The tan is as bronze as ever. The pearly whites have never been pearlier. Yes, Mr. Palm Beach – that would be George Hamilton – is in his primetime glory as one of the hoofing contestants on “Dancing with the Stars” (7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, KMGH-Channel 7), ABC’s hit dance competition.
We caught up with Hamilton, who took some time from his grueling rehearsal schedule, to chat about his hoofing abilities, the controversial Master P and his favorite leading lady.
Q: You have four broken ribs from falling on a boat and a busted knee you suffered on Broadway a few years ago. What in heck are you doing on this show?
A: That’s a good question. (ABC) probably felt this was good television – an old guy with broken ribs, hobbled and does the best he can. When they asked me they said, “Do you think you can do this?” Well, I never had four broken ribs before so I don’t know what that’d be like. I went to the doctor and he said, “Don’t fall. Under any circumstances don’t fall because you’d puncture your lung and that would be very bad.” Then I have these two bad shoulders from years of fencing, tennis and throwing punches in the air and to get them into position for this dancing is really one of the most difficult things I’ve done.
Q: At 66, you’re the oldest contestant on the show. How does that make you feel?
A: (laughing) If I was in a Confederate Army uniform, that would probably top it off. It’s pretty good stuff, really. There’s an interesting thing that comes with all of this. First of all, it puts perspective on life. Second is the sense of humor of it all.
These young kids, I see them doing all these things and they’re saying “Oh, my feet hurt. My back hurts.” Well, I have more war stories than any of these dancers. And I sit around and talk to them like I was in the Russian Ballet, or something. All of the kids on the show have been incredibly nice to me. They got this girl (WWE diva Stacy Keibler) who does ballet and she’s a wrestler.
I mean, she’s got muscles like a prima ballerina. It’s hard to beat her. Drew (Lachey) is just filled with rhythm. Lisa Rinna is really good at what she does. She’s a determined competitor and she won’t back off. But at the end of the day, it comes down to other things.
It comes down to interpretation, style. And the fan voting is very, very important.
Q: Do you think you’ll get the sympathetic vote?
A: Let me put it this way: I certainly hope so. This isn’t some little fun show to do. This is a major thing. People are pretty sympathetic about it, but I’ve looked in the chat rooms and they’re saying, “So he’s an old guy? What’s the problem?”
Q: Give me some good dirt on the other contestants. You know you really want to.
A: The truth of the matter is, the guy I really love is Kenny Mayne. Kenny has the best sense of humor. We laughed the whole time. I was sorry to see him go. Master P has been doing this for the ‘hood. … I’m also doing this for the ‘hood – the Beverly Hills and Palm Beach ‘hood.
Q: Your partner (Russian dancer Edyta Sliwinska) is pretty hot. Is that a distraction?
A: I noticed how hot she is and I also noticed how determined her boyfriend is.
