a few weeks back marie osmond hit the stage with her samba -- right after the samba -- >> that was thet dramatic thing. usually it's somebody popping out of a dress i'm always happy to help them back in. respect rth tonight on the season opener, deja vu. joey fatone, bristol pay len and pamela anderson who vowed to stay se stay celebat. over her shoulder with her back to me she said i'm already off the wagon. >> reporter: some of the toughest competitors. >> we've got the first four champions. kellie monaco. emmett smith, hello. shawn johnson. >> shawn johnson is the gold medalist who try atriumph ped. >> we have one, two three of my season. that's infilm datimidateintimid. they're out to get me. >> gilles marini came in second. six of them won. why are you calling me the front-runner. i'm clearly not. >> the third place finisher, former dallas cowgirl melissa rycroft. >> last time around is a particularly tough time in your life. . not a highlight. >> last time she appeared on "dancing with the stars" after she had been proposed to on "the bachelor." only to be famously dumped by her

on the other hand, donnie and marie osmond are on tv. >>imus: you like them? -- marie osmond was my hero. >>imus: she's got a screwed-up life. >>guest: no comment. i have a soft spot for her. >>guest: so many husbands. getting fat -- >>guest: when i was growing up, there were no mormons on tv. >>imus: what did your dad say when you brought this jewish man home and said i'm going to marry him? >>guest: that was difficult. marrying inside the faith plays a big role in mormon belief. very observant mormons believe marrying another mormon is the way to get to the best kind of heaven. i happened to find heaven on earth with someone i really love. my dad over time grew to accept my husband, which was important. mormons take the view things are going to work out. >>imus: have you seen "the book of mormon" on broadway? >>guest: i have. >>imus: and? >>guest: i laughed through 75% of it. there were parts that made me cringe. >>imus: there were parts that made you cringe? >>guest: yeah, a few. >>imus: i guess if you read it -- i agree. there's a couple places -- one song

mormons or jon huntsman mormons or harry reid, and some of us were little girls growing up watching marie osmondhow we are a faith that is evolving and growing globally, and we are a faith that is sorting through important issues like how to treat gay mormons in the congregations and how to express love and compassion and make more of a home for them. >> and one of the biggest problems with the chump as far as i understand it is the opposition to gay marriage. what makes you so passionate about this topic? >> as a mormon child, i was raised to love the golden rule. i was raised with a strong ethic of kindness to others and if in the book of "mormon girl" have witnessed the churches campaign against civil rights for lgbt people and how it felt out of character for me, the faith i loved. so my heart led me to support equal rights under the law for gay and lesbian people. >> and so you have really personally struggled with the mormon faith, but somehow, you have managed a way to stay with it. what parts of it are what other parts of it are hard to accept? >> well, i think that it is a common experi

. >> didn't he surprise adonai osmond and marie osmond. >> steve: he did.from andy williams who was a regular viewer of "fox and friends". he will be missed. we told you about the brand new poll showing that that man in swing state of ohio is amitt romney by 10 percent. but are they really swinging toward the president? or is there skewing going on by the left-based main stream med yampt a number of people on the right feel that there is something, a polster media polling bias and what they do, they sample more democrats than republicans and naturally the democrats will wind up with the vote. why will they do that? one perhaps to keep mitt romney's donors from coughing up more cash and keep people from doing early voting. >> gretchen: the idea is why do they weight it one way to the other. they base it on the turn out in the last election cycles. they see more democrats came to the polls they weight it to democrats as opposed to the republicans and defendants. >> steve: what about 2010 and the land slide with the republicans winning be you when mr. obama ha

look at a little marie osmond sitting on andy's lap during a 1964 broadcast of his popular variety showilliams meant to him and the rest of the osmonds. >> we were close. we talked about life, we talked about family. he would teach us how to be profession ole and do it right. ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year. ♪ >> williams, whose annual ristmas specials drew huge tv ratings dade at his home in branson, missouri. ♪ two drifters off to see the world. ♪ >> the public knew him for his music. close friends remember his loyalty. he stood by his ex-wife, claudine, when she was charged with accidentally shooting her boyfriend in 1976. and after his good friend, bobby kennedy, was slain 1968, williams escorted his widow ethel to numerous events in the ensuing years. ♪ born free >> williams add knack for turning movie theme songs into huge hits, from "born free" -- ♪ as free as the grass grows ♪ >> to the days of wayne and roses. ♪ the days of wine and roses ♪ >> to "love story." ♪ where do i begin to tell the story of how great a love can be ♪ >> andy williams leaves his second wife de

osmonds, on the map. he also introduced america to the three-year-old marie. >> will you save me a dance? reporter: he said the clarity and warmth and grace of music, shaped my beginning. the andy williams christmas special became a family tradition. although some could blame him for the advent of the christmas sweater among his achievements, 18 golds and three platinum recordings. >> what he represented was a time of change, something safe and family-friendly. >> glory, glory hallelujah ♪ ♪ ♪ >> reporter: williams sang the battle hymn of the republic, at his close friend, bobby kennedy's funeral in 1968. but as time passed, his easy listening style fell from favor, and williams saw it was time to move on. >> it is a little more difficult to sell than it was 20 years ago. but there is an audience there. >> reporter: and he found the audience in branson, missouri, where he built the moon river theater, and where tonight, the show will go on. >> and that is our broadcast for this wednesday night. thank you for joining us. i'm savannah guthrie, for brian williams and everyone here at nbc new