Dot-Marie Jones keeps plates spinning in ‘Lost & Found’

As Dot-Marie Jones cheerfully notes, this star of Friday’s ensemble comedy “Lost & Found in Cleveland” knows how to keep busy.

“No, I haven’t retired yet. I’ve got a few more years in me,” she said in a virtual interview. “This was just one of those things that came up and I was lucky enough to be a part of it.”

Joined by Martin Sheen, Dennis Haysbert, Jon Lovitz, June Squibb, Loretta Devine, Mark L. Walberg, Santino Fontana and Stacy Keach, Jones is looking at a bright day in Cleveland when “America’s favorite televised antiques appraisal show” comes for a visit.

Jones, 61, is the show’s harried house manager Sharon Weymouth.

“She’s kind of a bossy old cuss. Sharon’s behind the scenes, getting everything lined up, making sure people are in their places, whether it’s for interviews or whatever.

“She’s just trying to make sure things run smoothly.”

As a stand-out athlete turned actor, does she find it easy to watch herself in this wildly different arena?

“You know what? I am one that I like to watch what I’ve done. Because sometimes you shoot a certain scene so many times you have no idea what they’re going to use or how they’re going to mix it together to make it work.

“So, I like to see that final outcome. And,” she happily added, “I just love this film.”

Perhaps best known for many seasons as Coach Beiste on “Glee,” where she also got to sing, is that what people mention most when they see her?

“It depends on what their interests were, what they had seen me on. I mean, I honestly ran into somebody yesterday at a store. And this young man goes, ‘Excuse me. Are you Dot Jones, an arm wrestler?’ It totally blew me away!

“Because I hadn’t heard that in a while. I retired from arm wrestling 20-22 years ago, back in like, ’03. And I swear yesterday when we were leaving a shopping center, we talked. Because he was a follower of a lot of the arm wrestlers and I knew exactly who he was talking about.”

Jones, in her first career as an athlete, was a 15-time world arm wrestling champ and an Olympic contender.

Was it hard to give up sports?

“It’s still hard,” she answered. “Because I’m very competitive. And I miss it. But my body — I mean I beat the hell out of it between weightlifting and the track and shot put.

“With all the physical stuff I’ve done, I have had both knees replaced and my left shoulder replaced.

“As far as my knees, there was no other option. With my shoulder, I got to where I couldn’t lift it. I could barely lift my shoulder to shoulder height.

“So were they inevitable? Absolutely.”

 

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