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Even though they became iconic as a romantic couple in the movie Grease, Olivia Newton-John was initially hesitant to take the role of Sandy because she was 29 years old and worried about playing a teenager, while John Travolta (23 playing a teenager of about 18) had to personally convince her by promising that a screen test would be done to ensure they had the right chemistry together.
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OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN AND JOHN TRAVOLTA'S "YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT
- The song was written specifically for the 1978 Grease movie and wasn't part of the original Broadway musical, composed by John Farrar (who was also Olivia Newton-John's producer and frequent collaborator) to give the film a contemporary pop sound that would appeal to radio audiences and drive soundtrack sales.
- Despite being added to the movie at the last minute, the song became a massive global phenomenon, having sold over 4 million copies in the United States and going to No.1 in charts worldwide and selling over 6 million records. It's considered one of the best-selling singles in history.
- During the filming of the iconic carnival scene where the song is performed, Olivia Newton-John 'held nervous John Travolta's hand' to help calm his nerves, showing the supportive relationship between the two stars that helped create the chemistry that made the song and scene so memorable.
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OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN TRAVOLTA
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Olivia Newton-John was born in England but moved to Australia as a child, where she first gained fame winning a talent contest that led to a recording contract. Despite her international success, she remained deeply connected to Australia throughout her life.
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John Travolta became a certified pilot and owns several aircraft, including a Boeing 707 that he keeps at his Florida home, which features its own airport runway. His passion for aviation runs so deep that he has served as an ambassador for Qantas Airways and has flown relief missions to disaster areas, including personally piloting supplies to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.
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Olivia Newton-John, inspired by her 1992 breast cancer diagnosis, became a leading advocate for health and environmental causes, founding a cancer wellness center in Melbourne and promoting natural healing. She famously had to be sewn into her iconic leather outfit for Grease, which later sold at auction in 2019 for over $400,000 to support cancer research.
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John Travolta practices Scientology and has been one of the church's most visible celebrity members since the 1970s. He credits the religion with helping him overcome dyslexia and has been involved in various Scientology-related charitable activities, though this association has also generated considerable public scrutiny throughout his career.
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- Olivia Newton-John's song "Physical" was banned by many radio stations when it was released in 1981 due to its suggestive lyrics, yet it became one of the biggest hits of the decade and spent 10 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The accompanying music video, featuring her in workout attire, helped establish the aerobics craze of the 1980s. It even won the Grammy Award for Video of the Year, cementing her transformation from wholesome pop star to empowered icon. She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2020 for her services to charity, cancer research, and entertainment.
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John Travolta's career experienced a remarkable resurrection in the 1990s thanks to Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, which earned him an Academy Award nomination and proved that he could handle dramatic roles. This comeback was particularly notable because his career had significantly declined in the 1980s after a series of poorly received films. That would be echoed in the reception of Battlefield Earth, a sci-fi film based on a novel by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. It cost around $44 million to make but only earned $29.7 million at the box office. Critics panned nearly every aspect of the film, from its acting and direction to its special effects and script. It swept the Golden Raspberry Awards, winning eight Razzies, including Worst Picture and Worst Actor for Travolta, and was later named Worst Picture of the Decade.
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PLATFORM SHOES
- Platform shoes with live goldfish swimming in clear heel compartments were featured in the 1988 comedy film "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka" where the character Flyguy wore them as part of an over-the-top pimp costume.
- Platform shoes have ancient origins, first appearing in ancient Greece where actors wore "kothorni" (elevated shoes) to indicate their characters' social status and make them more visible to theater audiences, with tragic actors wearing higher platforms than comic actors, establishing the literal meaning of "high tragedy.
- Platform shoes experienced a dangerous peak in the late 1990s when "Buffalo" platform sneakers became popular in club culture, leading to numerous injuries from falls and twisted ankles, and were actually banned from some nightclubs and events due to safety concerns, yet they remained popular enough to influence the chunky sneaker trends that persist today.
- The modern platform shoe trend of the 1970s was partially inspired by Spanish designer Salvatore Ferragamo's 1930s innovations, but gained massive popularity when glam rock musicians like David Bowie and Marc Bolan used extreme platform boots as part of their theatrical personas, with some reaching heights of 8-10 inches and becoming integral to the visual spectacle of glam rock performances.
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For his role as the alien Terl in Battlefield Earth, John Travolta rocked some awesome platform shoes to appear taller and more imposing—part of the character design for the nine-foot-tall alien Psychlos. The look, combined with elaborate costumes and towering dreadlocks, made the aliens look like a cross between Klingons and members of the band KISS.
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