‘Dancing with the Stars 21’ spotlight: Will Gary Busey, Anna Trebunskaya surprise?
We are not going to be shamed to admit that we’re very intrigued by the idea of Gary Busey on “Dancing with the Stars.” Maybe we’ll regret thinking that, or maybe he will turn out to be precisely what we hope to see: An entertaining, goofy character who brings something similar to the show.
We know that some out there know Gary more through random pop-culture headlines, but to us he’ll always be the guy on “Celebrity Apprentice” who made crazy acronyms for things, fought with Meat Loaf, and at one point thought that a mechanical dog was a tremendous idea for an LG commercial. He’s also a guy who openly admitted before the season that he’s doing it mostly because he has nothing else going on. Gotta love the honesty.
Name – Gary Busey
Age – 71
Claim to fame – Academy Award nominated actor for “The Buddy Holly Story,” and more recently for a variety of other reality TV shows. Many of his antics are well-documented, but he has been known as the character you want to add when you want things to really get bizarre.
Partner – Anna Trebunskaya. She’s back! It’s been seasons since Anna has been paired with a celebrity, and we’re super-thrilled to see her taking part this time. Granted, she’s going to have her hands full with Gary. What we learned from “Celebrity Apprentice” is that focus is not always his strong suit.
Strengths – He’s an entertainer first and foremost, so what his primary goal here will be is “go out and entertain.” We imagine there will be funny costumes, creative dance moves, and a real emphasis on playing up the comedy chops. He’s also one of the more well-known celebrities this season (at least for the show’s older demographic), so there is absolutely zero chance he fades into the background in the early going. He could be a ton of fun if he has a perfect attitude.
Weaknesses – There are two huge things working against Gary. For one, he’s 71 years old, and to go along with that, he’s had some significant bumps and bruises, most notably a motorcycle accident in the late 1980’s. He’s never going to be able to compete physically with the majority of the other contestants, and he has to accept that before really getting deep into rehearsals.
Prediction – This is going to be tough for Gary and Anna. Maybe they can survive the first week or two based on popularity alone, but it’s going to be a tough ride for him unless he can really tap into some of that Tommy Chong / Bill Engvall magic and last longer than anyone expects.
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