The ballroom was brought to tears Tuesday night.
The theme for the fifth episode of season 32 of Dancing With the Stars was “Most Memorable Year,” a theme that turned out to be a tearjerker in seasons past thanks to the emotional stories contestants brought to the dance floor.
But this time, the stars had nothing to do with the moment that touched everyone most.
Instead, it was a mid-show tribute to the man who could be considered the most memorable part of the series, beloved head judge Len Goodman, that moved the audience and Goodman’s former fellow panelists so much.
Goodman, a dancer-turned-teacher-turned-judge, brought gravitas and legitimacy to both Dancing With the Stars and its U.K. counterpart, Strictly Come Dancing, since the franchise’s inception in 2004. And his death, in April of this year at the age of 78, truly marked the end of an era.
To honor that tremendous loss, the current season of DWTS kicked off with an announcement that from now on, contestants and their professional partners will be playing for a newly redesigned reward, The Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. There was also a promise that Goodman would get a befitting and spectacular tribute later in the season, which is exactly what happened Tuesday night.
In between celebrity routines, host Alfonso Ribeiro announced, “Since Len will always be at the heart of this show, our pros created a special performance in his honor”—and the dance that followed did honor him.
Set to Henry Mancini’s 1960 ballad “Moon River,” past and present pros, including Maskim Chlmerkovskiy, Tony Dovolani and both Derek and Julianne Hough, delivered a elegant waltz in front of a dreamy blue-moon set. Everything about the routine was exactly what Goodman, a ballroom traditionalist, would have loved, from the sweeping white gowns and tux-with-tails attire to the clean and classic moves.
There was absolutely none of the “mucking about” or unnecessary “razzle-dazzle” the judge was known to loath.
When the hoofers finished the performance there wasn’t a dry eye to be seen—even on the dance floor. But while all seemed a bit emotional, when the camera turned to the table Goodman once sat at, that’s when the night’s biggest waterworks were seen.
Judge Bruno Tonioli, who shared the panel with Goodman on both “Dancing” and “Strictly,” broke down sobbing when the music ended, and he reached out to embrace fellow judge Carrie Ann Inaba, who was also weeping over the apt farewell to their friend.
In a flashback package that aired before the dance, Goodman called himself “a cup of tea in a world of lattes.” The show couldn’t have raised a toast to him in a better way.
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