Dancing with the Stars
Anne Heche Talks Dancing with the Stars, Another World’s Vicky/Marley, Ellen DeGeneres, Standing Up to Discrimination
America is getting reacquainted with Daytime Emmy winner, primetime Emmy and Tony nominee, actress Anne Heche This talented dynamo has taken to the ballroom dance floor on the new season of Dancing with the Stars with her pro dance partner Keo Motsepe. Daytime soap fans are thrilled to see her again after her unforgettable performances at twins Vicky and Marley on the beloved Another World early in her professional career.
While everyone had a heart-stopping moment on Monday’s episode of Dancing with the Stars, when Heche and Motsepe found themselves in the bottom two- they were saved by the judges and will dance into next week!
Michael Fairman caught up with Heche prior to Monday’s show from her home in Los Angeles for a new interview feature on The Michael Fairman Channel on You Tube. Their conversation covered many points throughout Anne’s career, from her difficult upbringing detailed in her memoir, “Call Me Crazy”, to how she landed on Another World and life on a soap opera, to making the decision to leave, to having her career in film and TV reach a critical impasse when she was in a relationship with Ellen DeGeneres, to life now with her two children and of course, being a celebrity dancer on live TV on this very different season of DWTS.
Here are just a few of the highlights from the chat with Heche below.
Photo: ABC
Speaking on performing on the Covid-19 season of Dancing with the Stars, Anne expressed:”You can’t define a moment that’s getting on to that ballroom floor, and all of a sudden you know you are on live television. Dancing with the Stars is usually done in front of a live audience and it’s not this year. So you only have the other dancers as your audience, but stepping out knowing the responsibility that I was taking on for Keo, that I was taking on for myself, and then that click – and you get four clicks – and then you go. You don’t know if you’re going to be able to do it. I will go as far as I can go as an artist. But when judge Derek Hough said ‘You made me smile’, that was my intention. That’s why I am doing this more than anything. Yes, I want to learn, but I am here to entertain in a world where there is little entertainment (right now), where it’s live, it’s now, and it’s happening in this moment. We can’t feel each other, but you can look at my face and know that whatever dedication I have to do this, I will do to the best of my ability. I have been given the opportunity to perform for an audience who is at home to give one thing – that is the joy with the entertainment that I bring.”
Photo: NBC
Soap opera fans will always recall Anne’s sensational portrayal of twins Vicky and Marley on Another World from 1987-1991. To this day, it remains one of the all-time greatest in the genre, and at that time, daytime fans knew that Heche would eventually go on to an even greater mainstream career in motion pictures and television and Broadway. Anne’s road to Bay City and Another World happened the day after she graduated high school (she was discovered there) and landed in New York and at Another World producer and director John Whitesell’s office, where she learned now only was she playing one part, but two!
As Anne recalls it, Whitesell said to her, “What you don’t know is that I auditioned you for two characters because you’re going to play twins. And by the way … that Bahama Mama T-shirt you wore, and obviously you thought you should repeat it, because you’re wearing it in your screen-test, and you’re wearing it now, get it off! Vicky is the sexy one, so go figure it out! Your first day you’re going to be in a hot tub and you’re talking to your dad, because you just lost a million dollars. I’m like, ‘What?’. Whitesell continued, ‘Yeah, it’s a bubble bath … and don’t make me regret this decision, because I am the only person who wanted to hire you.” After that moment, Anne took on the dual roles still not knowing much of anything about daytime and she became a fan favorite. Throughout the interview, Anne recalls her time working with Kale Brown (Ex-Michael Hudson) (Ex-Anna Stuart (Ex- Donna Love), and Tom Eplin (Ex-Jake McKinnon).
Heche had made the decision to exit Another World and was going to quit acting with the intent on going to the Parsons School of Design, when her agent called for her to go out for a role in a film that starred Jessica Lange in which he landed the role. Noting that the production team at Another World moved all of her scenes to the end of the day so they could tape Vicky and Marley’s departure (so she could go be in the movie), Anne next found herself in a Motel 6 on location in Nebraska when the Daytime Emmys were being handed out in 1991, and she was nominated for her Outstanding Younger Actress.
As Heche recalls, “I’m watching the Emmys and I win and I’m eating a cheeseburger on a bed by myself in a Motel 6 in Nebraska and they say ‘she can’t be here … she is a new movie with Jessica Lange.’ I won an Emmy on a bug-infested bed in a Motel 6 in Nebraska and at that moment said, with a cheeseburger in my mouth, ‘Does this mean I’m supposed to be an actress?” (Laughs)
Photo: JP
Anne’s relationship with Ellen DeGeneres was a highly-publicized from 1997-2000 for their public appearances together which later backfired on Heche’s career. However, through Heche, the needle moved forward to pave the way for same-sex couples to be able to express their love publicly. As she reflects on that time in her life, she expressed: “I was told not to go to the premiere of Volcano if I took Ellen, and I looked at the suits standing in front of me, and even Ellen said, ‘You listen to them, Anne. You can’t go with me.’ This is four days after I met Ellen. I said, ‘If I had met George Clooney and four days later I was taking him to a premiere we would not be having this conversation.” This is the moment I realized what discrimination feels like. because, even Ellen is sitting here telling me not to go to the premiere.’ I said to Ellen, ‘You just came out Tuesday night on Ellen (referring to DeGeneres then comedy series) and you are sitting here right now and you are telling me to not bring you to my premiere as my date?!’ So, even Ellen did not agree with me. Then it happened again in front of President Clinton. I put my arm around her. She said, “You’re not allowed, you can’t do that.’ I said, ‘I will not be discriminated against.”
Watch the entire video interview with Anne below.
Then let us know, are you rooting Anne on during her run on DWTS? What are your favorite Vicky/Marley moments portrayed by Anne on Another World? What do you think about the comments she shared on Ellen DeGeneres and what happened throughout her life and career? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Who is the Another World character/actor pictured with Anne? (not the magazine cover but the publicity shot) He looks familiar, but I can’t place him.
That’s Russell Todd who played Jamie Frame.
Russell Todd who played Jamie
I think he was the second Jamie. Laurence Lau played Jamie 86-90.
He was actually the fifth “adult” Jamie, if I am remembering correctly. The first three were Tim Holcomb, Richard Bekins, and Stephen Yates (an interesting choice, given that Yates had played a different character on the show in the mid-70s); Lau was the fourth, and Todd was the fifth and final.
Yes that is Russell Todd, who took over the role of Jamie Frame from Laurence Lau, who was Anne’s first leading man along with Tom Eplin’s Jake McKinnon.
Anne was fantastic on AW. I still remember and love it. I was heartbroken when she left. I didn’t think they would be able to find someone to fill her shoes, but they did. Still, Anne was my favorite. I think she’s doing a good job on DWTS. She seems so happy.
I also enjoyed Anne in the TV show set in Alaska.
Anne will always be my favorite soap star. Vicky/Marley was just sensational tv.
Love this, love Anne. Great interview Michael
The year was 1987. I was a closeted gay teenager living in the Midwest attending a pretty large high school. The 80s weren’t an easy time for everyone. And that particular year was one of the worst of my childhood besides ’83 losing my Dad. Call me crazy but often soaps were an escape for me, as they are for millions of people, especially during the 80s. Many gay or straight men watched soaps, or at least during summer breaks, etc. Everyone knew who “Bo and Hope” were on DAYS, which my siblings and I grew up on due to our Mom watching since it premiered. Then my best friend, another male teenager who was and still is straight with a wife and four kids, told me I should watch Another World too, which followed my DAYS on NBC. I tuned in early ’87 during the riveting serial killer storyline called the “Sin Stalker” which basically wrapped up in time for Anne Heche’s debut on the show. She was cast in the pivotal roles of twins Victoria and Marley, where she appeared first as Vicky who became the more dominant character than when the Emmy-winning Ellen Wheeler originated the parts. She was Marley first, when the show later added twin sister Vicky who’d been given up at birth. My best friend and I began writing are own fictional soaps throughout high school which we graduated together. And as Anne had the courage to leave the show to pursue other interests in 1991, I mustered the courage to leave my home and enroll in a Fort Lauderdale, FL college in October of ’91. As a matter of fact, some friends and I gathered in my dorm apartment to watch Anne win ‘Best Leading Actress’ on the Soap Opera Digest awards, which aired after she had already left the show, like the Emmy she had also just won for ‘Outstanding Younger Leading Actess’. As for my favorite scenes of her on Another World, that’s easy. It was during the ‘Who Shot Jake’ storyline and Anne had to portray one twin-Vicky-pretending to be the other twin-Marley on the witness stand! To protect her sister who was falling apart, Vicky posed as Marley, fooling everyone in court, even their lawyer Cass. However, when it’s mentioned that Jake indeed raped Marley instead of just attempting to which is what Vicky believed, it was all she could do not to break down herself. As soon as a recess was ordered, Vicky made her way to the ladies’ room to have a moment to herself to process this news. And in total ‘Vicky fashion’ she freaks out, trashes the restroom, tearing a picture off the wall! That was the moment I knew Anne Heche would be a star!
Dancing with the Stars
ABC/Disney Upfronts: ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Season 35 Adds ‘Savannah Bananas’ Jackson Olson, ‘The Bachelor’ Franchise Spin-Offs Not on Fall Schedule
On Tuesday, May 12 at the ABC/Disney Upfronts, there were several headlines coming out of it for the upcoming 2026-2027 television and streaming season.
First, Savannah Bananas second baseman Jackson Olson will be taking some swings on the ballroom dance floor when he joins other celebrities already locked in for Dancing with the Stars season 34.
Olson will join already confirmed reality stars: Maura Higgins (The Traitors and Love Island) and Ciara Miller (Summer House). The full cast list and their pro partners will be announced on September 2nd.
Photo: SavannahBananasIG
SAVANNAH BANANAS COME TO DISNEY+
The news of Olson who has also become a social media influencer, comes out of the Disney upfront that also revealed that Disney+ will become the exclusive home of the Banana Bowl streaming live this October, hence the tie-in.
The Banana Bowl will feature the top teams in the Banana Ball league facing off for the season championship. Known for blending athleticism with entertainment, the game will include one of the biggest performances the league has ever seen, bringing together all six teams, along with its signature on-field showmanship.
NO BACHELOR FRANCHISE THIS FALL
Meanwhile, ABC revealed that a new season for the troubled The Bachelor franchise offshoots is not on the fall schedule where they usual place: The Bachelorette, The Golden Bachelor or Golden Bachelortte are no where to be found. This is the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic that there will be no Bachelor-branded series on ABC’s fall schedule.
Photo: ABC
The Bachelor will return as usual in the midseason in 2027, Grant Ellis was the lead as the man looking for love and vying for a woman’s heart in 2025.
All this, amid the turmoil surrounding Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette being pulled and currently never seeing the light of day after the domestic violence surfaced with her throwing a chair towards the direction of her child, while she got into a melee with ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen.
Ari Goldman, SVP, Content Strategy and Scheduling said of removing The Bachelor from the new season ABC lineup, “We’ve had to take a look at just managing the franchise properly. These shows have enormous fan bases, and we were so thrilled the year that we were able to launch Golden Bachelor and have it stand out in that fall season the way that it did. But I think that the usual cadence that we like to find ourselves in is really the flagship series in midseason and then having some summer edition, which we have already locked in on Bachelor of Paradise for next season. So this is more of a return to a steady state on the franchise.”
So, what do you think about Jackson Olson from the Savannah Bananas joining the new season of Dancing with the Stars? Do you like how the show is making efforts to cast social media influencers and talents with a mass number of followers to draw eyeballs to the reality-competition series? Meanwhile, are you for or against even The Bachelor coming back in 2027, or do you think its time to rest the entire concept all of its spin-offs for good? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Dancing with the Stars
‘Dancing with the Stars’ Renewed for Season 35 by ABC, Plus ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Spin-off ‘The Next Pro’ Set for Summer Debut
The ballroom is back in a major way in news today during the Disney’s Get Real unscripted TV event. First, Dancing with the Stars has been renewed for its upcoming 35th season, that is expected to premiere this fall.
The first two celebrity contestants have been revealed. Maura Higgins from Traitors and Love Island has joined the cast as has Summer House favorite Ciara Miller.
Previously, the 34th season of Dancing with the Stars saw its largest audience in years driven by viewer interest in the younger demographics, plus the sho delivered its highest-rated finale in nearly a decade, which saw wildlife conservationist, Robert Irwin winning the Mirror Ball trophy.
Photo: ABC
It’s clear, ABC feels they have gold with Irwin, who they have tapped to host their new spinoff series coming this summer. Now comes Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro coming to ABC and Hulu. The series will premiere July 13, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, with episodes available the next day on Hulu.
The new competition series which will be hosted by Irwin, features 12 up-and-coming dancers who move into one house and compete in a grueling audition process, all vying for a coveted spot as a pro dancer on Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars.
Three-time Mirrorball champion Mark Ballas and his mother, Shirley Ballas “The Queen of Latin” will serve as judges. They will be joined by lineup of returning pros who will serve as rotating mentors and guest judges. Details about the returning pros, and contestants will be announced at a later date.
The series is produced by BBC Studios. Conrad Green serves as showrunner and executive producer. Ryan O’Dowd, Krystal Whitney, Alex Cross and Jenny Groom are executive producers. Deena Katz and Quinn Lipton are co-executive producers.
Now below, check out the first look trailer for ‘Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro.’ Then let u know, what you think of the concept? Robert Irwin as host and the OG Dancing with the Stars returning for season 35 via the comment section.
Dancing with the Stars
‘Dancing with the Stars’ Con 2026 Announced: Featuring Pros, Judges, and Celeb Alums: Get the Details
Just announced Dancing with the Stars fans, is its first foray into a full-on fan fest convention. Dancing With the Stars Con 2026 is coming this summer which will feature a plethora of pro dancer favorites, uniting past winners, alums and a pair of well-known judges for the weekend long event.
Billed as “a celebration of all things Dancing With the Stars” the three-day convention will take place from Friday, July 31 to Sunday, August. 2 in Palm Springs, California at the Acrisure Arena. The venue has the capacity to hold 11,000 people and is located in heart of the Coachella valley near where the Coachella music fest is held every year.
Event organizers share that attendees will see live dance performances, live panels, interactive photo experiences, and exhibits which feature. mirrorball champions and fan favorites.
Photo: ABC
WHO’S APPEARING AT ‘DANCING WITH THE STARS CON’
Confirmed to attend are: long-time judges: Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli. Dancers: Brandon Armstrong, Lindsay Arnold, Rylee Arnold, Alan Bersten, Hailey Bills, Sharna Burgess, Witney Carson, Val Chmerkovskiy, Sasha Farber,, Jenna Johnson, Daniella Karagach, Pasha Pashkov, Jan Ravnik, Gleb Savchenko, Emma Slater, Ezra Sosa, and Britt Stewart.
Photo: ABC
The convention was “designed to celebrate the iconic television series and its passionate fan base” shared the event organizers with Entertainment Weekly. Danielle Fishel added, “There are a lot of things that we don’t even know yet. The greatest thing about the Con is that it’s going to be a celebration of all 20 years of the show.”The Con is going to be the legacy of the show – a celebration of the legacy of the show.”
HOW TO GET TICKETS
Tickets for Dancing With the Stars Con go on sale this Saturday, February 14 at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT. However, in a special promotion with Verizon, its members can access an exclusive presale beginning February. 12. Three-day early bird tickets, VIP packages, and more can be explored at at www.dwtscon.com
So, what do you think about the concept of a Dancing with the Stars massive convention with fans from around the country and the world, pro dancer, past winners and celebs and more? Is it something you would be interested in attending? Let us know via the comment section below.
Photo: ABC
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