Dancing Dolls: An audience member in the balcony grabbed the studio’s attention by holding up Donny and Marie Osmond dolls she brought to the taping. The Barbie-sized dolls were, according to the woman, a gift from many years ago. During a commercial break, the warm-up guy took a doll and walked down to have Marie, who was cheering on brother Donny from the front row, sign it.
Center of Attention: He wasn’t even on the dance floor but all eyes were on Gilles Marini as he took a seat in the front row next to Brothers and Sisters star Rachel Griffiths and Mark Dacascos‘ wife and three kids. Female fans squealed once they spotted Marini, a finalist last season. They stood up from their seats and shouted his name as the Sex and the City actor waved. Just a few minutes before the show went live, host Samantha Harris ran over and gave him a hug but she wasn’t the only one — several production crew members also dropped by to say hello.
T-Shirt Trouble: Christian Slater got one last week and Jason Biggs also got lucky — well, sort of — Monday night. Minutes before Karina Smirnoff hit the dance floor for her routine with Aaron Carter, the ballroom pro scanned the crowd to see where she wanted to hand out a T-shirt. Spotting Biggs standing up and trying to get her attention, Smirnoff threw it in his direction, only to have it hit him in his face.
Family Matters: Sharon Osbourne, along with her daughter’s boyfriend, Luke Worrell, had some of the best seats in the house to cheer on Kelly; Lacey Schwimmer gave her dad a warm hug before the show started; Melissa Joan Hart spotted some family members in the crowd; the Dacascos family gave their dad hugs and kisses before he performed the two-step; and the Osmond clan came out in full force. “I just want you to know tomorrow is Marie’s birthday,” Donny told the crowd, before adding that she was going to turn “29 years old!”
Snack Time: They don’t allow food and drinks inside the ballroom but Makoa Dacasco, the Iron Chef chairman’s oldest son, got his hands on some sweet treats. During a short impromptu Q and A session with the warm-up guy, the sharply dressed 8-year-old told the audience his favorite team was, of course, Mark and Lacey, and explained why his mouth was a bit full while talking: He was enjoying a Butterfinger.
—Eunice Oh
Craig Sjodin/ABC
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