Oops! I found out about this the other day, but forgot to mention it: Penn (yes, Penn) will be in next season’s "Dancing with the Stars".
Now, if you’re done making those comical rubbing-fists-in-eyes motions, I’ll continue. His partner will be Kym Johnson, who I hope is 17 feet tall, as Penn is ginormous (my biggest shock when I met Teller is that he is my height, roughly 5’10″ or so; I always assumed he was three feet tall). I also hope her insurance is paid up. He may try to saw her in half or shoot her or set her on fire, which, honestly, would be totally cool.
I honestly don’t know what to make of this news, except to say that I will definitely watch it. I have to give him the benefit of the doubt; he picked up playing bass pretty quickly, so maybe he can dance.
I also discovered that he will be on the Oprah Winfrey show today as they introduce the new season.
Hat tip to The Friendly Atheist for reminding me this, though my title is way better.
February 21st, 2008 at 9:14 am
I am. So. There.
I heard that on the radio last night. But she called him “Gee let hee.” or something.
I’m never gonna watch Oprah though. Not even Penn can drag me to watch that stup… nevermind.
February 21st, 2008 at 9:14 am
Ooh! I think I might actually look forward to that.
February 21st, 2008 at 9:27 am
And standing right next to him is fellow atheist and bullsh!t detector, Adam Carolla.
February 21st, 2008 at 9:48 am
A dance involving someone getting sawn in half and set on fire, what’s that, the masochism tango?
February 21st, 2008 at 9:54 am
@Josh: Which one? The tall one or the guy pretty much hidden by the other guy?
February 21st, 2008 at 10:08 am
I started watching DWTS last year when Clyde Drexler (one of my all-time favorite NBA stars) was on it. I have to warn you: Don’t get your hopes up for Penn. Really tall people do not do very well at ballroom dancing. (On the other hand, enjoy the show. I never imagined this would happen but I am completely hooked on it now.)
February 21st, 2008 at 10:14 am
You have to give credit to an older dog who is determined to learn a new trick, and is further willing to place himself at risk of looking like a complete fool on television. Although there are people who can make it look easy, Penn probably realizes that dancing isn’t easy. He may find that he acquires aches in parts of his body that usually don’t ache, and he may find himself spending more time in his patented backyard hot tub (US Pat. 5,920,923). Good luck to Penn!
February 21st, 2008 at 10:14 am
@ Michelle
Carolla’s the guy hidden by the other guy. The tall bald guy is Jason Taylor who’s a defensive lineman in the NFL. I’m pretty sure Taylor’s around 6’5″ and Penn looks a bit taller than him, so that sure shows Phil’s right about him being ginormous.
February 21st, 2008 at 10:20 am
Penn is 6’6″
February 21st, 2008 at 10:47 am
So that’s why he had plastic surgery. (If you haven’t seen it yet, Penn has a podcast where he offers commentary on the news, and recently talked about going in to have the creases on his upper lip removed. And then he does something obscene with a silicon boob.)
February 21st, 2008 at 11:45 am
Is that Adam Carolla back there? WTF?
February 21st, 2008 at 11:53 am
Awesome. Penn and Corolla. I may actually watch the show this season. I have no idea who the other people are (besides Oprah).
February 21st, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Man thats cool. My wife is a huge Elvis fan so we both will be watching.
February 21st, 2008 at 12:50 pm
[...] Thanks to badastronomy.com for bringing this to my attention. [...]
February 21st, 2008 at 3:03 pm
I can’t imagine Penn being very light on his feet. I mean, he’s a pretty damn big guy.
February 21st, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Given the requirements of being a magician combined with his experience doing shows standing and moving for as many years as he’s done it, I bet he’s better than we think.
February 21st, 2008 at 11:11 pm
Will Penn be reprising his crude, misogynist joke about Hillary Clinton?
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:33 am
What a shame I live in Australia – we have the same sort of show here, but I think it’ll be a while before Dr Karl gets invited onto it.
Good luck Penn. I hope you outlast Oprah at least.
And for everyone else, if you haven’t already tried dancing, give it a go! It’s great fun, great exercise, a great way to meet people, and it gives you something to do to your favourite music.
February 22nd, 2008 at 8:02 am
Peter B,
I don’t think Oprah is competing. I think she’s just introducing the new cast on her show.
In other dancing news, friends of mine took ballroom dancing lessons so they could tango as the first dance at their wedding reception. Very impressive- classy, old-school, and cool as hell.
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:21 am
Sigh…dammit. One of the banes of my work day is being flanked on all sides by Dancing with the Stars recaps from my co-workers. I silently mock them. Now I’m going to gave to join in. I like Marlee Matlin, too. I loved her on the West Wing.
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:48 am
Oh yah, Teller’s tall – I thought the same thing when I met him for the first time. I’m only 5’8″ and I had to look up to him… a little disappointing. And Penn, of course, can each lunch of the top of my head.
That aside, I’m not sure that even with Penn’s incredible allure, I’d watch DWTS – I’ve performed the human blockhead, but there’s some pain that even I can’t manage.
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Nevermind Corolla. I want to hear what Penn has to say to Priscilla Presley about Scientology, or maybe even smack Marlee Matlin for starring in “What the Bleep do We Know”. In a friendly way, of course.