Dancing With the Stars” pro Tony Dovolani got to try out his comedy acting chops in next week’s (Feb. 19) episode of TV Land’s “The Exes” — and loved it.
The nice guy ballroom champ tells us that his one-time “DWTS” partner, Leah Remini, called him out of the blue. “She said, ‘All right, you’ve been preparing for acting for a long time and I’m going to make sure you get the opportunity.’ I guess they had put a scene together for her, dancing, and she said ‘How about if I bring Tony?’
“The question was, ‘Can he act?'” Tony recounts, “and she said, ‘I’ve seen him study.'” They not only brought him in, but gave him more and more lines, much to Tony’s delight. He points out, “Normally in situations like this, if you’re not good they take your lines away. So that means they liked what they saw.”
He was definitely required to act, since the script called for him to play a fellow who didn’t know how to dance, that Leah’s character teaches. “It was such an incredible experience — definitely a favor returned on her part. She just made me feel like I could conquer the world, and you know that’s a special quality in a person,” says Tony.
He enjoyed getting laughs from the audience, applause from Leah and from the “Exes” cast including Donald Faison, Wayne Knight and David Alan Basche. One of the show’s producers “gave me a very nice vote of confidence. He said, ‘Tony you’re very warm on camera. You’re very likable. You come across very nice. I think this is something you should pursue.'”
Not that he has any intention of putting aside his dancing shoes. The 18th season of “DWTS” is set to launch March 17, and as far as Tony is concerned, there is no end in sight for the show. “Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly entertained audiences for 70 years — musicals and dance were a part of our culture. So I don’t see it going away. Every year we do something new and we twist it a little bit and we mix it up a little,” he says. He also considers “DWTS” the most positive of programs, because not only does the winner triumph but so do other competitors, in that “they’ve still accomplished something for themselves….It shows how difficult some things are, but If you work hard, anything is possible. That’s the message every week, and I think we need more of that on television.”
EAT, PLAY, LOVE: Shelleylyn Brandler, lovely blond cast member on FUSE TV’s “Warped Roadies,” just might be stepping into her own reality TV spotlight soon. The rock ‘n’ roll caterer, whose TaDa company hands out all kinds of gourmet grub to music stars from Taylor Swift to Marilyn Manson, has been paged by pal Gene Simmons to star in a prospective cooking show titled “Rock Star Chef.”
The KISS frontman is “the most amazing mentor I could ask for. He is busy with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame right now,” she notes, referring to KISS’ induction into that rarified group April 10, “but after that we’re going to get together about it.” Meanwhile, another producing entity has been pitching a reality show centered on Shelleylyn and her world, called “‘Sex, Food and Rock ‘n’ Roll.’ Food is the new drug.” She notes, “It’s a matter of finding the right home.”
In the ’90s, she was a concert production runner with a rocker boyfriend — and a knack for snacks the bands began to crave. “It was my brother who said, ‘There’s Martha Stewart, but there’s no one for the urban, punk, rock ‘n’ roll style. You could really make a niche for yourself in rock ‘n’ roll catering,” recalls Shelleylyn. She also recalls lackluster food — at best — being served on rock tours. “Nobody was caring about food or being a foodie. I remember sitting in my living room coining the word ‘foodie,’ because I just cared so much,” she declares. “I wasn’t a great chef, but I knew that on my worst day, I could do better than what some of these professional people were doing. My turkey sandwiches were made with fresh rosemary bread I made myself — so what I did was always a little better than what I was seeing.”
Along with a generous portion of nerve, she lucked out in terms of timing — just ahead of the explosion of interest in chefs and culinary arts. Now her credits include nine years of catering for the Coachella Festival, plus The Warped Tour, the Mayhem Tour, tours for Taylor Swift, Beyonce, shows including the BET Awards and many more. She knows that Miley Cyrus is gluten free and Tobey Maguire is vegan, and she recently learned how to cook Kosher for some orthodox rockers. And perhaps most importantly, her go-to hangover cure is “menudo, the Mexican soup.”
WRIST WATCH: Despite all the heavy breathing, cat-fights and sexy bodies on display on ABC’s “The Bachelor,” obvservant viewers may have noticed that The Bachelor Juan Pablo Galavis wears the same bracelet all the time. That’s all the time as in every scene and every photograph, from poolside with his daughter to the hot tub with one of his wannabe wives, to when he’s modeling teeny tiny swim trunks and handing out roses. No, it’s not a high-end accessory — it’s a Step by Step Foundation bracelet. This band is a symbol of an international non profit (www.stepbystepfoundation.com) that helps children in need around the world. It was founded by Juan Pablo’s friend Liliane Stransky who is also from Venezuela. We’re told he has been an active supporter for three years now. Now, there’s some exposure anyone can feel good about.
