Ian Ziering

We’ve had our “eye on” Ian (that’s how you say it, not ee-an) way before he waltzed his way to your hearts on Dancing with the Stars. By the way, coming in fourth behind two champion athletes and a member of ’NSYNC is nothing to sneeze at!

Next, he's in a National Lampoon spoof of movies like Spartacus and Gladiator and 300 called Awesomest Maximus.

Now we can tell you what Ian has done before. Wait… this is kind of, well… suspicious.

It seems, looking at Ian’s projects, that he likes to play on both teams that are often opposed. For instance, his work in superhero voices.... he was a voice in a Marvel animation (as Harry Osborn in episodes of Spiderman) but also in a DC animation (as Mason Forrest in Batman Beyond). Earlier in career, he was in an “afterschool special” on ABC… and then two years later, in a “schoolbreak special” on rival network CBS.

Wait, there’s more. Ian was a cast member on Beverly Hills, 90210, but did cameos on its silbling rival, Melrose Place (both masterminded by Jewish superproducer Aaron Spelling). Then he was sweet girly romances like the Brooke Shields movie Endless Love and soap operas like Guiding Light… but then showed up on manly shows like Married with Children (with Jewish actress Katey Sagal), JAG, and Inside Schwartz (about a Jewish sports fan).

Since Ian doesn’t know how to make up hs mind, how will we make up our minds about him?

Hmm… here’s something. It seems that Ian is in a cartoon, originally with Brad Garrett, called Biker Mice from Mars.

Hold on! Mice who are Martians and ride motorcyles?! Wow! That’s the coolest thing since… since… turtles who are mutants and fight like ninjas! OK, Ian’s back on our good side.

He also won over the audience at the 2006 Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival— we know this because he won the Audience Choice Award— for his short film Man vs. Monday. Ian has been doing TV and radio commercials since he was 12 years old. He also was in stage musicals like I Remember Mama and Peter Pan before making TV shows and movies.

Hey, where’s he from, anyway? It seems that Ian grew up in in a town in New Jersey, which is on the east coast, called West Orange. But now, he lives in Orange County... which is in California, on the west coast!

Oy-- Now we’re back where we started! Ian, make up your mind about something, already!

Well, he knows this much. As he told Heeb magazine, he was not thrilled with the idea of most reality shows: "I didn't want to crawl through the mud, eat bugs, and be the butt of jokes," he said (and we don't blame him!). But as for Dancing with the Stars, "It's a very classy show, and I learned something." Yeah, like 11 different dances!

Speaking of music, Ian's dad played in a band when Ian was a kid. His dad's "real' job? Hebrew-school teacher! Maybe your teachers are cooler than you think, too!

Bonus:

Dancing With the Stars also has another Jewish star... co-host Samantha Harris! She went to Hebrew school and had a bat mitzvah. Then she was confirmed, and later married, by the same rabbi who bat-mitzvah's her. Before she hosted this hit, Samantha was a reporter on “Extra.” And she is a real reporter, with a journalism degree and everything!

Bonus Bonus:

Let's see: So far, the Jewish dancers on Dancing with the Stars have been Ian, Jane Seymour, Jerry Springer, Marlee Matlin, Marissa Janet Winokur, and Steve Guttenberg...

...and Brooke Burke, who won the whole schmear! Actually, she got more than a bagel with a schmear-- she got the fancy-schmancy mirror ball trophy. Mazel tov!