Dancing with the Stars Season 8 Cast; Remembering James Whitmore; WGA Awards Winners

Monday, February 09, 2009

Dancing with the Stars Season 8 Cast; Remembering James Whitmore; WGA Awards Winners

An all-new cast of celebrities hits the dance floor on ABC's Dancing with the Stars with the highly anticipated two-hour season premiere on Monday, March 9, 2009 from 8:00-10:02 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. Season Eight introduces us to 13 new stars, including the youngest competitor to date, an NFL legend, a computer icon, a female rapper, three music artists and a "Wildboy."
Additionally, "love is a battlefield" when, for the first time, three real life couples take the ballroom floor. Husband and wife Ty Murray and Jewel compete for bragging rights, while newly engaged professional dancers Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff go head to head. To top it off, country crooner Chuck Wicks teams with girlfriend and two-time Dancing with the Stars champ Julianne Hough. And in an exciting new twist, the bottom two couples facing elimination will "Dance Off" to determine who is dismissed in the first weeks of competition.
Among the stars this upcoming season are David Alan Grier (Life with Bonnie, In Living Color), Gilles Marini (Sex and the City movie), Denise Richards (Wild Things, Spin City), and Nancy O'Dell (Access Hollywood, Scream 2 and 3).
View the full cast and details on each star. As for pairings with professionals, we know Julianne Hough will be with Chuck Wicks as per the press release and Maksim Chmerkovskiy will be with Denise Richards as per Good Morning America. The full professional partnering will be announced on Thursday, February 12.

James Whitmore, the many-faceted character actor who delivered strong performances in movies, television and especially the theater with his popular one-man shows about Harry Truman, Will Rogers and Theodore Roosevelt, has died. The Emmy and Tony winning actor was diagnosed with lung cancer the week before Thanksgiving and died Friday afternoon (Feb. 6) at his Malibu home. Now he wasn't known really for TV sitcoms, but he did appear on quite a few. In fact, one of his ex-wives was a sitcom star. Mr. Whitmore was married to Audra Lindley of Three's Company fame in the '70s. Even after they divorced in 1979, they remained friends and appeared with each other in the big screen movies Zoo Ship in 1985 and The Relic in 1997. When they were married, they appeared in the TV movie The Canterville Ghost in 1974 and such plays as The Magnificent Yankee, On Golden Pond, The Visit, Foxfire and Love Letters, among others.
In the early '70s he starred on the sitcom Temperatures Rising. Set at the Capital General Hospital in Washington D.C., follows the adventures of the no-nonsense chief of surgery Dr. Vincent Campanelli (James Whitmore) and his all-nonsense staff. He guest starred on the sitcom A Minute With Stan Hooper in 2003. Among his other credits include series regular in dramas The Law and Mr. Jones, Mister Sterling, and My Friend Tony. In 2000 he won an Emmy for outstanding guest actor in a dramatic series for The Practice. Among his other guest appearances include CSI, Burke's Law, Riptide, The White Shadow, Gunsmoke, The Virginian, The Big Valley, Rawhide, Dr. Kildare, Route 66, Twilight Zone, Ben Casey, and more. His other big screen credits include The Shawshank Redemption, The Majestic, Give 'em Hell, Harry, and Battleground. The latter saw him earn Oscar and Golden Globe nominations.
Mr. Whitmore will certainly be missed. His legacy continues with his children and grandchildren, among them are grandson Matty Whitmore who was on Survivor: Gabon. Mr. Whitemore was 87.

Finally, we leave you today with the winners for the 61st Annual WGA Awards. Comedy wise, 30 Rock was the big winner for their writing work. While Mad Men took home the win for writing for dramas. Among the other categories, Breaking Bad won for best new series.
View the full TV portion winners.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Wednesday, December 1

The Goldbergs - "Tennis People" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
After weeks of waiting, Adam finally receives news that he has been accepted into NYU. His excitement is soon diminished when he learns Brea has been accepted into her dream school, Brown University. Fearing the distance will affect their relationship, Adam attempts to find ways to keep his girlfriend close. Meanwhile, with Virginia’s help, Beverly begins looking for venues to hold Erica’s wedding shower. She discovers her nemesis’ tennis club and is determined to become a member even if it means embarrassing herself.

The Wonder Years - "Home for Christmas" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Dean can’t wait to spend Christmas with his older brother, Bruce, when he returns home from Vietnam. But adjusting to life back in Montgomery comes with unexpected challenges for Bruce, and the rest of the Williams family rely on their favorite holiday traditions to bring cheer.

The Conners - "Yard Sale, Phone Fail, and a College Betrayal" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
As Louise starts to move into the Conner’s home, Dan decides to sell the furniture set he bought for Roseanne when they were first married. However, he soon finds parting with the furniture – and old memories – harder than he thought it would be.

Home Economics - "Secret Santa Gift, $25 Limit" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
As Christmas approaches, Tom finally receives his first advance check from the Sofia Salazar book, leaving him and Marina to decide what to do with the money. Meanwhile, Sarah receives an extravagant gift from the parents at her new school and has a hard time parting with it.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "2020: A Year in Review" (FXX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
The Gang looks back on 2020 to justify their numerous PPE loans as they contributed to the chaos of the past political year way more than anyone could have imagined.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 7" (FXX, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Upon discovering that their self-made Lethal Weapon sequels have been pulled from the local library, the Gang decides to address their political incorrectness by making another film: Lethal Weapon 7.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 29)

Wednesday, December 1

Ken Jeong (Dr. Ken/Community) - Watch Ken on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Maya Erskine (PEN15/Casual/Betas) and Anna Konkle (PEN15) - Maya and Anna are guests on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Seth Rogen (Undeclared) - Seth appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Aisling Bea (Living with Yourself) - Aisling is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Max Greenfield (The Neighborhood/New Girl/Modern Men) - Max will be on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Heather Dubrow (Stark Raving Mad/Jenny/Life with Roger) - Heather appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 3am on Bravo.
Annaleigh Ashford (B Positive) - Annaleigh is a guest on Watch What Happens: Live at 3am on Bravo.
Rita Moreno (One Day at a Time/Happily Divorced/9 to 5) - Rita talks about West Side Story on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan (check your local listings) and chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Bradley Whitford (Perfect Harmony/Happyish/Trophy Wife) - Bradley will be on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Nicholas Braun (10 Things I Hate About You) - Nicholas dishes on the new season of Succession on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Leah Remini (Kevin Can Wait/The Exes/Family Tools/The King of Queens/Fired Up) - Leah guest co-hosts The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Kristin Chenoweth (Schmigadoon!/Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin will be on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings. She talks about National Champions on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Sutton Foster (Younger) - Sutton chats about her new memoir Hooked on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Vanessa Lachey (Truth Be Told/Dads) - Vanessa shares her favorite peanut butter blossoms cookie recipe on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Mykal-Michelle Harris (mixed-ish/Raven's Home) - Mykal-Michelle talks about NBC's The Kids Tonight Show on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
David Moscow (Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane/Living Dolls) - David talks about Tubi's From Scratch on Access Daily, so check your local listings.