The fated pairing of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John wasn't always a fixed erstwhile it came to casting the roles originated connected Broadway successful 1972 by Barry Bostwick and Carole Demas.

Linda Ronstadt and Marie Osmond were among the names suggested to play Sandy, Travolta recalled to Entertainment Tonight, "and I said, 'They're wonderful, but each feline successful the satellite wants Olivia Newton-John arsenic their girlfriend.' And I knew that 'cause I felt the aforesaid way...And I said, 'If you don't spot this, you guys are nuts.'"

Carrie Fisher, Bye Bye Birdie star Ann-Margret and The Partridge Family's Susan Dey were besides connected the database of imaginable Sandys.

When producer Allan Carr raised the thought of Newton-John, she didn't instantly accidental yes. (But erstwhile she did, Sandy was rewritten to beryllium Australian.)

"I was precise anxious astir making different film, due to the fact that my euphony vocation was going well," the "Physical" vocalist recalled to Vanity Fair in 2016, "and I did not privation to messiness it up by doing different movie that wasn't good."

Henry Winkler called himself a "damn fool" for turning down the relation of Danny Zuko—though his reasoning successful the 1970s was that he was already playing a slickly coiffed, leather jacket-wearing chill cat as the Fonz on Happy Days and didn't privation to beryllium typecast.

"I spell home...and I person a Diet Coke," the Barry star told CNN's Chris Wallace in November 2022. "John Travolta, who has done the movie, goes location and buys a plane."

Travolta had already made Saturday Night Fever when helium scored the relation of Danny, but it wasn't released until December 1977.

So he wasn't yet a large movie prima erstwhile they changeable Grease in the summertime of 1977, though by the clip it came retired connected June 16, 1978, helium was—and Oscar-nominated to boot.

But the life-changing projects were indispensable for Travolta successful different way: His woman Diana Hyland had died of crab connected March 27, 1977, and being engaged helped.

"It acted arsenic a elephantine distraction for me," Travolta told Vanity Fair. "It was astir apt the healthiest happening I could person done was to beryllium successful back-to-back movies, due to the fact that I was precise sad."

Frankie Valli sang the rubric track, but it was written by his chap falsetto maestro Barry Gibb—while the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, anchored by the disco sounds of the Bee Gees, was still successful the midst of a 24-week tally astatine No. 1 connected the medium charts.

The 2 films shared a producer, Robert Stigwood, who was besides the Bee Gees' manager and brought Gibb successful astatine the last infinitesimal to regenerate a opus that had already been written.

Director Randal Kleiser was admittedly acrophobic astir starting the full movie disconnected with a tune that didn't person a 1950s vibe, but "Grease" spent 2 weeks successful the apical spot connected the Billboard Hot 100 singles illustration and was nominated for a Golden Globe, arsenic was "You're the One That I Want." (They mislaid to Donna Summer's "Last Dance" from Thank God It's Friday.)

"Hopelessly Devoted to You" was the lone Grease tune written for the movie (by John Farrar) that ended up nominated for a Best Original Song Oscar (again losing to "Last Dance")—and it was the film's lone nomination.

Though Travolta and Newton-John went unneurotic like rama-lama-lama-ka-dinga-da-dinga-dong, the archetypal Grease musical saw immoderate intriguing stars travel and go.

For starters, the film's Kenickie, Jeff Conaway, had a tally connected Broadway arsenic Danny, and Travolta played T-Bird subordinate Doody in a touring production.

Other Broadway Dannys successful the 1970s included Peter Gallagher, Patrick Swayze and Treat Williams, portion Richard Gere starred successful the original West End production successful 1973.

Grease originally took spot successful Chicago, wherever Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey wrote and archetypal staged the musical, but the movie mentation was acceptable successful Los Angeles.

Venice High School (bleachers and different exterior field shots), John Marshall High successful Los Feliz (graduation carnival) and Huntington Park High (the gym dance) stood successful for Rydell High, and the iconic resistance contention country was shot in the L.A. River Basin betwixt the 1st Street Bridge and 6th Street Viaduct.

Those bridges are acquainted from dozens of movies, including The Naked Gun, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Furious 7.

Stockard Channing, who bushed retired Lucille Ball's daughter Lucie Arnaz for the relation of Rizzo, was the eldest of the alleged teen cast at 33.

"I would get up adjacent to them and spot if they had immoderate crow's-feet astir their eyes and that would amusement they were beyond the surreal property that we had determined would work," Kleiser, who had antecedently directed Travolta successful the 1976 TV movie The Boy successful the Plastic Bubble and was the actor's idiosyncratic prime to make Grease, told Vanity Fair in 2016. "High-school kids could not person crow's feet."

In Grease: The Director's Notebook, Kleiser elaborate however cinematographer Bill Butler used brushed lighting connected 29-year-old Newton-John to erase immoderate lines connected her face—"not that Olivia had many," helium noted.

Rumor has it Elvis Presley passed connected playing Teen Angel, the relation that went to Frankie Avalon—who was truthful acrophobic of heights the crew put mattresses connected either side of the staircase helium descended portion crooning "Beauty School Dropout," conscionable successful case.

Presley died Aug. 16, 1977, astatine Graceland portion they were inactive filming Grease successful L.A.

In the signifier version, "Grease Lightning" is Kenickie's song—but Travolta was capable to plaything it truthful helium could sing it instead.

"I person to beryllium wholly honorable with you," the histrion told Vanity Fair. "I wanted the number. And due to the fact that I had clout, I could get the number."

Conaway, who died of pneumonia exacerbated by chronic cause maltreatment successful 2011, wasn't peculiarly blessed astir it and neither was choreographer Patricia Birch.

"It's Kenickie's goddamned number!" she told the magazine. "I was upset with it, due to the fact that I thought Jeff needed a number. John was precise bully doing it, but it should person been Kenickie—it was Kenickie's car!"

Steven Ford, the youngest lad and 3rd kid of erstwhile President Gerald Ford, was primitively formed arsenic jock Tom but got a lawsuit of acold feet and dropped out—even though the character literally lone needed to look handsome and rima "Hi" and "How are you?"

The accumulation rapidly formed 19-year-old Lorenzo Lamas as Sandy's boyfriend-for-a-minute whose "brains are successful his biceps." He had to dye his acheronian hairsbreadth blond truthful helium would opposition much with Danny. But, Lamas recalled to Vanity Fair, "I would person dyed it purple to beryllium successful that movie."

Ellen Travolta—perhaps champion known for playing Scott Baio's ma on Charles successful Charge—is John's older sister by 15 years (he's the youngest of five). 

You tin spot her among the waitresses gathered astir the TV at The Frosty Palace, the diner hangout that was precocious reconstructed for the Paramount+ prequel bid Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies.

Newton-John was unrecognizable erstwhile she archetypal walked retired in her "goodbye to Sandra Dee" teased curls, skintight leggings and leather overgarment (which the actress, who passed distant successful 2022, continued to deterioration to Grease press events decades later). 

Didi Conn, who played quality schoolhouse dropout Frenchie, recalled to ET that her Australian co-star archetypal tried connected the bad-girl look astatine nighttime erstwhile they were connected acceptable shooting the drive-in scene, and cipher realized who she was.

"It was a earthy reaction," Travolta told ET about Danny being brought to his knees by his archetypal glimpse astatine Sandy's makeover. "It was truthful overmuch amusive to spot her dressed up successful that garb."

The 1982 sequel Grease 2, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Maxwell Caulfield, has its fierce defenders, but it isn't widely, shall we say...beloved.

Alas, shaper Carr's archetypal idea for a follow-up—Summer School, which would person seen the T-Birds and Pink Ladies reunite for Rizzo and Kenickie's wedding—was not the 1 that got made.