NEW YORK — Cancer patient Valerie Harper leads a class of 12 amateur hoofers in the upcoming 17th season of “Dancing With the Stars.”
The cast was revealed Wednesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” For a show that has reached an increasingly older audience, ABC added an injection of youth with reality stars Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi of “Jersey Shore” and Ozzy’s kid Jack Osbourne.
Harper has defied odds with her survival since being diagnosed this year with brain cancer. She said of her decision to join the show: “There’s a (Lee Ann Womack) country song (with the lyrics) ‘When you get the choice to sit it out or dance/ I hope you dance.’ “
Other contestants are Bill Nye, the “Science Guy”; actor Brant Daugherty; former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson; singer-actress Christina Milian; actress Elizabeth Berkley; actor Corbin Bleu; actress Amber Riley; country comic Bill Engvall; and actress Leah Remini. The season premieres Sept. 16.
