‘ STARS’ ALIGN FOR MR. T
He might not know ballroom basics, but Mr. T willing to play the clown to win ‘ Dancing With the Stars’
Mr. T doesn’t think innate dancing ability has much to do with being a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars” — at least that’s not why he’s on the 24th season of the popular series ( debuting at 7 p. m. Monday, WLS- Channel 7).
“I’m not that worried about it,” he says about his lack of ballroom skills. “It’s a reality show. It’s all about entertainment. I think it’s designed so the audience can see celebrities in a different light.”
It’s a gig many years in the making for the Chicago native, “A- Team” actor and former professional wrestler and Rocky Balboa rival. “I turned [‘ DWTS’] down like five or six times — mainly because there has to be a unique time to be ready for it. I didn’t have the time earlier, because I knew there was a lot of work involved in it. … This time the stars were aligned, and I said yes.”
A cancer survivor, Mr. T is using the competition to boost two causes that help sick kids: St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and Shriners Hospitals for Children. “My thing is to hopefully inspire the kids who have been suffering with cancer or anything like that. To let them know never to quit. It’s OK if the people who watch are laughing at me or laughing with me. Raising money for these causes is what it’s all about.
“Listen, I’m a clown. I know how to put on a good show. I’m going to do my best.”
He may be in for several weeks of quicksteps, sambas and cha- cha- chas with partner Kym Johnson, but Mr. T laughed when asked if he has a favorite dance. “No, not really, but I do think back to when my mother raised me on the South Side of Chicago. When I was a kid, there was a time when I got into a lot of fights in school. My mother would say, ‘ It takes two to tango,’ meaning I could walk away from a fight, because it takes two to tango in a fight!
“So, if I had to pick one style of dance, I guess it would be the tango because of that memory of my mother. It has nothing to do with dancing, really, but I love remembering that story about my mother.”
Once “Dancing With the Stars” is over for Mr. T, he plans to make a beeline back to Chicago. “My kind of town,” he quipped. “Chicago is still my home. When I’m working, I’m here [ in Los Angeles]. When I’m not working, I just slide into townto and am always happy to be back in the city — my hometown.”ho
Mr. T also pointed out he’llhe need to pack on some weight.w “Every week, doing thoseth dance workouts, I lose aboutab three or four pounds. TheT first thing I’m going to do when I get back home is go get me a nice big piece of some Giordano’s! I’m going to have to bulk up, so I don’t look so puny!”
Making ‘ Shrink’ here a ‘ dream come true’ for Joliet comic
The improv- inspired comedy series “Shrink,” launching Thursday on NBC’s Seeso online platform, began life as a podcast in 2011 and was sold as a TV pilot two years later. But it was in development for years before getting picked up and shot in Chicago last fall.
Joliet native and Loyola University alum Tim Baltz, who created the series with Ted Temper and stars as a recent med school graduate counseling patients from his parents’ garage, feels grate- ful for the chance “to incubate a whole bunch of ideas for the show for a long time.”
During the filming, Baltz loved hanging out in various Chicago neighborhoods where he had spent a lot of time during his years working at Second City and the other improv clubs around town. “The experience of showing up to work at 5: 30 in the morning, and seeing all the equipment and trucks on Clark Street,” he said, “was one of those moments when I realized, ‘ Yes! This is finally happening for real!’ ”