Sean Spicer's 'Monster Mash' not quite a graveyard smash
The former White House press secretary earned 18 out of 30 possible points in the most recent episode of 'Dancing With the Stars.'
The 19th-century author who brought Frankenstein's monster to life, Mary Shelley, imbued him with perseverance, if not physical beauty.
That's a quality the fictional creature shares with Sean Spicer, the politico and former White House press secretary whose portrayal of him failed to win much applause on the Halloween installment of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," which aired Monday.
"You know that you're not the best dancer on the show, but you always come out and you try your hardest and give it your all," Len Goodman, one of the show's judges, told Spicer after he and partner Lindsay Arnold joined a troupe of mummies in a tribute to "Monster Mash," the Halloween single that singer Bobby Pickett introduced in 1962.
Sean Spicer recreates Boris Karloff's portrayal of Frankenstein's monster on "Dancing With the Stars." (ABC/Eric McCandless)
While Monday's episode was intended to be an homage to the supernatural, Spicer's performance was neither super nor natural, Goodman quipped. Indeed, said fellow judge Carrie Ann Inaba, "it was a dance only your mummies could love," a step down from his quick-step to "You've Got a Friend" from "Toy Story" two weeks earlier.
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The pointed critiques weren't the first for Spicer, who launched a tweetstorm of memes as press secretary and was satirized by the comedian Melissa McCarthy on "Saturday Night Live" before venturing into entertainment. He has had his share of Twitter hate, too.
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE -- "Melissa McCarthy" Episode 1724 -- Pictured: Melissa McCarthy as White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer during "Spicer Returns" in Studio 8H on May 13, 2017 -- (Photo by: Will Heath/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Image
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But the 48-year-old's star turn has also garnered support from his former boss, President Trump.
Spicer told the New York Post the President called him Sunday — just hours after the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi — and complimented him on his recent weight loss.
I spoke to the president on Sunday, he made it clear he’s watching me. I doubt it’s in real time, but he knew all about my costumes and he noticed my weight loss — he told me, ‘Have you been slimming down?'
Spicer and Arnold captured 18 out of 30 possible points with "Monster Mash," a performance that Spicer said required four hours in makeup to attain the green skin, jet black hair and lowering brow identified with Frankenstein's monster since Boris Karloff played the character in the 1930s.
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Earlier this season, Spicer attempted what may have been his toughest challenge on the show to date, emulating John Travolta's iconic performance as disco prince Tony Manero in 1977's "Saturday Night Fever." Travolta was less than half Spicer's age when he filmed the movie, and he possessed an energy that Chicago Tribune movie critic Gene Siskel compared to a "peacock on amphetamines."