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Larry King Sits Down with the Contestants from Dancing With The Stars
11-Nov-2006
Written by: Sari N. Kent
King asks the tough questions of the contestants and is asked if he will join the show next season.
On the Nov. 10 edition of “Larry King Live,” finalists Mario Lopez and Emmitt Smith, semi-finalist Joey Lawrence, fellow contestants Jerry Springer and Monique Coleman, as well as host Tom Bergeron and judge Carrie Ann Inaba sat down with King to discuss the show’s upcoming, highly anticipated finale and their feelings about being part of a worldwide television phenomenon.
King opened by asking Lopez if he is nervous about the finale set to air this Tuesday. “I’ve been nervous and feeling pressure from day one. I’ve tried to take it dance by dance, week to week. At this point in the competition, you would figure I’d be more nervous but I’m really excited. I’m going up against Emmitt Smith; that’s supercool that I’m head to head with him.” Lopez’s partner, Karina Smirnoff, joined Lopez and King and addressed the rumors that Lopez and Smirnoff are more than partners, “It’s amusing to me, all the speculation and drama with the show. I’m blessed we have such great chemistry, so of course people will assume the latter,” said Lopez. “I will cherish our friendship for a long time,” said Smirnoff.
King then turned to Smith, an NFL legend, and asked him why he decided to take part in the show. “I’m in it for the competition and just the thrill of the opportunity to learn something that I’ve never had a chance to learn.”
Lawrence was then in the hot seat, being eliminated in the semi-final round. He expounded on how the show found him and why he decided to join it, “My wife was a big fan of the show last year, so when they called, she said I had to do it. They have to call you; it isn’t something you can go after; it’s behind the scenes at NBC; they pick and choose and put together an eclectic and interesting cast, who they think will be fun to watch and learn how to dance. I jumped at it. I had two left feet at the beginning, so I have definitely improved,“ laughed Lawrence.
King then turned to Springer who was not in the studio, but still was able to express just how much fun he had while he was on the show, “It turned out to be a lot of fun…I was just happy to be vertical at the end of the dance,” joked Springer when asked how he felt after he was voted off; he was eliminated in week seven of the competition.
King then put Monique Coleman in the spotlight, the last female to be voted off and star of the immensely popular movie High School Musical. When asked if she was disappointed to be voted off just prior to the semi-finals, “Not at all, I felt lucky to make it as far as I did. I was grateful for the opportunity to be in a position to be eliminated.”
King later asked both Lawrence and Lopez about, how early in the competition, both were reprimanded for breaking the rules. “I thought the No. 1 priority was to entertain. I didn’t know they were going to get so meticulous with the rules,” said Lopez. Both Lopez and Lawrence were scolded for breaking ballroom rules, Lopez for breaking the “Tango Hold” and Lawrence for executing lifts with his professional partner, Edyta Sliwinska.
Springer interjected that when he was warned about the rules he laughed heartedly, “When they told me not to do any lifts or splits I was like, the only split I had was in my pants when I bent down.” Springer also expounded on just how friendly the cast was, “It sounds corny but everyone was so incredibly nice. I mean how many people in life have these moments when millions of people are so nice to you.” Springer also waxed poetic about his innermost feelings about the show, “I was the most vulnerable that I have ever been on television, I’m never being me. I’m always playing a role like the crazy talk show host. So I had the opportunity to be me...I enjoyed being on it.”
As for their future plans, Coleman is already rehearsing for her stadium concert tour for High School Musical, “Our first date is on Nov. 30 in San Diego. It’s the six of us from High School Musical and dancers and background singers, then the sequel and who knows what else?” Lawrence talked about his being part of the national “Dancing With The Stars” tour, “It's eight weeks, we play the Staples Center in LA on December 28 which is nearly sold out.” The tour will include: Lawrence, who will be joined by Sliwinska; season three contestant Harry Hamlin, who will be dancing with Smirnoff; season two contestant Lisa Rinna, who will be dancing with her partner Louis Van Amstel; season three contestant Willa Ford, who will be dancing with her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy; season two winners Drew Lachey and Cheryl Burke; and finally, season one contestant Joey McIntyre and Springer’s partner Kym Johnson. You can check out http://dancingwiththestars.aeglive.com/dancers.php for info on the tour.
Host Tom Bergeron and judge Carrie Ann Inaba then joined the show. King asked Bergeron why he thinks the show has become so successful. “I have no explanation for it; we’ve all tried to dissect it. I think it’s a throwback to the good old variety shows that I grew up watching, the elegance of dance, the live elements…live raw emotion on display.” King then asked Inaba what makes Lopez and Smith such great dancers. “Mario is a professional performer. He knows how to turn it on quickly. With Emmitt, he started out strong, he has a natural groove and every week he lets us see his own personal style.”
Throughout the show, King asked each who they think will win when the victor is announced this Wednesday. “It’s going to a dead tie,” said Springer. Of course neither Smith nor Lopez wants or thinks they will lose. “I don’t think we’re going to lose, that’s the way I’ve been trained, the way I’ve been taught. I’m sure Mario doesn’t think he is going to lose either,” said Smith.
Near the close of the show, Cheryl Burke, Smith’s partner, cha-cha’d with King, “I lived in Miami for 20 years, I love the Cha-Cha, I don’t know how to do the Cha-Cha,” chuckled King.
So, will King be a contestant on season four of “Dancing With The Stars”? When asked by the guests, he joked around not giving a definite answer.
So tune in Tuesday at 8 p.m. for the finale, and on Wednesday for the results show to see if it will be Mario Lopez and Karina Smirnoff or Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke who will take home the coveted Mirrorball trophy and be crowned the king and queen of the dance floor.
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