Cliff Clavin replaces Big Pussy on Dancing with the Stars

John Ratzenberger is stepping in to the open slot on Dancing with the Stars. He'll replace Vincent Pastore, the actor who played "Big Pussy" on The Sopranos, who dropped out of the competition after just one week of rehearsals. His reason? He can't give it his all.

Cliffie, on the other hand, is totally up to the challenge. Apparently ABC has been trying to recruit the former Cheers star for a while but he always had scheduling conflicts (probably voicing various characters for Pixar). He'll join the rest of the Stars this week with a bit of a disadvantage. By the time the competition airs, he'll only have three weeks of rehearsal while everyone else will have rehearsed for four weeks. His good-natured attitude will probably help him through the opening round elimination.

Ratzenberger's partner will be Edyta Sliwinska, who danced with Joey Lawrence last season. Dancing premieres on Monday, March 19th.