Lamb Chop is back, with a familiar voice

Yes, the Lamb Chop. Kathie Lee Gifford left the show last week, of course, and the co-hosting spot on Live! With Regis is open. As far as we know, this is the first time Lamb Chop's name has come up as a possible replacement.

Lamb Chop is kidding (we think). But it's nice to know the lovable sock puppet made famous by Shari Lewis has come out of retirement and is thinking about her next career move.

Wednesday will mark two years since the popular puppeteer died of uterine cancer at age 65. But producer/writer Mallory Lewis has decided that Lamb Chop is too dear to remain in the plastic container the puppet went into after her mother died.

Mallory, 33, has a remarkable ability to duplicate her mother's voice when she brings Lamb Chop to life. Her decision to keep Lamb Chop going for a new generation of kids came last year, when friend Dom DeLuise was over for dinner.

"I brought Lamb Chop out. She has her own strength and personality," Mallory recalls. "She's very comfortable for me. I hate to say I'm channeling my mother. This voice just came through me." She and DeLuise cried.

Mallory worked closely with her mother, producing PBS' Lamb Chop's Play-Along, a comeback hit in the '90s. Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop made their debut on Captain Kangaroo in 1957. She won baby boomers' hearts in the '60s with her first national TV series.

Since her mother's death, Mallory Lewis and Lamb Chop have made a few public appearances, including one on The Rosie O'Donnell Show. At the Daytime Emmy Awards in May, Mallory made an impromptu speech with Lamb Chop when she accepted her mother's Daytime Emmy for outstanding performer in a children's series for Charlie Horse Music Pizza.

"Here I was at Radio City, and I started to get nervous. Almost out loud, I said, 'Mom, if you can hear me, get over here. This is your fault that I have to go onstage. Come help me.' I suddenly felt such a feeling of peace."

Mallory and Lamb Chop are set to appear at Los Angeles' Magic Castle in October. And she is planning an animated Lamb Chop series.

This fall Mallory will travel to Japan with Lamb Chop to visit 30 "Lamb Chop" boutiques.

Even though Lamb Chop has been a bit sheepish lately about appearing in public, she has one very devoted young fan: Mallory's 17-month-old son with her husband, aerial cinematographer Brad Hood. Jamie "loves watching Lamp Chop and Grandma" on video.

Mallory's Malibu house is decorated with Lamp Chop dolls. There's a stuffed Lamp Chop, as well as her mother's other famous puppets- Charlie Horse and Hush Puppy- in her office, along with an urn containing Shari's ashes. "This is my mom," Mallory says.

Mallory feels less comfortable trying to give voice to Charlie Horse and Hush Puppy.

"The boys don't speak to me in the same way," she says.

Mallory says she isn't trying to follow in her mother's footsteps, because "her footsteps were much too large."

But she feels a special kinship with the sock "sister" she grew up with.

"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 I can for Lamb Chop. I'll help keep her going."