Kathy Griffin Is Hosting a New Show Called “Let’s Dance”

Two-time Emmy Award winner and NY Times best-selling author Kathy Griffin (”My Life on the D-List”) will host “Let’s Dance,” a new, comedic dance series that features stars competing for charity as they pay homage to some of the most famous movie, musical and pop video dance routines of all time.

“Let’s Dance” will kick off its five-episode run with a live 90-minute premiere episode on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23 (9:30-11:00 p.m., ET) following the Season 9 finale broadcast of “Dancing with the Stars” on ABC. Additional episodes will air on Monday, Nov. 30, Mon., Dec. 7 and Mon., Dec. 14 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) with the finale on Tues., Dec. 15 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET).

The first three episodes of “Let’s Dance” will feature stars from all walks of life competing in single, group and duo performances as they train, rehearse and take to the stage to reveal their comedic dance routine in front of a studio audience. After each performance, a celebrity panel will give their comments before viewers across America have the chance to vote for their favorite performance. The celebrity panel and star participants will be announced shortly.

From each of the episodes, two performances will be chosen one by the viewers and one by the celebrity panel. These two acts will then return again to dance in the finale and the chance to win the hearts of the viewing audience. In the spectacular finale results show, the one act with the most viewer votes will be crowned America’s favorite and be awarded the coveted grand prize for their personal charity.

Ima Let You Finish, But Taylor Swift Performs on Dancing With the Stars

After a night of Waltz, Jitterbug and the first competition Mambo group routine, the remaining nine couples face their first Dance-Off double elimination as the eighth and ninth couples eliminated from the competition are announced, on “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show,” TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27 (9:00-10:01 p.m., ET), on ABC .

Taylor Swift, who sold more records in 2008 than any artist in the world, will make a very special appearance on “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show” on Tuesday, October 27,  to premiere a brand-new single, “Jump, Then Fall,” as well as perform her worldwide chart-topping hit, “Love Story,” accompanied by professional dancers Cheryl Burke, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Tony Dovolani, Jonathan Roberts, Edyta Sliwinska, and Anna Trebunskaya.

Cuban superstars Tiempo Libre take to the “Dancing with the Stars” stage performing “Tu Conga Bach” from their new Sony Masterworks album entitled “Bach in Havana.”

In a “Dancing with the Stars” first, the couple with the lowest combined scores will be eliminated, while the second and third couple with lowest combined scores will face the judges one last time in a Dance-Off to save their spot in the competition. The two couples will perform a short dance routine of their choosing that they have secretly prepared for the Dance-Off, and the judges’ scores for the Dance-Off routine will determine their fate.

By evening’s end two couples will be eliminated, as determined by a combination of the judges’ scores and viewers’ votes, along with the rankings from the Dance-Off dance. Who among the following nine teams will leave the ballroom floor?

ABC ANNOUNCES THE CELEBRITY AND PROFESSIONAL PAIRINGS FOR THE NINTH SEASON OF “DANCING WITH THE STARS”

ABC announces the professional dancer pairings for the all new cast of “Dancing with the Stars.” In alphabetical order, the 16 stars — with their professional partners — making their ballroom dancing debut are:

AARON CARTER, pop star, teams with KARINA SMIRNOFF, who returns for her seventh season.

NATALIE COUGHLIN, Olympic champion swimmer, teams with Season 1 champion ALEC MAZO, who returns for his fifth season.

MARK DACASCOS, “Iron Chef” star, joins LACEY SCHWIMMER, who returns for her third season.

TOM DELAY, former House Majority Leader, teams up with two-time champion CHERYL BURKE, who returns for her eighth season.

MACY GRAY, Grammy Award winner, teams with JONATHAN ROBERTS, who returns for his seventh season.

ASHLEY HAMILTON, actor and comedian, teams with EDYTA SLIWINSKA, who is the only pro to compete in all nine seasons of “Dancing with the Stars.”

MELISSA JOAN HART, actress, teams up with reigning two-time “Dancing with the Stars” champ MARK BALLAS, who returns for his fifth season.

KATHY IRELAND, entrepreneur and model, teams with TONY DOVOLANI, who returns for his eighth season.

MICHAEL IRVIN, NFL Hall of Famer, teams with Season 8’s Professional Dancer Competition winner ANNA DEMIDOVA, who makes her debut.

JOANNA KRUPA, model, teams with Season 7 champ DEREK HOUGH, who returns for his fifth season.

CHUCK LIDDELL, Ultimate Fighting Champion, teams with ANNA TREBUNSKAYA, who returns for her fourth season.

DEBI MAZAR, actress, teams with MAKSIM CHMERKOVSKIY, who returns for his seventh season.

MYA, award winning singer, teams with DMITRY CHAPLIN, who returns for his second season.

KELLY OSBOURNE, reality star, teams up with LOUIS VAN AMSTEL, who returns for his fifth season.

DONNY OSMOND, showbiz legend, is paired with KYM JOHNSON, who returns for her seventh season.

LOUIE VITO, professional snowboarder, joins CHELSIE HIGHTOWER, who returns for her second season.

With the biggest season yet, “Dancing with the Stars” Season 9 kicks off on MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET) when eight teams strut their stuff, while the other eight teams will show off their moves on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET). On a special night and time, two couples will learn their fate and be sent home, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET).

Dancing With the Stars 9 Cast Revealed

Cast includes Macy Gray and Tom DeLay, Among Others Whose Names Don’t Rhyme

The “Dancing With the Stars” cast for season nine was announced today live on “Good Morning America.”

The stage is set for new “DWTS” contenstants to showcase their fancy footwork when “Dancing With the Stars” returns for its ninth season on Monday, Sept. 21.

The celebrity cast, which includes an Osmond, a cowboy and a former House majority leader, will team up with professional dancers and face off on television’s hit ballroom competition.

Gymnast Shawn Johnson was the winner on the last season of the show.

Host Tom Bergeron was in Times Square today to announce the cast:

Dancing With the Stars Contestants Season 9:

Macy Gray

Macy Gray first burst onto the music scene with her debut album “On How Life Is” and the hit single “I Try,” both of which went to number one. She has gone on to sell more than 20,000,000 albums worldwide and has won and has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and six MTV Video Music Awards. She has collaborated on stage and in the recording studio with some of music’s greatest artists including Justin Timberlake, Carlos Santana, Erykah Badu, Fergie, will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas), John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers) Nas and Natalie Cole. Macy has also appeared in numerous films including “Spider Man,” “Training Day,” “Idlewild” (with Outkast) and the award-winning HBO Film “Lackawanna Blues.”

Melissa Joan Hart

Known for her starring roles in the television series “Clarissa Explains It All” and “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” Hart began her career at the early age of 4 with television commercials and various television appearances. She starred in the film, “Drive Me Crazy” alongside “Entourage’s” Adrian Grenier as well as the ABC Family Original Movie “Holiday in Handcuffs” opposite “Dancing with the Stars” alumni Mario Lopez, which was the highest rated program in the history of the network. In 2009, Hart starred in another ABC Family Original Movie, “My Fake Fianc” that garnered huge ratings as well. In 1993 Hart started her own production company, Hartbreak Films, and is set to release her first thriller film “Nine Dead” to DVD in January 2010. Hart and husband Mark Wilkerson are the proud parents of two sons, Mason, age 3 and Braydon 17 months.

Kathy Ireland

Kathy Ireland, the super model is now, wife, mother of three, author, Sunday school teacher and fashion CEO, of kathy ireland Worldwide (KIWW). Forbes, Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal celebrate KIWW as a $1.4 billion design empire. Kathy powerfully supports many non-profits including the Elizabeth Taylor HIV/AIDS Foundation, Feed The Children and the Alliance for Christian Education. UCLA names Kathy as one of the Top Ten Women’s Health Advocates in America.

Mya

Grammy Award winning multi-platinum artist Mya, became a star at the age of 18 with her eponymous debut album which yielded three top 10 singles. In addition to releasing five full length albums, one of which went platinum and another, gold, she starred in the acclaimed film “Chicago.” Since “Chicago,” Mya has appeared in several movies and signed onto a modeling contract. Her fourth and fifth studio albums, “Liberation” and “Sugar & Spice,” respectively, have been released in Japan and her sixth studio album is due to be released on her independent label. A long time advocate for young women, she founded The Mya Arts & Tech Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing disadvantaged youth growth and opportunity through arts & technology education, where she serves as both executive director and teacher.

Mark Dacascos

Famously known as “The Chairman” and host of Food Network’s “Iron Chef America,” Dacascos is also a trained martial artist as well as actor. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Mark’s passion for martial arts began at an early age under the tutelage of his parents who are both former national champions and teachers. After being discovered in San Francisco’s Chinatown, Mark began to establish a film and television career playing not only martial artists but a wide range of characters before joining “Iron Chef America” in 2005. He has appeared in several feature films including the internationally acclaimed French epic, “Brotherhood of the Wolf,” the cult classic “Only the Strong,” “Cradle to the Grave,” opposite Jet Li, “Only the Brave,” “Nomad” and “The Lost Medallion,” which is scheduled to be released later this year.

Ashley Hamilton

Actor, songwriter, comedian and son of former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant George Hamilton, Ashley is a multi-talented, multi-hyphenate with experience in film, comedy, and television. An accomplished singer, Ashley had a 2003 top 20 single released by Sony, and as a songwriter, co-wrote the top 10 Robbie Williams hit “Come Undone” and has writing credits for Hillary Duff, among other top acts. Ashley has made various television and film appearances in his career, including a starring role in “Sunset Beach.” Since 2007 he has been performing stand-up comedy at The Laugh Factory, The Hollywood Improv, The Comedy Store and Room 5 in Los Angeles.

Michael Irvin

One of the most successful wide receivers in the history of the NFL, former Dallas Cowboy Michael Irvin is a three-time Super Bowl champion and former broadcaster for ESPN’s “NFL Countdown.” Known as “The Playmaker” and one of “The Triplets” alongside fellow Cowboys Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith, Irvin was a recipient of the Dallas Cowboys’ “Ring of Honor” in 2005. In 2007, Irvin was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame and has appeared in various television shows as well as co-starring in “The Longest Yard” with Adam Sandler and Chris Rock. Last fall, Irvin executive produced/hosted the reality TV series “4th and Long” for Spike TV, in which one football hopeful was given a shot at making the Dallas Cowboys roster. Most recently, he appeared on the Hall of Fame inductions on the NFL Network and hosts his own radio show in Dallas for ESPN Radio.

Donny Osmond

Osmond won the hearts of millions as both a member of the Osmonds and, with his sister (and “Dancing With the Stars” alumna) Marie, as the youngest co-hosts in prime time history on the iconic ABC variety series “The Donny & Marie Show.” Donny and Marie are currently performing at the Las Vegas Flamingo Hotel through 2012. For nearly five decades, Donny Osmond has been a singer, musician, Broadway and film actor, talk show and game show host, best-selling author, and even a champion race car driver.

Dancing With the Stars Contestants Season 9

Tom DeLay

The former House Majority Leader is a prominent Republican and conservative firebrand. He was first elected to Congress in 1984, and when Republicans took control of the House his colleagues elected him majority whip, and later majority leader. His leadership was characterized by his aggressive “Grow the Vote” method of party discipline where he never lost a vote, leading the Washington Post to nickname him “The Hammer.” He and his wife, Christine, also served as foster parents and founded a community in Texas that serves as a safe, permanent home for abused and neglected children. DeLay is currently president of First Principles LLC, a strategic political consulting firm based in Washington, D.C., and Houston.

Natalie Coughlin

Olympic swimming gold medalist Natalie Coughlin is the most decorated female athlete of both the 2008 Beijing and 2004 Athens Games. Coughlin has won a medal in every single Olympic event that she has ever entered for a total of 11 Olympic medals. In 2008 she became the first American female athlete to win six medals in one Olympiad in addition to becoming the first woman to win consecutive individual Olympic gold medals in the 100m backstroke. Coughlin is also the most decorated female swimmer in World Championship history with sixteen medals. Born and raised in northern California, Coughlin attended the University of California, Berkeley where she earned a B.A. in psychology in 2005.

Joanna Krupa

Polish-born Joanna Krupa was born in Warsaw and raised in Chicago. After high school, she moved to LA to pursue a career in modeling and acting. Her hard work and positive spirit led her to become one of the most requested models/covergirls in the world. PETA’s “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” campaign featuring Joanna became a phenomenon. She’s been featured in E!’s “The Sexiest” as one of the sexiest women in the world. In 2009, she was selected as the cover model for Ocean Drive magazine, and Maxim voted her among their “TOP 100″ women in the world. Film and TV credits include “Six Days in Paradise,” due in the fall, “Ripple Effect,” “Las Vegas” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” Most recently she competed in ABC’s “The Superstars” teaming with Buffalo Bills NFL star Terrell Owens.

Debi Mazar

Mazar’s feature film debut in Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas” set the stage for an extensive career in both television and film. She has consistently worked with notable directorsincluding Oliver Stone, Spike Lee, Woody Allen, Michael Mann and Joel Schumacheroften portraying the sharp-tongued New Yorker in both dramas and comedy. Mazar’s television credits include “Friends,” “Ugly Betty” and her own sitcom, CBS’ “Temporarily Yours”. She presently stars as publicist Shauna on HBO’s hit series “Entourage.” Mazar also co-hosts “Under the Tuscan Gun,” a successful internet show focused on Tuscan cuisine, with her husband. The couple have two young daughters and presently reside in both Los Angeles and Tuscany, Italy.

Kelly Osbourne

Singer, actress and media personality, Kelly’s father is rock icon, Ozzy Osbourne, and her mother is well-known TV personality, Sharon Osbourne. Kelly got her start at the age of 16 in the first ever “celebrity reality” TV show, “The Osbournes,” with her famous family, which garnered them an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Reality Program” in 2002. That same year, Osbourne released her debut music album, “Shut Up!” which included a cover of Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach.” Her second album, “Sleeping in Nothing” was released in 2005 with its first single, “One Word,” hitting #1 on all three Billboard Dance charts simultaneously. Kelly made her dramatic acting debut in a starring role on the ABC series “Life As We Know It”. In recent years she’s worked primarily in the UK where she’s done theatre (including a successful run in “Chicago” in London’s West End in 2007), hosted her own weekly radio show on BBC Radio and has presented numerous UK TV projects, including “Project Catwalk,” the UK’s version of “Project Runway.”

Aaron Carter

Triple platinum-selling music artist/songwriter, producer, actor and younger brother of Backstreet Boys Nick Carter, Aaron Carter has established himself worldwide as a pop and teen sensation. Beginning his career at the age of 8, he is currently the youngest solo artist to have four Top 40 singles. He has released four studio albums since 1997, two of which have been certified platinum, and he has appeared on several television series including “Lizzie McGuire” and “7th Heaven,” as well as making his Broadway debut playing JoJo the Who in “Seussical the Musical” in 2001. He sang vocals on soundtracks for “Disneymania (The Lion King) Ella Enchanted,” “Pokeman” and “Rugrats the Movie.” In 2006, Carter starred in the E! reality show, “House of Carters,” which featured all five of the Carter siblings living in the same house.

Chuck Liddell

Chuck Liddell is the face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and the icon of Mixed Martial Arts — the fastest growing sport in America. In 1998, he won his first UFC Mixed Martial Arts fight. Soon after, Liddell rose through the ranks to become the light-heavyweight champion of the world. In July of 2009, Liddell was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. He is tied for the most wins by a UFC fighter with 16, and also holds the most knockout wins with 10. In 2008, Chuck penned his autobiography, “Iceman: My Fighting Life,” which quickly became a New York Times bestseller. Chuck earned a BA in Business/Accounting from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he also wrestled.

Louie Vito

Professional snowboarder, Louie Vito, is among the U.S.’s elite snowboarders favored to make the 2010 Olympic team. Competing in both the Pipe and Slopestyle disciplines, Vito continues to train for the Grand Prix qualifying. The 21 year-old native of Bellefontaine, Ohio, turned pro in 2006 and has competed in multiple Winter X-Games competitions. He is also a two-time winner of the USSA Grand Prix Halfpipe Series.

ABC TO ANNOUNCE THE NEW CAST OF “DANCING WITH THE STARS” SEASON NINE LIVE ON “GOOD MORNING AMERICA,” MONDAY, AUGUST 17

New Season 9 Cast Member in Studio for First Interview

ABC’s “Good Morning America” will once again host the official cast announcement for the upcoming ninth season of the hit series “Dancing with the Stars.” Tom Bergeron, host of “Dancing with the Stars,” will be on hand to reveal the new cast of celebrities, along with a newly announced Season Nine cast member for the first in-studio interview.

Season Nine of “Dancing with the Stars” premieres MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET), followed by a second performance show on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET) and a special Results Show on WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET). “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show” premieres in its regular time period TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET).

Steve O Can’t Bear to Watch His Own Documentary

Reality tv star Steve O has come a long way since we reported on his arrest and hospitalization last year. Watching him on Dancing With the Stars this season alsmost made me forget that he was once one of the guys who did insanely painful things to their bodies for laughs in shows like Jackass and Wildboyz.  

In Steve O: Demise and Rise, viewers will get a first hand account of his life as an active addict and his life in recovery. He writes about the documentary in his MySpace blog:

This documentary shows me in really bad shape. I watched it one time, when they first put it together, and had a very bad reaction to it. You’d think that seeing myself like that would really help me stay sober, but watching footage of me doing drugs just triggered insane urges to get loaded. I can’t watch it anymore, but everyone else in America can- on MTV, at 10pm on Sunday, May 3rd.  

I was in a psychiatric ward when I first decided to really try to get sober, imagining that I could “do a lot of good in the world”. Over three months later, having stayed clean the whole time, I was in another psychiatric ward- because I finally realized what an asshole I had become. I’m not trying to stay sober today because I want to save the world, I’m doing it because I don’t want to be that asshole I used to be. If swallowing, snorting, smoking, and huffing drugs and alcohol for years before realizing it turned me into an asshole makes me “inspirational”, that’s pretty funny.

I wish I could say that I’ll stay sober for a long time, but I can’t, and that’s the sad truth. I love you all,

Steve-O

Click here to see the footage.

Cloris Leachman tells how she was three pounds away from boinking Ed Asner

In her tell all book, Cloris Leachman tells of her making the beast with two backs with Gene Hackman after an intimate dinner. And although she tells it in a way that gives no messy details, I still feel like Grandma has given me just enough information to ruin Thanksgiving dinner:

“As we moved into the main course, it was as if a cosmic wind enveloped us. Some giant space magnet was pulling us together,” Leachman writes. “We didn’t finish the meal. We went upstairs, flew into bed and made love. It was epic. And the next morning, Gene went back to his film and I went back to mine. I haven’t seen Gene since that night, but I remember well the feisty lad he was.”

“Some giant space magnet”? There’s a phrase I don’t think will be catching on. Anyway, Cloris also writes of several stars that she came close to doing the deed with as well, like Andy Williams and and Ernest Borgnine’s slightly more attractive twin in a parallel universe, Ed Asner. She writes that she made a deal with him that they would have sex if he lost 32 pounds. Unfortunately, Ed could only lose 29 pounds, so they never hooked up.

Yeah Cloris, I’m sure three pounds was the deal breaker, and not the idea of seeing Ed Asner butt nekkid.

Cloris will be signing her book, Cloris: My Memoirs in April at the following locations:

4/1/09 7:00 PM at Bookends – East Ridgewood Ave. Ridgewood, NJ.
4/2/09 7:30 PM at Barnes & Noble – Lincoln Triangle. New York, NY.
4/7/09 7:30 PM at Barnes & Noble – Grove Drive. Los Angeles, CA.
4/11/09 7:00 PM at Book Soup – Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood, CA.
4/14/09 7:00 PM at Borders Books – Tampa Avenue. Northridge, CA.

Cloris Leachman was recently on Dancing With the Stars.

Daryl Hall & John Oates and Adele perform on Dancing With the Stars

After a night of samba and foxtrot, the second couple to be eliminated from the competition will be announced on “Dancing with the Stars ,” TUESDAY, MARCH 24 (9:00-10:02 p.m., ET) on  ABC .

Famed duo Daryl Hall & John Oates take the “Dancing with the Stars” stage by storm with their Billboard No. 1 single, “Maneater,” from their 1982 album, “H2O,” accompanied by professional dancers Karina Smirnoff, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Tony Dovolani and Dmitry Chaplin. According to the R.I.A.A, Daryl Hall & John Oates are the No. 1 selling duo in music history with their seven R.I.A.A. platinum albums and six R.I.A.A. gold albums, along with 29 No. 1 hits.

British singer-songwriter Adele takes to the “Dancing with the Stars” stage with her single, “Chasing Pavements,” from her first album, “19,” which debuted at No. 1 on the UK album chart and has since been certified platinum with sales of more than 500,000 copies in the UK and over 1,200,000 worldwide. Adele took home two Grammys, including “Best New Artist,” at this year’s 51st Grammy Awards. She will be accompanied on the stage by professional dancers Edyta Sliwinska and Alec Mazo.

Former “Dancing with the Stars” favorite Cloris Leachman returns with her professional dance partner, Corky Ballas, to offer a sneak peek at how to perform next week’s dances — the argentine tango and the lindyhop.

This week the bottom two couples facing elimination, determined by the lowest combined viewer votes and judges’ scores from Monday’s performance, will “Dance Off” to determine who is dismissed. The couples will have a chance to perform Monday’s dance for new scores from the judges. The judges’ scores from the “Dance Off” performance will replace their Monday night scores. A combination of the new judges’ scores from the “Dance Off” dance, along with viewers votes from Monday’s show, will be calculated following the “Dance Off” to determine the eliminated couple.

By evening’s end one couple will be eliminated, as determined by a combination of the judges’ scores and viewers’ votes. Who among the following 12 teams will leave the ballroom floor?

Donny Osmond not scheduled for Dancing With the Stars

Former teen idol Donny Osmond squashed rumors that his would be on this season’s Dancing With the Stars. Osmond, whose sister Marie was recently on DWTS says that he has not been asked, and right now his schedule is just too busy to participate.

However, his dance card is open to compete and risk injury in the fall season of the show, which would be in October.

source: The Insider

DWTS Karina Smirnoff and Maksim Chmerkovskiy Engaged

It’s always nice to write a Dancing With the Stars post that isn’t about an injury. DTWS’ Maksim Chmerkovskiy proposed to fellow dancer Karina Smirnoff on New Year’s Eve, and she accepted.

Karina previously was linked to Mario Lopez, whom she previously was partnered with on Dancing With the Star. The two were together for two years, before breaking up almost six months ago.  Not soon after, she and fellow Ukraine Maksim became a couple.

No word yet on when the dancing duo plan to wed.

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