Rick Rowell/ABC Season 14 of “Dancing With the?Stars.”By Robin Leach (contact)Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012 | 11:35 a.m.Check out Robin Leach's VegasDeLuxe.com for more celebrity and A&E coverage.
Rick Rowell/ABCSeason 14 of "Dancing With the Stars."Las Vegas resident and headliner Gladys Knight is going dancing -- “Dancing With the Stars,” that is. This morning on “Good Morning America,” the eight-time Grammy Award winner was revealed by “DWTS” co-hosts Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke-Charvet as one of the six women joining six men set to head to the dance floor for Season 14 that premieres March 19 on ABC.
Gladys’ casting came as a surprise, as she hadn’t even been rumored in the buildup to this morning’s announcement. As I reported during the 2012 Miss Nevada USA Pageant weekend, “DWTS” casting execs were here for meetings, but the signing of Gladys, 67, remained totally secret.
The Empress of Soul is already rehearsing in L.A. and here. She will dance either the Foxtrot or the Cha Cha for the first time on live television with her pro partner Tristan MacManus on the debut. She’ll be competing against two longtime friends of mine, actress Melissa Gilbert and actor Jack Wagner, and Las Vegas regulars TV host Maria Menounos and actor Jaleel White, among others.
There had been several reports that our “Le Reve” at the Wynn choreographer Maksim Chmerkovskiy would not be returning this season, but he is back and partnered with Melissa. Derek Hough -- his family lives here -- is teamed with Maria; he has the most wins among the pro dancers at three.
Also competing this season: TV host Sherri Shepherd, tennis legend Martina Navratilova, Donald Driver of the Green Bay Packers, actor, dancer and rapper Roshon Fegan and singer Gavin DeGraw. It’s expected that news of a live version of “DWTS” at the Tropicana that we’ve previously reported will now be announced shortly.
Georgia-born superstar singer Gladys first sang at age 4 in a Baptist church. Her band three years later in 1952 won the grand prize on “Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour.” Gladys, her brother Bubba and her cousins formed the Pips in 1953, but their first hit didn’t come until 1961. A year later, they renamed the group Gladys Knight and the Pips with her singing lead, and it led to a string of hits in pop, R&B and adult contemporary over four decades.
Their hits include “Every Beat of My Heart,” “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “If I Were Your Woman,” “Neither One of Us (Wants to be the First to Say Goodbye),” “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination,” “Best Thing to Ever Happen to Me” and the smash “Midnight Train to Georgia.” She has recorded more than 38 albums, including four solo albums this past decade. This spring, she will release her album featuring the Shirley Bassey classic “I Who Have Nothing” and recently appeared in Tyler Perry’s “I Can Do Bad All By Myself.”
A longtime Las Vegas resident, Gladys returned to the Strip last year at the Tropicana for a special engagement in the newly named Gladys Knight Theater. She became the first black performer to have a venue named after her in Las Vegas. ABC execs promise that if she does well enough on “DWTS,” maybe they'll name the ballroom after her, too.
Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.
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