Aug 29, 2007 9:38 am US/Central
Cuban Officially Part Of 'Dancing' Cast
Jane Seymour, Jenni Garth, Marie Osmond Among Other Contestants
(CBS)
Is it possible Mark Cuban, the billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner, can dance?
How about Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Wayne Newton? Viewers will find out on the new season of "Dancing With the Stars," which has assembled another eclectic field of contestants.
Cuban, welterweight boxing champ Mayweather and Las Vegas headliner Newton are among the 12 celebrities who will compete when the show returns Sept. 24, ABC announced Wednesday.
Host Tom Bergeron, judge Carrie Ann Inaba and last season's winner, Apolo Anton Ohno were on hand to announce the lineup which included actress Jane Seymour.
The actress was on the fence for a while before making her final decision, but support from fans and family convinced her to compete.
"When I talked to some of the fans, they all just said, 'oh, we'd love it, it would be so great,'" Seymour said. "You know what? My mom is very ill in England and this turns out to be her favorite show ever. So I managed to tell her, ask her what her thoughts were, and in the first words she's spoken since she had her stroke, she said 'yes.' I always wanted to dance when I was a little girl. I couldn't give up this opportunity at this point in my life."
This year's 12 starting contestants are actress Jane Seymour, super model Albert Reed, Cheetah Girl Sabrina Bryan, Cuban, actress/model Josie Maran, king of Las Vegas Wayne Newton, entertainer Marie Osmond, boxer Floyd Mayweather, Spice Girl Melanie Brown, racing champ Helio Castroneves, actress Jennie Garth, and actor Cameron Mathison.
As in past seasons, each celebrity will be paired with a professional dancer. In the contest that ended in May, Olympic gold medalist hno beat out former 'N Sync star Joey Fatone to win the dance-off's mirror-ball trophy.
Other champions were soap opera star Kelly Monaco, NFL record-holder Emmitt Smith and former 98 Degrees member Drew Lachey.
The show debuts on ABC with Dolly Parton as the musical guest.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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