How did it Tell us again. After tackling the lead role as strong-headed Stephanie in Grease 2 one of Michelle Pfeiffer's earliest jobs the actress went on to earn Oscar and Golden Globe Award nominations for her work in such films as The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) and Love Field (1992). He said a back injury while filming the 'Greased Lightnin' song had partly been to blame for starting his descent into addiction. The most She has two children with her husband, television writer and producer David E. Kelley, and returned to the small screen in 2022 as Betty Ford on Showtime's The First Lady. Grease Actors You May Not Know Passed Away Edd Byrnes (Vic Fontaine) died in January 2020. McDonald also regularly appears on the small screen, with recent roles on The Watcher and Hacks (for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 2022.). She competed on the hit British seriesDancing on Icein 2019, but was eliminated in week four. ), Helena Andreyko as Trix ( Trixie Andrews ), Dennis Daniels as Bart, and Sandra Gray as Big G. ( Sandi Green ). At the end of the movie, he starts dating Paulettes little sister, Dolores. On May 11, 2011, Conaway was found unconscious and he was placed on life support at Encino Hospital Medical Center, per The Los Angeles Times. WebJohn F. Burnett (edited by) Casting By Joel Thurm Production Design by Philip M. Jefferies (as Phil Jefferies) Set Decoration by James L. Berkey (as James Berkey) Costume Design by Albert Wolsky Makeup Department Production Management Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Art Department Sound Department Special Effects by Pearl and his onscreen love interest Didi Conn are the only two cast members from the 1978 film to appear inGrease: Live! But 15 years later the gay actor and dancer contracted HIV. In 1992, two weeks after her father died of cancer, Olivia was diagnosed with the killer disease and needed to have a partial mastectomy. Tell us again.' After Grease, Barry, now 72, went on to appear in several TV movies and a strong of American TV series, ranging from an arms dealer to "Professor Tinkerputt" in the hit children's show Barney's Imagination Island. The Cal State Northridge newsletterdescribed her as a "supportive and enthusiastic advocate who helped students find their voice as an instructor of speech communication and public speaking in the Chicana and Chicano Studies department, where she had taught since 2002.". Goodman's character was known for her musical contribution to the morning announcements via her trusty xylophone. Her 11-year marriage to Matt Lattanzi ended in divorce. In 1981, she releasedPhysical, the biggest album of her career. Making a splash: A deep dive into the live-action, Grammy-winning recording artist and country music star. Do you know what my favorite one of Grease 2? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@trinitymirror.com or call us direct 0207 29 33033, Celeb obsessed? Olivia, along with John Travolta, will forever be recognised as the loved-up Sandy and Danny who did some summer loving. Conn has been married to composer David Shire since 1984. The highest-grossing movie of the year, it also produced one of the best-selling albums of all time; a 1982 sequel starringMichelle Pfeifferand Maxwell Caulfield; a live television event, Grease: Live! Jeff was suffering from pneumonia and sepsis , and doctors placed him in an induced coma. In 2017, she was told the cancerhad metastasized and spread to her bones. Your Danny, your John!. The 50 greatest TV and movie detectives of all time. The Cast of 'Beetlejuice': Where Are They Now? Fans already knew actress Alice Ghostley from her role as clumsy housekeeper Esmeralda on the ABC sitcom "Bewitched." She overcame cancer a second time in 2013, but the disease returned four years later. Character actress Eve Arden (born Eunice Quedens) famously starred in the 1940s and 1950s radio and TV comedy, "Our Miss Brooks," as English teacher Connie Brooks but in "Grease," she took on a different rank in the high school ecosystem when she played Rydell High's Principal McGee. 'Back to the Future' Cast: Where Are They Now? I'd love to know yours as well, is the bowling alley number. He also reprised his role as "Craterface" Balmudo in the 1982 film "Grease 2," and his last acting credit on IMDb is listed in 1991 with a role on the TV series "Parker Lewis Can't Lose." In 1989, however, things began to turn around with the success of Look Who's Talking, costarring Kirstie Alley, but it was 1994's Pulp Fiction, directed byQuentin Tarantino, that truly sparked his career resurgence, earning him his second Oscar nomination in the process. Her cancer returned in 2013 and 2017, and on Aug. 8, 2022, her husband John Easterling announced the icon's death at the age of 73. Adlon first appeared on the screen as Pink Lady Dolores. However, though Caesar appeared in the biggest box office hit of 1978, he struggled with alcohol and pill addiction during that same era, per The New York Times. Caesar died in 2014 at age 91. We ask that everyone please respect the familys privacy during this very difficult time, a post on her official Facebook page read. She went on to a voice role on the TV series "Alvin and the Chipmunks," among other shows. Eddie Deezen, now 65, landed a role playing nerdy student Eugene Felsnic in Grease. In 2009, John and wife Kelly Prestons 16-year-old son Jett was found dead in a bathtub at the familys holiday home in the Bahamas. Best known for his roles as Jay O'Neill in Bachelor Party (1984) and Vince Romano on T.J. Hooker, the actor most-recently appeared in 2016's Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. On May 11, 2011, Conaway was found unconscious and taken to an Encino, California hospital. Two years after Grease was released, he died aged 39, halfway through the filming of Cant Stop The Music it won Worst Picture and Worst Screenplay in the first ever Golden Raspberrys. Thumbs up," she began. "I'm sorry, I'm late, but I will tell you this, it was a ride. Conaway played struggling actor turned cab driver, Bobby Wheeler, on and off for four seasons, starting in 1978. He was 87. She went on to record 15 more studio albums, achieving a career total of 26, and selling over 100 million units worldwide. She also considered the film as a "bad gig" at the time because she was forced to work out in the sun so much while waiting for her turn to shoot scenes. 'Who's the Boss?' In addition to playing fan favorite Kenickie in Grease, John Conaway was also known for his role as Bobby Wheeler inTaxiand security officer Zack Allan inBabylon 5. The singer-actress passed on August 8, 2022, after a 30-year-long battle with breast cancer (via People). While she was arguably most known for playing Sandy in the cult classic, Newton-John had an incredible music career that earned her four GRAMMY awards out of 12 nominations. Her father, Brinley, died of cancer in the summer of that year. Travolta was married to the lateKelly Prestonfrom 1991 until her death from breast cancer in July of 2020. Songwriter Justin Tranter added, "I mean always. He claimed to have suffered abuse as a young child and had long battled mental health problems that left him mired in substance abuse. On 8 August 2022 it was announced that Olivia Newton John had passed away aged 73, After tackling the lead role as strong-headed Stephanie Sadly, that wasnt the only personal tragedy to rock his life. In 1993, she reprised the role of Louisa "Ouisa" Kittredge for the film version ofSix Degreesand received both Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for her performance. Edd Byrnes, who played TV dance show host Vic Fontaine in "Grease," was known for more than his flirty prom scene in the hit film. He was 60. Sims added, "'Cool Rider,' please," which is the iconic song performed by Pfeiffer in the film. Her ashes were sent into space with her husbands ashes so they could spend eternity exploring the universe together. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. - April 5, 2023 07:55 pm EDT. 1 on the charts. In addition to playing fan favorite Kenickie She was best known in the States for her long running role in Empty Nest, a spin off from The Golden Girls, from 1988 to 1995. The actress went on to have an illustrious career after the film and won an Emmy for her role as Abbey Barlet in the political drama The West Wing, Channing was already in her 30s when she landed the role of the feisty Rizzo, The actress most recently returned to the London stage in October 2021 to play Thelma in Night, Mother at Hampstead Theatre, When she took on the role of feisty teenager Rizzo, Channing was already in her early 30s, making her the oldest member of the cast of students., Channing went on to have an illustrious career after the film, including a seven-year run as first lady Abbey Bartlet in the political drama The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.. After appearing in the 1978 film, Stewart reprised his role for Grease 2 in 1982.. He was 87 years old. The younger Byrnes, thankfully, became sober before hitting age 50 and would go on to live for decades after finding sobriety. Not long after scoring the role of Doris in Fame (1980), Teefy played Pink Lady Sharon in Grease 2. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. However, his life recently took a turn when it was reported that he was arrested for allegedly forcing himself into a nursing home in April. "I know when I spoke with Anabel Oaks, our showrunner and writer, like Kenickie is sort of the archetypal character that I'm loosely based on, and start off with. Sadly, Blondell's last years during which she filmed "Grease" were spent struggling withrheumatoid arthritis, via Slant Magazine. Grease turned John into one of the planets biggest stars, coming on the back of his Oscar-nominated performance in the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever. She was 93 years old at the time of her death. In 1992, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and became a tireless advocate for cancer research throughout the rest of her life, founding the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre in Australia. She has continued to act and starred in Cant Hardly Wait, Cyrus, Veep and Ray Donovan. The couple had been married for nearly 30 years when Prestondied at age 57 in July 2020,two years after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.. In"Grease," she lent a sympathetic ear to a beauty school dropout (played by Didi Conn), who was her co-worker at the Frosty Palace malt shop, and in an interview with The Spokesman Review, Ellen Travolta who played a fellow Frosty Palace waitress in the film said it was "a lot of fun" working with Hollywood legends such as Blondell and Sid Caesar in "Grease.". 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Travolta took a hiatus from acting to grieve his wife's death before returning to work. He went on to have various roles on TV and film over the next decade. "I think I'm an original Grease fan, but Grease 2 is camp and there's no hate there," Madison Thompson (Susan) added. She's been nominated for an Oscar (for Six Degrees of Separation), various Golden Globes and has won an Emmy and Tony award. Grease premiered in 1971 at the Kingston Mines Theater in Chicago, then went on to become a West End hit. One compelling Grease theory suggests that Olivia Newton-John's Sandy actually drowns in the opening act and the rest of the musical is just a fantasy. She returned to the profession in the late-'90s and has appeared on television in series like Monk,Veep,andRay Donovan, as well as the feature films Cyrus (2010) with Marisa Tomei and Black Mass(2015) withJohnny Depp. ComicBook.com recently spoke to many of the folks involved withGrease: Rise of the Pink Ladies and asked their thoughts on Grease 2. And a remarkable 44 years since the film made its debut, the characters continue to be loved. Jeff Conaway was best known for his role as Kenickie in "Grease," as well as his role in the TV series "Taxi," alongside actors like Andy Kaufman and Danny DeVito. Her character was known for her no-nonsense personality and penchant for delivering the daily morning announcements. By Jamie Jirak In 2011, the former actress was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Friends say Olivia cried every day for almost two years. Joan Blondell had a huge acting resume under her belt when she appeared in "Grease" as the waitress, Vi. After two brief attempts at sitcom stardom in the early-1980s, Channing re-teamed with Nicholson and Nichols (as well asMeryl Streep) for the filmHeartburn, based onNora Ephron's best-selling novel. The couple got married in 1992 and now have four children together. She starred in The West Wing, The Good Wife, and is a regular on the Broadway stage. After a whirlwind fling of "Summer Nights," the pair assumes their time together is over, and that Sandy must return to Australia with her parents. Another famous character actress, Dody Goodman, played Eve Arden's character's sidekick, wacky high school secretary Blanche Hodel in "Grease" and its sequel. She died on December 18, 2008, from leukemia. Conn was married to her first husband, actor and writer Frank Conn, from 1975 to 1978, the year Grease was released.She and her second husband, composer David Shire, have been married since 1984. But the star has continued to have successful acting gigs since her Grease Days, and won numerous awards, making her one of the stars that has continued to shine over the four decades. He followed his time on the Great White Way with guest star turns on a number of television shows before joining the cast of the Greasefilm and becoming a series regular on the sitcomTaxi. See what the film's stars are up to today since the movie's release. ; and the upcoming Paramount+ spin-offs Grease: Rise of the Pink LadiesandSummer Lovin'. He had numerous guest-starring TV roles over the years as well. Travolta also led tributes for his co-star Olivia Newton John and wrote: "My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better. Jan, the nerdy, junk food-loving member of the Pink Ladies was played by Jamie Donnelly, who originated the part on Broadway, and was the only cast member to play the same role in both the stage musical and the film. Charles was just 63 when she died on August 3, 2011 (via The Hollywood Reporter). Olivia 'Your Danny, your John': Travolta pays heartbreaking tribute had metastasized and spread to her bones. "She delivers and she defines Hollywood beauty You can't begrudge them their success. In addition to the box office and Billboard success brought on by the musical, her performance inGreasealso landed her a Golden Globe nomination. The movie musical was also where she met her first husband, Matt Lattanzi, and in 1986 gave birth to their daughter, Chloe Rose. The movie also gave us some memorable characters including Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson. Annette Charles' character's bad boy boyfriend, Leo "Craterface" Balmudo, was played by Dennis Stewart in "Grease." During a Dutch production of Grease, actors Jim Bakkum and Bettina Holwerda were hurled from their contervible car during a scene at a driving. Grease was producer Allans greatest triumph. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. On Jan. 8, 2020, died of natural causes. (2016). His biggest role was certainly in Grease, but the star also kept working in TV and film starring in Happy Days and Taxi before appearing in reality shows covering addiction in the years before his death. Litten gave a good account of himself at Headingley with Will Gardiner also standing tall. "My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better. Its soundtrack, featuring the songs "You're the One That I Want," "Summer Nights," "Hopelessly Devoted to You," as well as the self-titled theme song sung by Frankie Valli, was also a major chart topper in the late 1970s disco era. He's had several successes over the last couple of decades, from Wild Hogs, Hairspray, From Paris With Love and Get Shorty,The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story. It's been decades sinceGrease debuted in theaters. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Davey Jaworski (Leif Green) Then: The tiniest T-Bird of em all! The actress also played the Golden Globe-nominated lead role of Sam Fox on FX's Better Things from 2016 to 2022. She reprised her role in Grease 2, which premiered in 1982., While her film credits became fairly sparse after the early 1980s, Conn has had roles on TV shows such as Shining Times Station,Transparent, and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit., In 2016, she appeared in Grease: Live, playing a waitress who talks toCarly Rae Jepsen's Frenchie.. He acted steadily throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The couple married in 2017. After the success of the movie, Donnelly took an almost 20-year break from acting, working as a theatrical coach in the Los Angeles area. Things took a dark turn in the mid-2000s when Conaway relapsed from substance abuse and turned up on reality TV as a star of the VH1 shows Celebrity Fit Club Allan was struck down by liver cancer and died in June 1999 at the age of 62. In between acting he has also been a high school teacher and acting coach. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. And Sid Caesar, who played Coach Calhoun, died on Feb. 12, 2014. The risqu title track ruled the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 weeks, and its tongue-in-cheek, aerobics-inspired music video became an MTV staple. Dennis Stewart is best known for playing Leo Craterface Balmudo in Grease. In addition, she was "hopelessly devoted" to philanthropic works, including a stint as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Program. 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Actor and dancer Dennis famously played the ultimate bad boy in Craterface, and he later returned for the sequel in 1982. In May 2017, it was announced that her breast cancer had returned and metastasized to her lower back and she battled the illness until this week. We will cherish the time we had with him for the rest of our lives.. In the 1980s, the actor embarked on a healthy lifestyle journey that would ultimately help him live a very long life. "Yes," choreographer Jamal Sims replied when asked if there were any Grease 2 fans in the house. His death was later put down to the star's drug use, amid claims his addiction prevented him from seeking help for the pneumonia until it was too late. he wrote on Instagram. Something went wrong, please try again later. The actor first shot to fame in the 1950s detective series "77 Sunset Strip," where he played the comb-obsessed nightclub valet, Kookie, decades before Fonzie of "Happy Days" incessantly combed his own signature ducktail. Didi Conn, born Edith Bernstein, is the only cast member to appear in all three screen adaptations ofGrease,having also appeared in 1982's Grease 2, and Fox's Grease: Live! The 71-year-old actress is a stepmother to Shire's son, screenwriter Matthew Shire, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Talia Shire.. After her oldest son, Dashiell, tragically died in a car accident in 2017, she began teaching acting at the Purdy Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor, Wash., as a way to deal with her grief. The legendary star, who began her movie career in the 1930s, appeared in a plethora of Warner Bros. films,perSlant Magazine, effortlessly crossing genres. Newton-John died peacefully at her home in Southern California on August 8, 2022, at age 73. The character was the leader of the T-Birds rival gang called the Scorpions. However, the actor mainly worked on the stage, with two Tony Award nominations for Eastern Standard and Our Country's Good. She shares three daughters whom are also actresses Gideon, Odessa and Valentine with ex-husband Felix O. Adlon. Sonny is the brash, wise-cracking Italian, played in the movie by Michael Tucci, now 76. She was 73. Dame Olivia Newton-John passed away peacefully at her ranch in Southern California this morning, surrounded by family and friends. Grease remains one of the most popular films to have come out during the 1970s, propelling its stars to a whole new level of fame. Teefy hasn't acted much since the late '90s, except for one appearance in 2017's Hollywood Girl: The Peg Entwistle Story. Making a splash: A deep dive into the live-action Little Mermaid with a new generation's Ariel. Doody was the goofy, fun-loving boyfriend of Frenchy. in 2016. Edd Byrnes, who played dance show host Vic Fontaine during Rydells prom, was also known forhis starring role in the television series77 Sunset Strip. Annette Charles played the cha-cha dancing Charlene "Cha Cha" DiGregorio in "Grease," and she was featured prominently in a prom scene dance-off scene with John Travolta, much to the dismay of Olivia Newton-John's character, Sandy. It's unclear what was the exact cause of her death. After Grease, Travolta starred in comedies like Look Who's Talking but spent a a decade in the A-list wilderness, before 1994's Pulp Fiction came along. I love you so much. Sadly on Aug. 8, 2022, news broke that Olivia Newton-John, who played Sandy, died at her home in California after a long battle with breast cancer. "Physical," "Xanadu," and "Please Mister Please" are some of her most recognized hits, but her performances in "Grease" are some of her best. She costarred on the sitcom alongside Richard Mulligan and Kristy McNichol, and was featured in every episode of its seven-season run. She continued to work onstage as well, eventually earning a Tony award for Best Actress in a Play for Peter Nichol'sA Day in the Death of Joe Egg,and nominations for her work inThe House of Blue Leaves and Six Degrees of Separation, Four Baboons Adoring the Sun, The Lion in Winter, Pal Joey (for Best Actress in a Musical), and Other Dessert Cities. "Never in my life did I think it would turn out to be what it was.". But the magic had gone by the time he tried to repeat the success in 1982 with Grease 2, the widely-panned sequel starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Maxwell Caulfield. The daughter of screenwriter Arnold Manoff, and Oscar- and Emmy-winning actress/director Lee Grant, Dinah Manoff played Marty Maraschino, the Pink Ladies' biggest flirt. Before he donned Danny Zuko's leather jacket, John Travolta was already a bona fide star thanks to his roles as Vinnie Barbarino on Welcome Back, Kotter, Billy Nolan inCarrie (1976), and Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever(1977) for which he received his first Academy Award nomination. Credit: Everett Collection; Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images, Credit: CBS via Getty Images; Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images, Credit: CBS via Getty Images; Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic, Credit: CBS via Getty Images; Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage, Credit: CBS via Getty Images; Bobby Bank/Getty Images, Credit: CBS via Getty Images; Albert L. Ortega/WireImage, Credit: CBS via Getty Images; Tara Ziemba/Getty Images. She then got her masters degree in social work fromNew York Universityand became a speech communication professor atCalifornia State University, Northridge. It became the highest-grossing film of all time. Charles died on Aug. 3, 2011, from lung cancer. Throughout the rest of the '80s and early-'90s, he primarily worked in guest spots on TV, and small supporting roles in films,until he booked the role of Zack Allan on Babylon 5from 1994 to 1999. Read on to find out what the class of Rydell High 1978 has been up to since the film's release. The stars plunged into the orchestra pit, with Jim sustaining a concussion and Bettina breaking her arm. The foundation will continue to campaign for plant medicine and cancer research in her memory. Grease 2 hit theatres in 1982 and despite launching the career of Michelle Pfeiffer, the movie became a flop at the box office after receiving poor reviews (it's currently on Rotten Tomatoes with a 35% critics score). Though she continued to act, Luft is more well-known for her singing and stage work, her latest playing Martha Watson in the national tour of White Christmas. TEEN musical Grease is a feelgood classic but the cast of the 1978 film have since led anything but fairytale lives. 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