Olivia Newton-John (1948-2022)
Dearest moviegoers, I have sad news. Australian singer/actress Olivia Newton-John passed away on August 8th, 2022. She was 73. She was best known for her songs and star-making role as Sandy in the 1978 popular film musical "Grease", which launched her stardom.
Newton-John was born in 1948 in Cambridge, UK, and at age five, she and her family moved to Melbourne, Australia, where she spent her childhood years. As a teen, she entered a talent contest on a TV show, "Sing, Sing, Sing", where she won and formed an all-girl group and started appearing on weekly pop music programs in Australia. In 1966, Newton-John released her first single in England and scored a few international hits. Still, she remained largely unknown to American audiences until 1973. It was the year her song "Let Me Be There" entered the adult contemporary and the country charts after becoming a Top 10 hit. A string of number-one pop hits soon ensued, such as "I Honestly Love You", "Have You Never Been Mellow", and "Please Mr. Please".
Outside of her prolific career as a musician, Olivia was also an actress. Particularly in "Grease", where she was groundbreaking in her co-starring role with John Travolta. Though she had little acting experience (and during filming, she turned 29), Newton-John was perfect as the sweet-natured Australian transfer student Sandy, who is head over heels for Travolta's alpha greaser Danny at a high school in Southern California in the 1950s. The two actors had remarkable onscreen chemistry as mismatched lovers who undergo makeovers in the final act to win each others' hearts. Instead of wearing her frilly dresses, she ditches them for heels, leather, spandex and a cigarette. Olivia had sang on three of the film's biggest hits, such as the duets "Summer Nights" and "You're the One That I Want" with Travolta and her swoony solo ballad, "Hopelessly Devoted to You". The movie was a top-grosser and became an enduring pop-cultural phenomenon, which inspired repeat viewings by legions of fans.
The success of the movie allowed Newton-John to change her squeaky-clean image. Beginning with her next album, "Totally Hot", the cover featured the singer in black leather, while its songs had a more contemporary and edgier pop sound. After "Grease", she starred in several more big-budget movies, such as "Xanadu", with Hollywood legend Gene Kelly in his final screen role. Though the film wasn't successful, its soundtrack sold well and spawned a No. 1 hit of "Magic". She reteamed with Travolta again for 1983's "Two of the Kind", which failed to recapture their spark from "Grease". In 1981, she released a single, "Physical", a dance number with suggestive lyrics, which took her sexier persona a step further. Although banned by several radio stations, it was her biggest hit, spending ten weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. During her lengthy career, Newton-John sold a million albums, more than ten and won four Grammy Awards.
Despite the successes of her career, she faced health issues and tragedy. Olivia had to postpone and cancel several tours because she was twice diagnosed with breast cancer, which made her an advocate for this illness. In 2005, her then-boyfriend, Patrick McDermott, disappeared at sea during a fishing trip off the California coast and was never found. A mystery unsolved that for years had haunted the singer.
We'll miss you, Olivia, wherever you are. You give us a voice worth listening to on the radio and a performance worth watching. Here are the highlights of her films "Grease" and "Xanadu", which contain her singing.
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