After the Bill Nye the Science Guy was eliminated last week from the reality dance show, the next celebrity to leave the Dancing With The Stars season 17 cast was Valerie Harper. The result was not at all surprising since she and her dance partner also had one of the lowest scores during the previous week, but it was her touching story that made her last performance a moment to remember.

According to the Ledger-Inquirer, joining the reality show is an amazing chance for her to inspire audiences "get out and dance" no matter how big the tribulations in life are. Her announcement of having a terminal cancer this year shocked audiences, and despite her disease she wanted the judges to play fair in judging her performances.

The celebrity contestants who ranked high during the recent episode were Elizabeth Berkley, Corbin Bleu and once again, Glee's Amber Riley. All three scored a total of 27/30 while Harper had only 18/30. Brant Daugherty and Bill Engvall were the next in line who got the bottom scores with 21/30.

Harper began well with her Walt routine but failed to do the succeeding steps well enough to get her through another episode. Julianne Hough, who was a guest judge for the night, mentioned that Harper did the dance with beautiful and graceful lines, but during the waltz routine, she was dancing way too close with her dancing partner.

Amber Riley, the contestant who has always been in the lead for Dancing With The Stars season 17 performed the tango with such intensity that it only gained more praise from the panel. Riley's dancing partner is a pro and the brother of Julianne Hough, Derek.

Valerie Harper may have been sent home and taken out of the Dancing With The Stars season 17 cast but she left a classic and inspiring memory for the show's entire run. She even got to inspire her own dancing partner, Tristan MacManus who could not stop being grateful for the experience of working with the strong actress.

"So I feel I've been lucky to get that, and I feel like maybe [my] life's a little bit better since I met Valerie Harper," Tristan stated according to Access Hollywood.