Steve-O, More Than a Jackass on Dancing with the Stars

Steve-O was born Stephen Gilchrist Glove on June 13, 1974 in Wimbledon, London, England, to an American father and a Canadian mother. Best known as one of the performers on the TV series "Jackass" and "Wildboyz," Steve-O has been in and out of trouble with the law for many years. Steve-O was arrested in Los Angeles in 2002 on obscenity charges for performing the stunt where he staples his scrotum to his leg at a nightclub in Houma, Louisiana. At the same time he was charged with assault for being involved in a second-degree battery. The following year, Steve-O was arrested and jailed on drug smuggling charges in Sweden. In 2003, Steve-O was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct for public urination at a Lollapalooza tour concert in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania.

During 2005 and 2006, Steve-O was filmed with marijuana, as well as seen urinating in public and stripping nude on more than one occasion. In 2005 Steve-O appeared drunk on "Too Late with Adam Carolla." These incidents and his ongoing drug and alcohol abuse led to Steve-O's friends, including Johnny Knoxville, forcing Steve-O to check into Thalians Mental Health Center. However, his problems have continued with appearances on radio programs where he has appeared drunk, using foul language, and performing lewd stunts in front of the studio audience.

He is also an aspiring rapper with a couple of albums out with such dubious titles as Hard as a Rock and TheDumbest A**hole In Hip Hop.

However, a cleaner version of Steve-O has also been seen on television commercials for products such as Orbit Mint Mojito where he has appeared in the Sand Chug commercial, as well as in ads for his own shoe company called Sneaux Shoes.

Everyone deserves a chance to show they can be something more than everyone perceives them as being. While it looks like Steve-O has spent the first part of his life proving he is indeed both a jackass and terrible role model for young people, he has done something that I think surprised a lot of people by appearing on "Dancing with the Stars." More than that, Steve-O seems to actually have taken the "Dancing with the Stars" competition seriously. Even after a back injury forced him to miss an appearance on the show, and he forgot part of his routine the following week, Steve-O was back on "Dancing with the Stars," proving he can not only dance, but look classy in the process. I have no idea what his behavior has been like behind the scenes on the show, but the Steve-O the public has seen looks hard working, intelligent, graceful, gracious... and normal.

On the March 31 double-elimination show, before discovering he was safe for another week Steve-O commented, "I'm not used to dealing with high pressure without drugs and alcohol, and so far I've made it through without getting loaded." He added that this made him feel like a champion already, and I second that opinion.

Steve-O's performances on "Dancing with the Stars," has raised him more than a notch in my estimation, and I hope it has raised Steve-O more than a notch in his own estimation. Whatever his personal demons may be, Steve-O can be whatever he wants to be. He has shown us another side of his personality and another aspect of his talent - and this time it is a real talent, not just a stunt. Steve-O has proven that he can be much more than a jackass. The question is: will Stephen Glove use this as a step up to better things, or will Steve-O allow himself to sink back down to public urination, drug abuse and stapling his scrotum to his legs - the same legs he used so elegantly on "Dancing with the Stars."