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
Becca's conscious
Becca seems to know more than a professional media blogger who lived in Chicago ? I think not…
becca
Grease was written by Jim Jacobs & Warren Casey, who were from the Far Northwest Side of Chicago, not any suburb & went to Taft HS together.
Frank Wank
She was a lovely woman. A great talent. RIP. I wonder what that Chicago suburb is like now. Probably overrun with guns and crime.
Diva
She was adorable and will be missed.
Light Brigade
Thank you for the joy you brought to so many. RIP, ONJ