CBS unveils 'The Amazing Race: All-Stars' cast, show to debut Feb. 18

Although several of them had already been leaked by the media and most of the rest had already been revealed by eyewitnesses who saw the teams racing, CBS has formally unveiled the identities of the eleven teams who will be competing on its upcoming The Amazing Race: All-Stars reality competition.


The Amazing Race: All-Stars, the eleventh installment of the long-running reality franchise, will premiere Sunday, February 18 at 8PM ET/PT. Seven of the series' ten previous editions will be represented in the all-stars competition, with the show's first, third, seventh, and tenth editions each landing two The Amazing Race: All-Stars teams. Absent from the competition are any teams from The Amazing Race 4, The Amazing Race 6, or the show's disastrous The Amazing Race: Family Edition eighth edition. As in previous seasons, The Amazing Race: All-Stars' winning team will receive $1,000,000.

According to executive producer Bertram Van Munster, the producers had a hard time deciding which of The Amazing Race's 100+ former teams to invite back for the All-Stars edition. "It was very hard to pick favorites," van Munster told USA Today.

Rather than basing their casting decisions on only the strength of each team's previous Race finish, the producers also took the teams' personal stories into consideration. "They're not necessarily the winners, but character-wise, they're all-stars in our book," van Munster told USA Today.

In fact, unlike the Spring 2004 All-Stars edition of CBS' Survivor reality series that included four former Survivor winners, The Amazing Race: All-Stars features only one team of previous winners -- The Amazing Race 7's Uchenna and Joyce Agu (The Amazing Race: All-Stars' cast does however include Amber Mariano, Survivor: All-Stars' winner and one half of The Amazing Race 7's returning runner-up team.)


The cast also features two former racers who competed with friends their first time around -- Eric Sanchez and Danielle Turner, who after competing against each other on The Amazing Race 9, began dating. Balancing them out will be a former dating couple that's since broken up and is now competing as "just friends," The Amazing Race 3's Jill Aquilino and John Vito Pietanza.

Missing from The Amazing Race: All-Stars' roster are (since married) The Amazing Race 5 "dating couple" Colin Guinn and Christie Woods, one of the two teams that tvgasm.com, the web site that first reported that The Amazing Race's eleventh edition would be an All-Stars edition, had reported to be "confirmed" members of The Amazing Race: All-Stars' cast.

Filmed late last year, The Amazing Race: All-Stars required the teams travel more than 45,000 miles and visit five continents in only 28 days. Stops included Argentina, Mozambique and Chile.

The eleven teams competing on The Amazing Race: All-Stars -- and their CBS-supplied profile information -- are:

"Life partners" Joe Baldassare and Bill Bartek (The Amazing Race 1, third place) Joe is a 56-year-old mineral trading company owner. Bill is a 53-year-old realtor. The couple lives in Laguna Niguel, CA. CBS says: "Team Guido" from Season 1 returns for another attempt at the $1 million prize. Claiming they've had their bags packed since they returned home from the first season, they are ready to go!

"Lifelong friends" Kevin O'Connor and Drew Feinberg (The Amazing Race 1, fourth place) Kevin is a 40-year-old forensic accountant from Bayonne, NJ. Drew is a 41-year-old Senior Court Officer from Staten Island, NY. ADVERTISEMENT CBS says: America's favorite fraternity brothers are all grown up and married. They fell just short of the million dollars the first time around and are eager for another shot.

"Best friends" Ozwald Mendez and Danilo Jimenez (The Amazing Race 2, fourth place) Ozwald is a 36-year-old from New York, NY who works in advertising. Danny is a 41-year-old paralegal from Miami, FL. CBS says: These best friends from Season 2 had a falling out several years ago, but have since mended their relationship and claim to be better friends now than they've ever been during their previous 12 years of friendship.

"Formerly dating" John Vito Pietanza and Jill Aquilino (The Amazing Race 3, fifth place) ADVERTISEMENT John is a 32-year-old trader from New York, NY. Jill is a 29-year-old product controller from New York, NY. CBS says: Season 3's John Vito and Jill are back for another chance at winning the $1 million prize. What's different this time around? These former lovebirds are no longer romantically involved.

"Married parents" Teri Pollack and Ian Pollack (The Amazing Race 3, second place) Teri is a 53-year-old homemaker. Ian is a 54-year-old private investigator and retired police lieutenant. The couple lives in Palm City, FL. CBS says: Second place in Season 3 just wasn't good enough for this dynamic duo. Teri and Ian are still the oldest players to ever finish in second place in the Amazing Race and they are back to show that they haven't lost a step.

"Cousins" Charla Baklayan Faddoul and Mirna Hindoyan (The Amazing Race 5, sixth place) Charla is a 30-year-old real estate investor. Mirna is a 30-year-old attorney. Both cousins live in Towson, MD. CBS says: Charla and Mirna captured America's hearts the first time around. They are proud of the way they played the game and look forward to another trip around the world together.

"Married couple" Uchenna Agu and Joyce Agu (The Amazing Race 7, first place) Uchenna is a 42-year-old land developer. Joyce is a 46-year-old who works in sales. The couple lives in Houston, TX. CBS says: Uchenna and Joyce are one of the most beloved teams from any season of Race. The winners of Season 7, Uchenna and Joyce were relentless and stopped at nothing to win the $1 million prize... including shaving their heads.

"Married couple" Rob Mariano and Amber Mariano (The Amazing Race 7, second place) Now married, 30-year-old Rob and 28-year-old Amber live in Pensacola,FL when not busy bouncing from one reality TV gig to together. CBS says: America's Sweethearts met, fell in love and got married...all in front of the cameras, beginning with the filming of Survivor: All-Stars, where Rob finished in second place to Amber. They finished as the runners-up to Joyce and Uchenna in Season 7. To what lengths will Rob and Amber go to avoid finishing as the runner-up yet again?

"Dating couple" Eric Sanchez and Danielle Turner (The Amazing Race 9, second place and seventh place) Eric is a 28-year-old waiter from Deerfield Beach, FL. Danielle is a 23-year-old bartender from Staten Island, NY. CBS says: This unique duo met while racing against each other during Season 9. During their travels, they developed a bond which evolved into a romance and the two have been dating for the past year. Will the combination of big-city girl and self-proclaimed "beach bum" be a force to reckon with or will the other Teams discount this new pair who has never raced together as Team?

"Beauty queens" Dustin Seltzer and Kandice Pelletier (The Amazing Race 10, fourth place) Dustin -- who has gotten married since The Amazing Race 10 taped last summer -- is a 25-year-old graduate student from Seattle, WA. Kandice is a 25-year-old New York University student from New York, NY. CBS says: These former Beauty Queens are back for a second chance and are more determined than ever to prove to the world that they aren't just pretty faces. Proven to be fierce competitors during the 10th installment of Race, Dustin and Kandice are focused and have their sights set on becoming the first all-female team to win the $1 million prize.

"Coal miner and wife" David Conley, Jr. and Mary Conley (The Amazing Race 10, sixth place) David is a 33-year-old coal miner. Mary is a 32-year-old homemaker. The couple lives in Stone, KY. CBS says: Everybody's favorite coal miner and his wife are back for another trek around the world. David and Mary, the lovable, wide-eyed couple from Stone, Ky. are ready to compete and believe they have what it takes to bring home the $1 million prize for their children.

 


(All photos credit Robert Voets/CBS)






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