lamb Chop to Golden Books Family Entertainment. A series of transactions resulted in these rights being held by DreamWorks Classics, though Mallory still owns the live performing rights to Lamb Chop. Lewis hopes to one day put Lamb Chop back on TV.
Awards
Mallory Lewis has won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series and has been nominated several times. She and her mother shared an Emmy Award.
