Evan gold for USA and Hollywood

By Anita Talbert

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 3/15/10 —  It was a cool party, not because of the breezes atop the Petit Ermitage Hotel in West Hollywood, but because of gold, the gold in the Olympic Gold Medal won by party honoree, Evan Lysacek.

Slim, stylish in a black jacket and pants, Lysacek was too modest to wear the Olympic Gold Medal around his neck, but his IMG PR lady was carrying it in her purse for those desirous of holding this coveted medal. Surprisingly heavy, it is the type of weight that must have felt light around Lysacek’s neck when he won the Olympic Gold Medal Winner and World Figure Skating Champion in Vancouver. His win was the first in 22 years for an American male at the Olympics.

Touring as a member of the cast of Stars on Ice, for now Lysacek will have to trade in his ice skates for dancing shoes as this Olympic champ slides and glides onto the stage of Dancing with the Stars!

The party was hosted by two close friends from Chicago who live here now, playwrights Amanda Harlib and Laura Sandler, both of whom have just finished writing the sequel to Clueless which had starred Alicia Silverstone. The stunning young playwrights were mum as to who the new Silverstone character would be played by in the sequel.

The young hot showbiz crowd included Dancing with the Stars regular, Derek Hough who dances this season with the beautiful former Pussycat Dolls lead dancer, Nicole Schering. Damian Whitewood the new Australian import was there as well. This is his first season with the show and his celebrity partner is Pamela Anderson. “She’s great, so down to earth, she’s a really great mom”, says Whitewood about Anderson. Even uber red-carpet mistress Melissa Rivers was there with her new man, “We’re very happy”, bubbled Rivers.

The most senior Dancing with the Stars celebrity contestant was also at the party, Buzz Aldrin, astronaut, scientist, inventor, best-selling author, advocate for man’s future in space; the second man to step onto the moon, Aldrin is now showing what he can do with those feet on Earth.

Word has it that the producers of Dancing with the Stars are taking it slower with celebrities this year due to injuries suffered in the past. Even Lysacek who is in the best possible physical shape, says it is difficult. “I am used to moving on my own and now I have to move differently with a partner.”

He has been hitting the ice since the age of 8, that’s when he received his first pair of hockey skates. The native of Naperville, Illinois, relocated to Los Angeles at the age of 18 to train with Frank Carroll who, in addition to his Olympic and World titles, has also coached Evan to two US National Titles. He moved to Los Angeles in 2003 following his graduation from high school and now trains at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, California. “It is the most amazing place to train and hardly anybody knows it is there”, he beamed.

Having studied method acting classes at the Professional Arts School in Beverly Hills, Lysacek appeared in the independent short film, “Skate Great! playing a Russian Olympic gold medalist who uses power yoga as conditioning training.