OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN: THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
Olivia Newton John always held a special place in my heart because of her role in Grease. Grease was written by a guy who grew up in a Chicago suburb like the one I grew up in. In high school there were two groups – the Greasers and the Ivy League style kids. The Greasers had oily pompadours and sinister black leather jackets. The Ivy Leaguers wore penny loafers and v-neck sweaters. Greaser girls wore tight clothes and more make-up. Greasers were less likely to go to college, but they were definitely sexier. Grease, the play, opened in a small theater in Chicago and was SUCH a hit, it was on Broadway the following year – despite the raunchy and politically incorrect dialogue. That’s where I saw it and fell in love. In the film version Olivia Newton John was the perfect Sandy Dumbrowski – and she will always be remembered for that- and the fact that I never heard a negative piece of gossip about her.
(Above, a few years ago, Olivia attended a Grease event with a life size cutout of Sandy.)
Photo: Pacific Coast News
