Bert Newton back at work for Grease musical after heart scare

Bert Newton with the cast of Grease. Picture: Annette Dew Source: News Limited

 

News Limited Network reports

A rejuvenated Bert Newton has bounced back from heart surgery to embark on a gruelling national tour in the Grease musical.

The 75-year-old TV legend underwent a quadruple heart bypass in Melbourne in November 2012 after complaining of chest pains.

After six months of rehab at home, Newton is now back in the spotlight, playing Vince Fontaine in the Australian tour of the hit musical.

Keeping up with the young cast has been an inspiration to him, he told Fairfax newspapers.

"The average age of the cast in the show, if you take me out of it, is about 22. The energy and excitement is quite contagious," he said.

"I like people of my vintage but it's important to have a few young people around you too. And that's why I'm liking this show."

Newton started his career as a 15-year-old junior announcer on Melbourne radio station 3XY and began his association with the Nine Network in 1959, striking up a partnership with Graham Kennedy on In Melbourne Tonight.

He has been a fixture of Australian television and stage ever since.

Newton said he cherished the early years of his career and is glad he is not entering show business today.

"The sort of television I did with Graham (Kennedy) and Don (Lane) is not around anymore, because there's not much live television. I miss doing that sort of thing.

"I'm just happy I'm not a young person coming into the industry now. I think it was easier at the start because we all learned together, even the audience."

Newton has four gold Logies and was inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame in 1988.

* Grease had its Australian premiere in Brisbane tonight, before moving to Sydney and Melbourne.

Grease at 35: We look at where the film's stars are now

    Olivia Newton-John, John Travolta and co-stars in the 1978 hit Grease. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

 

Vicky Roach, The Daily Telegraph, reports

Before Glee deconstructed Madonna, before Chicago wiped the floor with the Oscars, Grease was the word.

The popular 50s musical might not have bagged any major awards when it was released on June 16, 1978.

But right from the beginning, the surprisingly raunchy John Travolta/Olivia Newton-John star vehicle was a bona fide crowd-pleaser.

Made for just $6 million, Randal Kleiser's film has taken almost $400 million at the international box office.

In the US, it sang and danced its way to a staggering $188 million, making it the highest grossing musical of all time. (Les Miserables, by comparison, took $148 million. And Mamma Mia, $144 million.)

Unlike many of its contemporaries, Grease has exhibited extraordinary staying power - spawning its own special barbie doll collection, which is still available online, a singalong version and countless stage revivals over the last three decades.

Rehearsals start on a new Australian production, which will see former Idol contestant Rob Mills don the leather T-Birds jacket, in July.

The soundtrack featured two Billboard number-one hits - Grease, written by Barry Gibb and sung by Frankie Valli, who had no other connection to the film, and You're the One That I Want, sung by Travolta and Newton-John.

The Academy Award-nominated Hopelessly Devoted to You made it to No 3.

 

 Source: Supplied

Then and now: Stockard Channing who played Rizzo in the 1978 film and won an Emmy in 2002 for her role as Abbey Bartlett in The West Wing. Pictures: AP

Stockard Channing

When the three-time Emmy winner lost the role of Lois Lane to Margot Kidder in the 1978 version of Superman, starring Christopher Reeve, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Grease, the fifth most profitable movie of all time, was released the same year. Channing, who was 33 when she was cast as the sharp-tongued Betty Rizzo, might have been the world's oldest teenager, but that didn't stop her stealing every scene she appeared in. More than 20 years after that career-making performance, the actor - born Susan Stockard - made a similarly indelible impression as First Lady Abbey Bartlet in The West Wing. Channing, who was nominated for an Oscar for her role in the Fred Schepisi film Six Degrees of Separation, can currently be seen as Julianna Margulies' wayward mother in The Good Wife.

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Jeff Conaway starred as T-Bird bad boy Kenickie in the 1978 film. Pictures: Supplied

Jeff Conaway

Conaway, who played bad boy T-Bird Kenickie in the film, died in May 2011. According to the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office, his death was caused by a number of conditions, including coronary artery disease and pneumonia. The actor's struggle with drug and alcohol addiction was documented in the US reality television series Celebrity Rehab (2008). Also known for his role as a struggling actor in Taxi, Conaway was part of the original cast of the Broadway production of Grease, eventually stepping into the lead role of Danny Zuko. Travolta later joined the show as a chorus member. The pecking order was reversed on screen. The filmmakers asked 1.87m Conaway to stoop so that the 1.88m Travolta would appear taller. And in the stage version, the song Greased Lightning was sung by Kenickie. Travolta used his clout to have Zuko sing it in the film.

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Didi Conn as a beauty school dropout and more recently in 2010. Pictures:Supplied/Getty

Didi Conn

The beauty school dropout's distinctive, childlike voice is one of her trademarks - Conn was the voice of Raggedy Ann in the 1977 animated feature, Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure. The Brooklyn native lives outside New York City with her second husband, Broadway and film composer David Shire. Conn considers Grease and Grease 2 to be personal high-water marks. She named her son after leading man Danny Zuko. He was diagnosed with autism as a toddler. Later Conn became a celebrity spokesman for advocacy organisation Autism Speaks. To coincide with the 20th anniversary re-release of Grease in 1998, she published a memoir, Frenchy's Grease Scrapbook. "I hired two secretaries, went to Radio Shack and got a tape recorder," she says. "I got to reconnect with everybody. It was like no time had gone by." Most recently, Conn has appeared as a nurse on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

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Pink Lady Jamie Donnelly seen in the film in 1978 and pictured with her family in 1998. Pictures: Supplied/Getty

Jamie Donnelly

Donnelly also played the role of Pink Lady Jan on Broadway. And she originated The Rocky Horror Show's Magenta/Usherette on stage with Tim Curry and Meat Loaf. Donnelly recently appeared in the Duplass Brothers comedy Cyrus with John C Reilly, Jonah Hill and Marisa Tomei. She also had a small role in the TV series Monk.

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Annette Cardona, credited as Annette Charles played Danny zuko's ex in the film. Pictures: Supplied/Getty

Annette Cardona

Credited as Annette Charles, Cardona was the only performer who could match John Travolta on the dance floor. In the electric, bad girl role of Cha Cha DiGregorio, Danny Zucko's ex from the rival high school, the Mexican-Sicilian performer had all the right moves. A seasoned dancer, singer and actor, Cardona appeared in a number of iconic 70s and 80s TV series, including The Bionic Woman, The Incredible Hulk and Magnum PI, before retraining to become a professor of speech communications at California State University, Northridge. Although she was not a smoker, Cardona died of lung cancer in 2011.

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Olivia Newton-John as last year named a National Living Treasure. Pictures:Supplied/Getty

Olivia Newton-John

Livvie was offered the role of Sandy Olsson after meeting producer Allan Carr at a dinner party at Helen Reddy's home. Worried that she was too old to play a high school senior (she turned 29 during filming), the four-time Grammy winner insisted on a screen test with co-star John Travolta, who was almost six years her junior. Newton-John had to be sewn into the trousers she wears in the final sequence in which she is transformed from circular skirt-wearing goody-two-shoes into a lycra-clad vamp. Most recently, the singer-turned-actor revealed considerable comedic chops as the cocaine-snorting, champagne swilling mother of the bride in Stephan Elliot's broad Aussie comedy A Few Best Men, co-starring Xavier Samuel and Kris Marshall. Last year, she and Travolta reunited for a new album, This Christmas. The singer, a breast cancer survivor herself, postponed a planned Las Vegas residency in April when her late sister, Rona, was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour.

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John Travolta then with Olivia Newton-John and now with wife Kelly Preston. Pictures: Supplied/AFP

John Travolta

Travolta, a high school dropout himself, successfully swaggered his way through the 70s in a string of custom-made roles - Welcome Back, Kotter's Vinnie Barbarino, Saturday Night Fever's Tony Manero and Grease's Danny Zuko. He lost his mojo in the 1980s, which saw him struggle through a forgettable run of light comedies and telemovies. But with the help of Quentin Tarantino's groundbreaking 1994 crime drama Pulp Fiction, Travolta made the comeback of all comebacks as sympathetic hitman Vincent Vega. Since then, he has created a string of memorable characters, such as Hairspray's Edna Turnblad, and Get Shorty's Chili Palmer, for which he won a Golden Globe. Travolta recently finished filming the action thriller Killing Season with Robert De Niro. Next, he will play mobster John Gotti. Real-life partner Kelly Preston has been cast as on-screen wife Victoria.

 

Rob 'Millsy' Mills is our number one musical man

Rob Mills and Gretel Scarlett will star in the new production of the musical GREASE. Picture: Damian Shaw Source: The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph reports

There is officially only one male performer in the Australian theatre industry.

Following lead roles in Wicked and Legally Blonde: The Musical, Rob Mills walked into the last day of auditions for Grease and walked out with a new name - Danny Zuko.

As the cast for much-loved multimillion-dollar production was confirmed yesterday, the Australian Idol alumnus said he only got the part two weeks ago after appearing in a previous, smaller rendition of the show and had always wanted to be the T-Birds captain. "I don't think I'm a cool guy, but I really wanted the jacket," he said. "I had a sparkly number, but I just really wanted to be a T-Bird. I met some incredible people on that tour. That's when I fell in love with the musical theatre community.

"They opened their arms to me and gave me a big hug and I haven't let go since."

Mills joins an eclectic line-up that includes newcomer Gretel Scarlett as Sandy and seasoned performers Bert Newton, Todd McKenney and Anthony Callea .

Grease is expected to run for at least six months and will open in Brisbane in August.

Hunt is on for Sandy and Danny as Grease the musical returns

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in the film version of Grease. Source: Supplied

Sally Bennett, The Herald Sun, reports

The search has begun for the next Sandy and Danny to star in a remake of hit musical Grease.

Producer John Frost today announced a new multi-million dollar show would be staged in Australia later this year.

Venues and dates are yet to be announced, but a spokesman confirmed the production would run in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane theatres in the second half of the year.

The call to casting agents went out today and auditions will be held in all three cities from late February.

"I am constantly asked when I'll be producing Grease again," Frost said. "It's possibly the most requested musical in the back catalogue."

The musical was last seen in Australia in 2005, but that was an arena production.

The new theatre show will be an all-Australian remount of the most recent Broadway and West End productions and co-produced by London theatre giant David Ian.

The musical includes all the smash hits from the movie including You're the One That I Want, Grease is the Word, Summer Nights, Hopelessly Devoted To You and Greased Lightnin'.

"I knew the time was right to bring Grease back to Australia," Frost said.

"The TV series Glee celebrated the music of Grease on one of their recent episodes and Olivia Newton John and John Travolta (the original film stars) reunited for a Christmas album."

Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta's new music video, I Think You Might Like It

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John have recorded together for the first time in close to 30 years for their album This Christmas which includes a new track by John Farrar, the writer behind their Grease smash hit You're the One That I Want. Above is the video to the Farrar-written duet I Think You Might Like It.

If you're having trouble viewing it, you can also see it here:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/grease-stars-olivia-newton-john-john-travolta-reunite-17880436

Revisiting Rydell High Part 2

Luke Brighty, The Star Observer, reports

Fun and adventure were always present on the set of Grease, even when things didn’t go exactly to plan. Sean Moran, who worked on the movie as a dancer, remembers a particular instance when he and cast mates showed up to work beat red after a weekend of sunbaking. “The producers had a fit,” he says. “We all got horribly sunburnt and it took make-up forever to cover it all up.”

Despite arduous conditions on set, Moran’s favourite scene to film was the dance contest at Huntington Park High.

“The gymnasium was like an oven. Cast members prone to sweating were blow dried between each take,” he said.

“An extra fainted and was rescued by the set medic who was a 30-year-old hottie that half the boys fawned over. We loved him.”

Adding to the heat was the challenge of coordinating the couples’ dance routines and dialog.

“Olivia Newton-John was very nervous about the dancing,” Moran said. Originally, Sandy wasn’t meant to perform. But when choreographer Pat Birch saw that Olivia moved well, she included her in the Hand Jive number.

The iconic Summer Nights was shot in two segments.

“The girls filmed their part in June; the boys in early August,” Moran said. At one point between rehearsals and filming, Director Randal Kleiser and the Venice High principal got into an argument. Summer school was in session and the music was distracting students and teachers. The principle was so irate he asked cast and crew to leave.

But of all the classic scenes in Grease, You’re The One That I Want is without doubt the most talked about. Who can forget Sandy’s tight sharkskin pants. Moran said that, because the zipper on the pants was broken, it had to be stitched up while filming proceeded.

“A seam ripper was employed whenever Olivia had to use the facilities. She’d have to be sewn back into the pants afterwards.”

You’re The One That I Want, the brainchild of John Farrar, was an instant international hit and has since become the best-selling duet in pop music history. Based on its success, Farrar was recently asked to write another duet for Travolta and Newton-John. The track, I Think You Might Like It, is part of a new album that the two stars of Grease collaborated on.

Released in Australia on November 9, the holiday album, entitled This Christmas, also features Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, James Taylor, Kenny G, Chick Corea and Cliff Richard. Keeping within the Christmas spirit, all sale proceeds are going to the Jett Travolta Foundation and the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre.

Olivia says that she and John have always connected and that their bond is as strong as ever. “We’ve been through some amazing experiences together,” she said.

Who could have imagined back in ’77 that Danny and Sandy would still be rocking the charts over three decades later!

Revisiting Rydell High

Luke Brighty, The Star Observer, reports

Grease has been the word for 35 years. It is the most successful movie musical ever. According to recent stats, the film was shot on a budget estimated at just over $6 million – equivalent to $20 million in today’s economy. Since its 1978 release, it has wowed audiences of all ages, cultures and generations and has grossed almost $395 million worldwide, a return close to twenty times its cost.

Allan Carr, the movie’s producer, said in an interview that making Grease was a pleasure, from first to last day. Cast and crew were like a big family. Openly-gay actor and dancer Sean Moran, who plays Moose in the movie, agrees.

“We all became very close,” he said.

“I met the love of my life on that shoot.”

A lot of the cast members had worked on Broadway doing the play so they knew the characters well. However, much of the film’s success is owed to choreographer, Pat Birch. She was instrumental in setting up complicated scenes and always put the dancers to good use. They weren’t just itinerant figures. They were the heart of the high school.

“Pat always felt that Greased Lightning was one of the most intricate numbers to film,” Moran said.

“We shot it in two long days. Because we only had a couple of outfits each and the prop tyres were so greasy, wardrobe was a big concern.”

In the stage version, the number is heavy with sexual innuendo. The show refers to Saran wrap as a substitute for condoms.

“As the movie was PG they had John Travolta running around the car with plastic wrap, which really made no sense at all,” he said.

There is a brief glimpse of him rubbing his crotch with it in the sequence. Blink an eye and you’ll miss it. Younger audiences usually do. But then again, so do most adults. What a fascinating time the 1950s must have been.

Jeff Conaway, who plays Kenickie in the movie, was initially meant to perform Greased Lightning. Moran says that Conaway wasn’t at all pleased when changes were made to the script and the song went to Travolta.

“There were a few meetings over it. Jeff had played Danny Zuko on Broadway. John had only played the role of Doody. But John was the star of the movie…”

These days, the cast are spread out all over the world. They all stay in touch by email, phone or through Facebook. Every now and then, they reunite when one of them directs the stage show or when the sing-a-long plays at the Hollywood Bowl.

“Picture it: 18,000 people all dressed up in Grease costumes watching and singing with the movie. It’s amazing!” Moran said.

INFO: Follow Luke Brighty on Twitter via @brightlights_66

Olivia Newton-John: I'd Play Sandy's Mom or Grandma in a "Grease" Remake!

Toofab reports

Hollywood's been on the remake trend lately with last year's Footloose and an update version of Dirty Dancing planned.

If Grease is ever remade, at least one cast member of the original 1978 is on board. Toofab caught up with Olivia Newton-John aka "Sandy" at Qantas Airline's Spirit of Australia party in Hollywood last night.

The 63-year-old singer/actress (who looked fabulous) joked she would play Sandy's mom or even her grandmother. As for who should play the sassy blonde, Olivia already has someone in mind: her daughter!

Also at the fete was longtime Qantas ambassador (and Olivia's costar) John Travolta, new ambassador Miranda Kerr, and Australian heartthrobs Ryan Kwanten and Chris Hemsworth. Check out all the photos by Glen McCurtayne, below!

Olivia Newton-John / John Travolta (above), Miranda Kerr / Ryan Kwanten (below)

Josh Lawson & Rachael Taylor / Chris Hemsworth (below)

Grease star Olivia Newton-John is back in leather 33 years after her starring role in famous film

Hell for leather: Olivia Newton-John attends the premiere of A Few Best Men at the International Rome Film Festival

Article in the UK Daily Mail

In 1978 Olivia Newton-John had admirers around the globe lusting after her thanks to her role in Grease.

Fast forward 33 years and she's wearing leather again, just like her character Sandy Olsen did after her transformation.

However, the leather dress she wore at the premiere of A Few Best Men at the 6th International Rome Film Festival didn't quite capture the youthful allure of her biker jacket in the hit musical film.

Olivia, 63, wore the number as part of an all-black ensemble for her red carpet appearance at the premiere of the new comedy film in which she plays a character named Barbara.

And she wore the dress well, matching it with a sheer cardigan, boots and a handbag.

A perfect ensemble for one of her age, a demure cut in a slightly daring material.

The actress was accompanied by her husband John Easterling at the premiere.

John, founder of the Amazon Herb Company, wore a simple yet sharp black suit with a grey scarf for his appearance in Rome alongside his wife.

Earlier in the day Olivia wore a slight different, though equally black, outfit for a photocall ahead of the premiere.

She wore a blazer, white shirt, black leggings, boots and a tie for the event and looked great.

Earlier this week the couple were awarded the Stroud Award of Freshwater Excellence by the Stroud Water Research Center at its annual Water's Edge gala at Longwood Gardens in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

The Stroud Award of Freshwater Excellence(TM), also known as the SAFE Water Award(TM), is awarded for outstanding achievement to those who contribute broadly to the conservation and protection of fresh water.

Olivia and her husband, also known as Amazon John, are both staunch supporters of rainforest conservation and known for work in conserving the Amazon River watershed -- the largest in the world.

A Few Best Men is a comedy about a groom and his three best men who travel to the Australian outback for a wedding.

The film is directed by Stephan Elliott, best known for directing The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert back in 1994.

 
Smart casual: The actress is looking great for 63