Cloris Leachman - Season 7

[karalott]

You're right that this isn't so much about one's dancing ability, because we could all make a long list of people who shouldn't have made it as far as they did or stars who went out way too soon. It's more popularity than anything, which I also think will be a factor in Cloris not getting very far. A lot of the younger generation likely won't be casting votes for her and quite honestly some people may not vote for her based on her age. There's been rumors about Florence Henderson being on the show for the past couple of seasons, but casting Cloris makes more sense than casting Florence. I would agree that a lot of what makes this show are the celebs personalities, which is why I had very little interest last season (I can't even remember half of the people that were on). Hey, Billy Ray couldn't dance for squat but he made it fun to watch. However, I think Marissa ruined the whole 'watch for personality who cares about dancing ability' for me. Granted, she wasn't the worst, but crying over criticism, and then screeching about always having fun and rigging the votes for herself got a little much.

[Krom]

There's been rumors about Florence Henderson being on the show for the past couple of seasons, but casting Cloris makes more sense than casting Florence.

I'm a big Cloris fan, but I think that Florence Henderson probably has a bigger "blind" following, who would vote for her simply because she's "Mrs. Brady". Even with "Phyllis" under her belt, Cloris' fame is really more "decentralized" and there will be some people who don't know her at all. But EVERYONE knows "Mrs. Brady".

[surviorwannabe]

everyone is allowed their opinions of her and her abilities. I personally think and hope that she goes far. Just because she is 80 something doesn't mean she can't dance. My ex's mom will be 79 next month and is just as active as ever!. My daughter goes out to see her every summer and my daughter sends me emails tell me that her and grandma had so much fun at the beach and all the other stuff they do. When she gets home from vacation she always says she is going to go sleep for a week because grandma wore me out. Age is but a number if you feel 80 then you will perform like you are 80 if you are 80 and feel 40 or 50 then you will perform like that.

[RBmumsie]

everyone is allowed their opinions of her and her abilities. I personally think and hope that she goes far. Just because she is 80 something doesn't mean she can't dance. My ex's mom will be 79 next month and is just as active as ever!. My daughter goes out to see her every summer and my daughter sends me emails tell me that her and grandma had so much fun at the beach and all the other stuff they do. When she gets home from vacation she always says she is going to go sleep for a week because grandma wore me out. Age is but a number if you feel 80 then you will perform like you are 80 if you are 80 and feel 40 or 50 then you will perform like that.

Exactly! I don't expect Cloris to dance like she's in her 20's or 30's, but I'll bet that she can compete with someone in their 50's or 60's. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[girlsmom]

I would expect Cloris to be a good dancer, but a slower less athletic one. I would look for her to be graceful, quick witted, entertaining and very likeable, but NOT nearly as fast moving or certainly as adverturous with the moves. No matter how athletic one is at that age it's HORRIBLE news to break a hip or a leg and it happens more easily as we age. So, I too hope that Cloris is careful. This is not ageism, it the sad facts. Once an older breaks a hip it never completely mends, like it would if they were younger, and their life plulmmets from there. VERY bad news.

[Krom]

This is not ageism, it the sad facts. Once an older breaks a hip it never completely mends, like it would if they were younger, and their life plulmmets from there. VERY bad news.

Exactly.

It's not automatic ageism to recognize someone's age and discuss the limitations which come from that, it's only ageism to unfairly discriminate against someone because of that.

[RBmumsie]

Exactly.

It's not automatic ageism to recognize someone's age and discuss the limitations which come from that, it's only ageism to unfairly discriminate against someone because of that.

Ageism is also stereotyping someone based upon their age. And, I don't think that the comments that have been made here are full on ageism. However, I DO think if Cloris were 72 instead of 82, people might not be as quick to worry about her breaking a hip, etc. People have physical ages as well as chronological ages. I'm thinking that Cloris' PHYSICAL age is less than 82.

We'll be able to tell from the first show whether she's up for the challenge or not. Either way - signing on for this show took guts.

[schmoo2]

I'm hoping the dancing for her will be graceful rather than athletic. She doesn't have to keep up with the "young'un" but it would be nice to show that you can do ballroom dancing in the later years and not have to do a lot of jumps and kicks.

[RBmumsie]

I'm probably influenced by the fact that my dad, at 82, was dating (and dancing with) a 70 year old crackerjack of a lady. I still remember Doris telling me that my dad "has the body of a 60 year old!"

[Krom]

I'm hoping the dancing for her will be graceful rather than athletic. She doesn't have to keep up with the "young'un" but it would be nice to show that you can do ballroom dancing in the later years and not have to do a lot of jumps and kicks.

This might be easier if dances like the Latin dances, and the Quickstep, weren't part of this. But they are. Even without the jumps and kicks, there's certainly going to be a need, at certain points, for some pretty furious activity.

What I'd hate to see though is pandering towards her, in people's reactions and the judging. Wouldn't a level of unintentional condescension like that be just as bad as "ageism"? Does she get 7s and 8s because she's "good for her age"? I hope not. There'd better be something pretty extraordinary about her level of grace if she's stacked up against someone moving twice as fast as her and gets the same scores. Can I see it as at least possible? Yes. But a level of skepticism is at least natural. I'll give the viewing a fair shot, but at the same time the scoring history of these judges doesn't always inspire confidence.

Is it any wonder people worry about something like this being a "stunt"? Then again, to be fair, so is the casting of all of these Disney Channel kids, just to pull in Tween viewers.