Breaking Down the Dancing With the Stars Cast By the Odds

DANCING WITH THE STARS – MR. T WITH KYM HERJAVEC – The celebrity cast of “Dancing with the Stars” are donning their glitzy wardrobe and slipping on their dancing shoes as they ready themselves for their first dance on the ballroom floor, as the season kicks off on MONDAY, MARCH 20 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EST), on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Craig Sjodin)

Kym Johnson: Mr. T, the aging TV star

Although Mr. T, also known as Lawrence Turead, actually has a much longer resume than that. Some of his Wikipedia entry even aside from his wrestling and acting careers reads a bit like a Hollywood movie. His wrestling career was Hall of Fame worthy. But his biggest claim to fame is probably playing B.A. Baracus on the 80s series The A-Team.  Even years later, people remember that character. So he’ll start with at least some support. If his “tough-guy” persona is strong enough a presence in the ballroom, he’ll no doubt get more, even if he doesn’t prove that good a dancer. There’s a reason the source that reported his being in the cast noted the producers have been after him for years.

One wonders how hard they should have tried, though, when there’s a question as to how good he’ll be. The show’s wrestlers have generally been mediocre, the aging actors the same. At 64, his age is more likely than not to slow him down. You run into elderly exceptions to this rule, but not that many. On the other hand, if he brings the personality, he might be entertaining enough for less people to care about his technical ability or any lack thereof.

Combine that with Kym’s fanbase, and these two might just stay longer than they ought to. Hopefully he’ll be fun enough to watch that nobody will mind.