John Travolta Reacts to Olivia Newton-John's Death: 'Your Danny'
Summer love forever. John Travolta gave a touching tribute to his Grease costar Olivia Newton-John following her death on Monday, August 8.
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“My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better. Your impact was incredible. I love you so much,” Travolta, 68, wrote via Instagram post alongside a photo of the Face Off star. “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!”
Travolta and Newton-John first came together while portraying Sandy and Danny in the iconic 1978 musical Grease. The two characters fall in love during summer vacation and have to adjust to life together when Sandy suddenly transfers to Danny’s school.
Grease was successful both critically and commercially, becoming the highest-grossing musical film ever at the time, while the soundtrack album landed as the second best-selling record of the year in the U.S. Newton-John also nabbed an Oscar nomination for her character’s song “Hopelessly Devoted to You” at the 51st Academy Awards.
Following their time as America’s favorite onscreen couple, Travolta and Newton-John remained close, even costarring in the 1983 film Two of a Kind together.
In August 2019, the Pulp Fiction actor opened up about the bond he and the Golden Globe winner had made over the years. “We were together not that long ago, about three months ago, and we text each other all the time,” he exclusively told Us Weekly at the premiere of his film The Fanatic. “It’s wonderful … If I go to see her in her show, we go backstage and hang out, and I watch the show and all that. If I go to see her personally, we usually have dinner and catch up. And recently we’ve been talking about trying to do something together.”
Newton-John, for her part, gushed about her relationship with Travolta during an interview with Hollywood Life in February 2021.
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“Well, we’ll always been friends,” she said of her relationship with the New Jersey native. “[John and I] been through a huge, incredible experience together and we care about each other and we’ll always be friends.”
Earlier on Monday, Newton-John’s husband, John Easterling, announced the “Physical” singer had passed away peacefully in her sleep.
“Dame Olivia Newton-John (73) passed away peacefully at her Ranch in Southern California this morning, surrounded by family and friends. We ask that everyone please respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time,” a post via the actress’s official Facebook read. “Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer. Her healing inspiration and pioneering experience with plant medicine continues with the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, dedicated to researching plant medicine and cancer. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any donations be made in her memory to the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund (ONJFoundationFund.org).”
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The Xanadu star was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, undergoing a partial mastectomy and reconstruction surgery. Her illness returned in 2013 and for a third time in 2017.
“I feel lucky that I’m experiencing it for a third time, you know? You have to find the silver lining; there’s good in every bad situation,” she exclusively told Us of her mindset in April 2019. “I’m very positive. I’m human, I have my moments of fear and anxiety like everybody does, but generally I choose to be positive because you create your world by what you think. And if you think dark thoughts, you’re going to create a dark world.”
