We can say this much: Befitting her classy personality, Olivia Newton-John discreetly stayed out of politics and avoided stupid political statements. The environment was always a key concern for her, including in some of her correspondence with President Bush. Wikipedia and some other sources highlight her apparent support of some left-leaning environmental causes and some “gay” rights issues. Politically, I’m sure that Olivia Newton-John identified with the Republicans, certainly in that Reagan–Bush era, though she wisely kept her political views private. 1, 2018, Newton-John issued a statement on the senior Bush at his death, calling him “a special man” and remembering him as “always so delightful and kind to my family.” Bush, though probably not as closely.) On Dec. They even spent time together in the late 1990s when the Bushes visited her in Melbourne, Australia. They became friends, exchanging letters and other correspondence while Bush was president and after. In a funny moment, she later humbly recalled to Barbara Bush her surprise that the vice president of the United States first remembered meeting her, to which Barbara sarcastically quipped, “It’s because you’re so ugly, dear.” Bush and his wife Barbara Bush, who she first met when Bush was vice president. She was also friendly with both President George H. In a November 1984 memo considering various female singers, she was literally at the top of the list among 11 potential big-name choices (including Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, and Liza Minnelli). In charge of that list were Frank Sinatra and the Beverly Hills–based Mickey Rudin.
In fact, Olivia was the top choice by Reagan organizers to be the female entertainer for ABC’s televised coverage of the 1985 inaugural gala. The invite list included a who’s who of prominent Hollywood conservatives and Republicans: Ginger Rogers, Sean Connery, Tom Selleck, Dean Martin, and Johnny Carson, to name a few.īefitting her classy personality, Olivia Newton-John discreetly stayed out of politics and avoided stupid political statements. 27, 1983, she attended a Reagan dinner for Queen Elizabeth II in Los Angeles. On June 30, 1981, she attended a state dinner at the Reagan White House for the Australian prime minister. Matching her ’80s persona, Olivia Newton-John, like this magazine and many of you reading it still today, was very much part of the Reagan era. 1 on Billboard for an astonishing 10 weeks in 1981.
Those who came of age in that great decade, including this magazine, watched her soar to major success. Grease set the stage for Olivia Newton-John to become a huge star in the 1980s. The camera zoomed in close to her face and captured her pulling off her song almost perfectly (click here and here). If you’ve ever seen Olivia Newton-John in concert or on YouTube, you were struck at the near-flawlessness of her voice in live performances. The “Sandy” character in Grease was perfect because Olivia Newton-John was perfect.Īs was her singing voice. You wanted to jump out of your theater seat and toss a brick at the screen when she started spraying her insults. Yes, sometimes that’s apparently what it takes.Īnd as for Travolta-Danny, Olivia-Sandy was far superior to the New York–obnoxious character that Travolta was paired up with in “ Saturday Night Fever.” The latter was insufferable. I was playing a character, but it was a lot of fun for me. I just thought, “Oh my goodness! Is this what it takes?”. And then I got all of this attention from the guys. I walked on set wearing the costume while John was in the middle of filming a song. But then when I got to try on that bad girl look for shooting, I actually didn’t know what to expect. I was playing Sandy for quite a while on set and I got to know her as this sweet little girl in a poodle skirt. With typical lightheartedness, Olivia Newton-John herself recalled the contrast in an August 2019 interview: That earlier “Sandy” in Grease struck the viewer as the more authentic Olivia.
RONALD E NEWTON II MOVIE
But it was the pretty innocence of the earlier Olivia-Sandy that I think most guys fell for - the one who at the start of the movie sweetly crooned “ Summer Nights” in the ’50s poodle skirt. I would argue that the girl who most appealed to every boy watching that movie was that “Hopelessly Devoted” version of Olivia-Sandy, rather than the Olivia-Sandy in the closing scene prancing to “ You’re the One That I Want.” Not that any red-blooded male minded the black pants, of course. My wife insists that I had a crush on Olivia Newton-John ever since. I was 12 years old, watching at the Pioneer Drive-In in Butler, Pennsylvania. Among them, many guys reading this had wished it was to them rather than John Travolta (i.e., “Danny”) that Olivia (i.e., “Sandy”) had been singing “Hopelessly Devoted to You” when they first saw the iconic film Grease in 1978.
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