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A Sad Farewell
Sure,
Jerry Springer has been insisting that he should get voted off
Dancing with the Stars, but when it finally happened it was a melancholy moment. "I can't help it," Springer told us while wiping tears from his eyes. "This is the nicest group. I'm a grown-up now and grown-ups don't usually get to play games. This was like you get to go to camp as a grown-up." As for tearing up during the telecast, Springer says, "I saw that I was losing it and I grabbed for the microphone. That's my security blanket. I figured if I could just hold onto that mic I'd be okay!"
And though the talk-show host won't be on the 38-city
DWTS tour kicking off Dec. 19 in San Diego ("They couldn't meet my price," he joked), partner
Kym Johnson will take her fancy footwork on the road and will return for the Nov. 15 season finale.
All in the Family
Dancer
Maksim Chmerkovskiy (who got the boot with partner
Willa Ford two weeks ago) brought his younger brother Valentin into the
DWTS fold when he performed an exhibition number to Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" with students from Rising Stars Dance Academy in Saddle Brook, N.J., where both siblings teach. Valentin told us that he was asked to join the cast but had to decline. "I'm very involved with my competitive dance career at the moment so it's a bit unfair for me to leave my partner for a few months for the show," he said. "But I would love to do it some day." Watch out – it'll be Chmerkovskiy squared!
What Would Jerry Do?
Photo by: ADAM LARKEY / ABC |
Emmitt Smith wants to pay homage to castmate Jerry Springer by keeping the atmosphere light behind the scenes. "I'm going to have to take up the slack," the football star told us. "I try to show up every week with a smile on my face and encourage everyone to do the same. I don't want a tight, stuffy atmosphere here." But, Smith admits, things just won't be the same without the jovial Springer. "It's been a blessing to be around the man and have the chance to get to know him on a personal basis. I look at him truly as a man confident in his own ability, yet knowing his limitations but willing to try. That's who Jerry is."
TUESDAY'S SHOW
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Where Was Mama Lopez?
Mario Lopez's biggest supporter was missing Tuesday night, but don't worry, mom Elvia had a good excuse: She was home baby-sitting his sister Marisa's kids, Makai, 2, and 2-month-old Kalia. "It was weird not seeing my mom here. She's our good-luck charm," Lopez told us. Partner
Karina Smirnoff agreed: "I said to her yesterday, 'That's not good. Something might go wrong.' And the music was a lot slower tonight and it threw us a little." But Smirnoff spiced things up by wearing a blonde wig – and anything's possible for the score leaders in Wednesday's performance. "I might go red and then who knows? Mario wanted me to go bald like Sinead O'Connor."
Joey's Baby Love
Keen viewers saw a little something extra on
Joey Lawrence's right bicep – a silkscreen tattoo of a heart with a banner through the middle that reads "Charli." The actor plans to make the tribute to his 5-month-old daughter permanent. "I'm going to get one for real," he told us. "I've designed this and I'm going to get this eventually. I love it. They say it's bad luck to put your wife's name on your arm but it's good luck to put one on with your children."
Going to the Chapel?
Edyta Sliwinska, Joey Lawrence's partner, tells us that she and her dancer fiancé
Alec Mazo (who was
Kelly Monaco's partner in season one have had to put their wedding on hold until "next summer, hopefully. It's just been too busy with everything on the show." And Sliwinska's hectic pace won't be ending anytime soon: She'll be touring with the
Dancing with the Stars cast later this year.
Watch Out for Emmitt
When
Emmitt Smith debuted this season he was compared to his predecessor, football great and season two finalist
Jerry Rice. Now it's Smith's shoes that will need to be filled. "Any athlete that comes after me has a lot to live up to because I had a great partner teaching me. Jerry did, too. He made it to the finals and it's our quest to make it to the finals as well and hopefully we will win it. That will make the difference."
Photo by: ADAM LARKEY / ABC |
Father-Daughter Dance
Jerry Springer has lamented for weeks that the other partners on
Dancing with the Stars exhibit far more talent. But the talk-show host is glad he lasted long enough to learn the fox trot. "I'm going to do two dances at (my daughter) Katie's (December) wedding and I think the fox trot will be my other dance." The first, of course, being the waltz, which he did several weeks ago in the competition. He also may have found what he's going to wear for it. "I loved the tuxedo," Springer said of his fox-trot attire. "I'm going to see if I can buy it from ABC. It's a nice suit. I want to wear it to the wedding. Plus, when I die they can lay me out in it."
Last week's Dancing with the Stars: What You Didn't See
