Endlessly his Sandy. John Travolta acquired emotional whereas referencing late pal and Grease costar Olivia Newton-John on the 2023 Oscars.
“On this trade, we now have the uncommon luxurious of attending to do what we love for a dwelling. And typically, attending to do it with folks that we’ve come to like,” Travolta, 69, mentioned throughout the Sunday, March 12, occasion whereas introducing the present’s “In Memoriam” section. “And since tonight is a celebration of the work and the accomplishments of our group on this previous 12 months, it is just becoming then that we have a good time these we’ve misplaced who devoted their lives to their craft each in entrance of and behind the digicam. By means of the immeasurable contributions every of them left a person and indubitable mark that shared and knowledgeable us.”
The Pulp Fiction star then acquired choked up whereas giving a particular shout-out to his pricey pal Newton-John, referencing her hit music “Hopelessly Dedicated to You” from Grease.
John Travolta Rob Latour/Shutterstock
“They’ve touched our hearts, they’ve made us smile and have become pricey buddies who we’ll all the time stay hopelessly dedicated to,” he mentioned whereas struggling to carry again tears.
The group then echoed Travolta’s sentiments with an audible “Aw” sound earlier than the Saturday Evening Fever actor launched the “incomparable” Lenny Kravitz, who carried out whereas Hollywood mourned these they’ve misplaced prior to now 12 months. Newton-John was the primary face to grace the display.
The “Let’s Get Bodily” singer handed away on the age of 73 in August 2022 after a protracted battle with breast most cancers. She was first identified in 1992, however after present process a partial mastectomy and reconstruction surgical procedure, she discovered her most cancers had returned in 2013 and 2018.
“We ask that everybody please respect the household’s privateness throughout this very troublesome time. Olivia has been an emblem of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast most cancers,” an announcement from the Australia native’s husband, John Easterling, learn whereas confirming her loss of life in August 2022. “Her therapeutic inspiration and pioneering expertise with plant drugs continues with the Olivia Newton-John Basis Fund, devoted to researching plant drugs and most cancers. In lieu of flowers, the household asks that any donations be made in her reminiscence to the Olivia Newton-John Basis Fund.”
John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in ‘Grease’. Paramount/Rso/Kobal/Shutterstock
Following the lack of his longtime pal, Travolta — who portrayed Danny Zuko to Newton-John’s Sandy Olsson within the 1978 movie — took to social media to mourn.
“My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so significantly better. Your impression was unimaginable. I really like you a lot,” Travolta wrote by way of Instagram in August 2022 alongside a photograph of the Xanadu star. “We are going to see you down the street and we’ll all be collectively once more. Yours from the primary second I noticed you and ceaselessly! Your Danny, your John!”
After portraying America’s favourite onscreen couple, Travolta and Newton-John remained shut over time, even costarring within the 1983 movie Two of a Sort.
In August 2019, the Face Off actor opened up about his particular bond with the Golden Globe winner. “We had been collectively not that way back, about three months in the past, and we textual content one another on a regular basis,” he solely advised Us Weekly. “It’s fantastic … If I’m going to see her in her present, we go backstage and hang around, and I watch the present and all that. If I’m going to see her personally, we normally have dinner and catch up. And recently we’ve been speaking about attempting to do one thing collectively.”
Newton-John, for her half, gushed about her relationship with Travolta throughout an interview with Hollywood Life in February 2021.
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“Nicely, we’ve all the time been buddies,” she mentioned of her bond with the New Jersey native. “[John and I’ve] been by way of an enormous, unimaginable expertise collectively and we care about one another and we’ll all the time be buddies.”
