Didi Conn explains how John Travolta found 'perfect' way to pay tribute to Dame Olivia Newton-John
Didi Conn invited John Travolta to a screening of Grease in memory of Dame Olivia Newton-John and has explained how it became the "perfect" tribute.
Didi Conn invited John Travolta to a screening of Grease in memory of Dame Olivia Newton-John.
The 73-year-old actress played Frenchy in the 1978 classic, and after Dame Olivia - who starred as Sandy in the film - passed away in 2022 following a long battle with cancer, she was hosting a sing-along at the Hollywood Bowl and managed to get the movie's leading man to attend.
She told PEOPLE: "I was the host.
"I invited the T-Birds to be a part of it.”
“What's so great about the sing-along, first of all, that it's in the Hollywood Bowl, which is an amazing venue. To see that movie outdoors in that humongous screen for 18,000 people. everybody's dressed up.
Why don't you ever invite me?
“I said, ‘I always invite you,’ And I said, ‘Next time I promise, I'll make sure.’ I get a text from [his assistant] saying, ‘Guess who is coming and tell me the schedule of the event.
"They said we had a special guest here in [Olivia's] honour. And who walks out but Danny Zuko. We didn't know he was coming dressed up with the black leather jacket and the strut. And oh my God, that was a surprise to me.
"Let me tell you something. When 18,000 people stand up and scream, it is unreal. When I looked out and saw all those people there coming to have fun, and they're all dressed up. There's Pink Ladies, there's T-Birds, there's jocks, there's nerds. It's amazing that this film is a phenomenon. It's just a phenomenon."
Didi - who also starred in Grease 2 and then made a cameo appearance alongside the likes of Vanessa Hudgens, Keke Palmer and Carly Rae Jepsen in 2016's Grease Live - explained that it was just the "perfect" way to pay tribute to the late actress.
She said: "It was perfect. What is better than a tribute to Olivia and [Sandy’s] boyfriend comes out to be there? It was so wonderful. Really wonderful."
Immediately after the death of Xanadu star Olivia, John took to Instagram to lead the tributes.
He wrote: “My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better.
“Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever! Your Danny, your John!”
