Tommy Chong can try to dance like Fred Astaire just as long as his performance on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" doesn't incorporate pot leaves, bongs, or any other marijuana paraphernalia.
Chong, half of the Grammy Award-winning "Cheech & Chong" comedy team that mainstreamed pot smoking in the '70s and '80s, detailed the ground rules laid down by "DWTS" execs ahead of Monday night's premiere episode.
"The show's not allowed to show pot leaves or bongs,"
Chong told Time in a story posted Monday. "But they have Tommy Chong, who really is a pot leaf. I wear a lot of green. Peta [Murgatroyd], my partner, is going to look like a little marijuana bud."
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His premiere episode dance also featured Cheech in the background bobbing up and down in a hydraulic car. Chong, the oldest competitor at 76, and Murgatroyd did well enough to finish in the middle of the pack Monday with the judges granting the pair a total of
27 points out of 40, according to The Washington Post.
"Cheech bet Chong he couldn’t get on the show, which sounds like the beginning of one of their movies, though it's actually what happened," The Post noted. "His actual dance moves were strangely great as he grooved to 'Drop It Like It’s Hot.'" . . . Could he be the oldest contestant to go far in the competition? Really, everyone loved him. Could be a dark horse."
Lisa Reynolds, of the Wall Street Journal, dubbed Chong and Murgatroyd's dance to Snoop Dogg's hit "the best marriage of song and celebrity" on the show, and the couple also won praise from all of the judges.
"Yes, Peta is dressed like a marijuana leaf," Reynolds wrote. "And then . . . Tommy has hip movement. Peta plays that up, and it's not raunchy at all. This is arguably smoother than Antonio's [Sabato] and Lolo's [Jones] cha-chas. The judges are shocked."
Chong told Time that he believes he's got a good shot at winning the coveted "DWTS" Mirrorball Trophy.
"I'm not dead," he said. "I'm not Fred Astaire, but I’m alive. I don't have to take my shoes off at the airport. I got the old people vote. I got a decent shot."
"DWTS" airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
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