by John Devera

Created on: August 09, 2008

My favorite contestant from Dancing with the Stars in the 2008 season is Penn Jillette. He is the speaking member of the magic-comedy-anarcho-capitalist duo Penn & Teller. He was also the first male celebrity voted off the show.

Let me first explain something important. I don't watch Dancing with the Stars. Never did before Penn, and never have after. The dancing is pretty mediocre compared to the far superior show So You Think You Can Dance. The guest judges of SYTYCD are far more qualified, and once you get past the innane first two episodes where they weed out the losers, the dancing is incredible. SYTYCD actually wins Emmies for the performances. I also think that celebrities do not need additional venues to show off their meaningless and mediocre talents.

But there was an exception. I watched the episodes of Dancing with the Stars when Penn Jillette was on. Penn Jillette is more of a human being that most celebrities. He is vocal and unflinching in his commitment to libertarianism, anarcho-capitalism and reason. In addition, he is also a person with a sense of humor and, even better, a sense of humaneness. As big a star as he is (and you can enjoy the pun if you are really so lame as to think it was intended), he regularly takes time after his shows to mingle with the audience and sign autographs.

But should he have been dancing, you ask? Personally, I enjoyed his performances far more than the others on the show. In terms of personality and vivacious enthusiasm, only Marissa Jaret Winokur could have beat the guy. He did a freakin' magic trick during one of his dancing routines! And the fact that he sent his 6 foot, 7 inch frame through his partner's legs should at least have gotten him past the first elimination!

Let's be honest. He was eliminated because he was not the typical dancer body type. He is not particularly athletic. He is not skinny. He is huge. And Marissa Jaret Winokur, did not win the show in spite of Tony Awards for her acting/singing/dancing on stage, for pretty much the same reason. The top two? The winners? Two athletes. It was a case of jocks versus nerds, and we know who really wins in that competition, regardless of any light Robert Carradine vehicles.

Penn Jillette took the jokes and the unkind smirks about the size of his feet, his girth and his comparative awkwardness like a gentleman. His partner, Teller, in the audience laughed hysterically at every joke. But Penn Jillette demonstrated that even a very large man, with an endomorphic body, can be graceful at ballroom dance. He worked very hard and his dancing was wonderful. He demonstrated a great deal of style and panache. He was also far more entertaining and witty in his dance than almost anyone who took the stage.

Rather than showing off mediocre dance competition skills, Penn demonstrated humor, intelligence and style. If one compares the winners of the season (Yamaguchi and Taylor) to any of the top twenty in So You Think You Can Dance, the competition would be over. Compared to even moderately professional dancers, these celebrities are pretty pathetic dancers. So why should we watch any of them? Because they are entertaining. That's the bottom line of why they're on the show.

And Penn Jillette was by far the most entertaining dancer on Dancing with the Stars.

Learn more about this author, John Devera.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.