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THE SONG IS WONDERFUL.
IN AUGUST 1974, "I HONESTLY LOVE YOU"
BECAME OLIVIA'S FIRST NUMBER ONE SINGLE
IN THE UNITED STATES.
LATER THAT YEAR,
OLIVIA WON THE TOP FEMALE VOCALIST AWARD
FROM THE COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION.
I'D LIKE TO SAY A BIG HELLO
TO ALL OF YOU IN THE HEART OF COUNTRY MUSIC,
ESPECIALLY TONIGHT.
THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.
BUT THE AWARD CAME WITH A LITTLE CONFLICT.
SOME ARTISTS AND CRITICS IN NASHVILLE
DISMISSED OLIVIA'S MUSIC AS TOO POP.
SINCE OLIVIA WAS ON THE ROAD
SHE WAS UNAWARE OF THE ISSUE.
OLIVIA: I HEARD THAT I CAUSED
THIS CONTROVERSY IN NASHVILLE
BECAUSE I'D WON
A COUNTRY AND WESTERN FAVORITE SINGER AWARD
OR SOMETHING,
AND THEY WERE VERY MAD AT ME
AND I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY
BECAUSE I DIDN'T EVEN UNDERSTAND
THE SEPARATION BETWEEN COUNTRY MUSIC
AND OTHER MUSIC.
OLIVIA SHRUGGED OFF THE CONTROVERSY
AND WON MORE ACCOLADES.
SHE EARNED A GRAMMY FOR RECORD OF THE YEAR
FOR "I HONESTLY LOVE YOU."
OLIVIA WAS FIRMLY ESTABLISHED
AS A TOP FEMALE ARTIST.
I CROSSED OVER THE IDEA
THAT COUNTRY MUSIC COULD BE POP AND COUNTRY.
I WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE TO DO THAT.
MUSIC PRODUCER AND FRIEND, DAVID FOSTER:
SHE WAS SO BEAUTIFUL
AND THE VOICE WAS SO BEAUTIFUL
I THOUGHT, THIS GIRL'S A SUPERSTAR.
BY 1977, OLIVIA'S WHOLESOME GOOD LOOKS
AND BEAUTIFUL VOICE CAUGHT THE ATTENTION
OF PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE MUSIC INDUSTRY.
HELEN REDDY AGAIN AND HER HUSBAND
WERE MY LUCKY CHARMS.
THEY INVITED ME FOR DINNER ONE NIGHT
AND ALLAN CARR,
WHO WAS THE PRODUCER OF "GREASE,"
WAS AT THE DINNER.
HE WANTED TO MEET ME.
I DIDN'T KNOW THAT WAS WHY
THE DINNER WAS HAPPENING.
ALLAN CARR OFFEED OLIVIA THE ROLE OF SANDY
IN THE FILM VERSION OF THE SUCCESSFUL
BROADWAY MUSICAL "GREASE."
HOWEVER, OLIVIA WASN'T SO SURE.
BECAUSE I'D MADE "TOMORROW"
AND "TOMORROW" WAS A DISASTER
AND MY MUSICAL CAREER WAS JUST TAKING OFF.
I HAD HIT RECORDS AND I THOUGHT,
I DON'T WANT TO MAKE ANOTHER MISTAKE.
SO I WAS IN TWO MINDS ABOUT DOING IT AT ALL.
"GREASE" DIRECTOR, RANDALL KLEISER:
IN THIS CASE OLIVIA ASKED FOR THE TEST
BECAUSE SHE WASN'T SURE
WHETHER IT WAS GOING TO WORK OUT--
THE CHEMISTRY WITH HER AND WITH ME
AND WITH JOHN.
AND ALSO WHETHER SHE FELT
SHE WOULD LOOK YOUNG ENOUGH
TO PLAY A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT.
I WAS WORRIED AT 29, I THINK.
NOW I THINK WHAT WAS I WORRIED ABOUT?
ANYWAY, I WAS 29, WORRIED ABOUT
BEING 16 OR 17.
I SAID, "WE BETTER DO THE SCREEN TEST
"AND MAKE SURE WE LOOK RIGHT TOGETHER."
OLIVIA WAS OUR FIRT CHOICE
FOR ALL US FOR SANDY.
SO WE DID THE SCREEN TEST
AND IT WAS MAGIC.
WE WORKED REALLY WELL TOGETHER.
AND I SAID, "YEAH, I'LL DO IT."
JOHN TRAVOLTA WAS CAST OPPOSITE OLIVIA
AS GREASER-TURNED-JOCK DANNY ZUKO.
TRAVOLTA HAD JUST COME OFF
THE SUCCESSFUL FILM "SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER."
THE TWO STARS CLICKED IMMEDIATELY.
OLIVIA: I FELT THAT WE CONNECTED REALLY WELL
AND HE WAS A SWEET MAN, AS HE IS,
AND HE MADE ME FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE.
COMING UP, OLIVIA CAUSES ANOTHER COMMOTION.
IT SEEMS VERY TAME NOW,
BUT IN THE '80S, IN THE EARLY '80S,
IT WAS RAUNCHY.
AND I GOT VERY NERVOUS
JUST BEFORE IT CAME OUT.
AND LATER...
IT'S DEVASTATING
BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS.
BY 1977, OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
HAD SEVERAL TOP-TEN SINGLES IN THE UNITED STATES.
RIDING HIGH ON HER MUSICAL SUCCESS,
OLIVIA WAS CAST AS SANDY,
AN INNOCENT HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT-TURNED-VAMP
IN THE MOVIE VERSION OF "GREASE."
I LOVED THE IDEA THAT I COULD PLAY THE TWO PARTS.
THAT WAS REALLY A CHALLENGE.
OLIVIA TOOK THE ROLE SERIOUSLY,
BUT IT WAS HER WARDROBE
THAT MADE AN IMPRESSION ON THE CAST AND CREW.
COSTAR, DIDI CONN:
WHEN OLIVIA WANTED TO TRY ON HER COSTUME
FOR SEXY SANDY--
SHE CALLED IT SANDY TWO--
SHE DID IT THE NIGHT
WE WERE FILMING THE DRIVE-IN.
AND I WENT OUT TO SHOW THE DIRECTOR
THE OUTFIT
AND I WALKED OUT OF THE TRAILER
AND GOT SUCH A RESPONSE FROM THE CREW,
WHO DIDN'T KNOW WHO I WAS.
ALL THE CREW AND THE GUYS,
"WHO THE HELL IS THAT?
"OOH, LOOK AT THAT HOT MAMA."
AND I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE HER.
SHE LOOKED LIKE THIS VERY HOT WOMAN
AND THEN I LOOKED CLOSER
WHEN IT CAME TO FILMING THE SCENE,
OLIVIA RAN INTO A SMALL PROBLEM.
OLIVIA'S PANTS WERE SO TIGHT
AND THEY WERE SO PERFECT,
SHE WAS POURED INTO THEM.
THEY PUT 'EM ON
AND THEN THEY SEWED HER UP.
IT WASN'T THAT I COULDN'T GET INTO THEM,
IT WAS THAT THEY WERE VERY OLD,
AND THE ZIP HAD GONE ON THE SIDE
--
BECAUSE THE ZIP KEPT UNDOING--
FOR THOSE TWO DAYS.
I WAS IN THERE, BOY.
ON THE SET, OLIVIA OFTEN LOOKED TO
HER MORE EXPERIENCED COSTAR, JOHN TRAVOLTA, FOR ADVICE.
I COULD TELL THAT JOHN AND OLIVIA
WERE GETTING ALONG REALLY WELL,
AND JOHN WAS SORT OF
TAKING HER UNDER HIS WING.
BECAUSE HE HAD DONE WORK,
AND SHE WAS SORT OF NEW
AND SHE WAS NERVOUS AND HE WAS LIKE
A BIG BROTHER TO HER ON THE SET.
OLIVIA: THE ONE SCENE WHERE I TURN UP AT THE DRIVE-IN
AND THE GIRLS THROW ME FORWARD
AND THERE'S MY REACTION,
AND SUDDENLY JOHN WENT, "NO, NO, NO, NO, NO."
AND I THOUGHT, "WHAT IS HE DOING?"
AND HE CAME OVER TO ME AND HE SAID,
"I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT BETTER THAN THAT."
SO HE BLEW THE TAKE ON PURPOSE,
SO THAT I HAD ANOTHER SHOT
AND JOHN SAVED ME, WHICH WAS REALLY SWEET,
SO HE WAS VERY HELPFUL.
"GREASE" WAS THE WORD IN THE SUMMER OF 1978.
THE FILM BECAME A POP CULTURE PHENOMENON
AND GROSSED $58 MILLION IN THE FIRST MONTH OF RELEASE.
WHEN "GREASE" OPENED, AND IT WAS JUST,
I MEAN, I'D NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT.
AS MY CAREER KINDA GREW,
IT WASN'T A SUDDEN SHOCK TO ME.
I GREW UP WITH THAT SINCE I WAS 15.
OLIVIA TOOK STARDOM IN STRIDE.
HER OLDER SISTER RONA, HOWEVER,
HAD A MORE DIFFICULT TIME.
IT WAS SOMETIMES HARD FOR ME
IN THE EARLY DAYS BECAUSE
IT WAS ALWAYS ABOUT OLIVIA.
I HAD A GREAT PROBLEM--
WE'RE TALKING 15 YEARS AGO--
WITH BEING SO MUCH IN THE SHADOW OF SOMEBODY
AND I THINK THAT TAKES A LOT
OF GETTING USED TO.
THE "GREASE" SOUNDTRACK
GENERATED FOUR TOP-TEN HITS,
INCLUDING THE NUMBER ONE SONG "YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT."
♪ IF YOU FILLED WITH AFFECTION ♪
♪ YOU'RE TOO SHY TO CONVEY ♪
♪ BETTER TAKE MY DIRECTION ♪
♪ FEEL YOUR WAY ♪
♪ I BETTER SHAPE UP ♪
♪ BECAUSE YOU NEED A MAN ♪
♪ I NEED A MAN ♪
♪ WHO CAN KEEP ME SATISFIED ♪
♪ I BETTER SHAPE UP ♪
♪ IF I'M GOING TO PROVE ♪
♪ YOU BETTER PROVE ♪
♪ THAT MY FAITH IS JUSTIFIED ♪
♪ ARE YOU SURE ♪
♪ 'CAUSE I'M SURE DOWN DEEP INSIDE ♪
♪ YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT ♪
♪ OH, OH, OH, HONEY ♪
♪ THE ONE THAT I WANT ♪
♪ OH, OH, OH, HONEY ♪
♪ THE ONE THAT I WANT ♪
♪ OH, OH, OH, THE ONE I NEED ♪
♪ OH YES INDEED. ♪
IN 1980, OLIVIA GAMBLED ON ANOTHER MUSICAL.
"XANADU" WAS RELEASED WITH HIGH EXPECTATIONS,
BUT THE FILM WAS A BOX-OFFICE FLOP.
OLIVIA: I THINK THAT I WAITED
QUITE A LONG TIME TO DO ANYTHING ELSE.
I THINK THERE WAS A BIT OF A GAP
AND AGAIN I THINK
I DIDN'T WAIT LONG ENOUGH.
I THINK THE MUSIC WAS GREAT
AND THE DANCING WAS GREAT,
BUT THE SCRIPT LEFT A LOT TO BE DESIRED
WITH THAT FILM,
AS IT OFTEN DOES IN MUSICALS.
ALTHOUGH THE MOVIE WASN'T A HIT,
THE SOUNDTRACK WAS.
THE SONG "MAGIC"
HIT NUMBER ONE ON THE POP CHARTS.
THE FILM ALSO GAVE OLIVIA PRICELESS MEMORIES.
I GOT TO DANCE WITH GENE KELLY.
PEOPLE LOVE THE MOVIE NOW
MORE THAN I THINK THEN THEY DID THEN.
AND I MET CHLOE'S DAD ON THE SET,
SO THAT WAS A GIFT.
SO IT WAS ANOTHER GREAT EXPERIENCE.
MATT LATTANZI WAS A BACK-UP DANCER ON "XANADU."
THREE MONTHS INTO FILMING,
22-YEAR-OLD MATT ASKED 32-YEAR-OLD OLIVIA
OUT ON A DATE AND A ROMANCE BLOSSOMED.
AFTER DATING FOR A YEAR, MATT MOVED IN WITH OLIVIA.
THE RELATIONSHIP GAVE OLIVIA THE CONFIDENCE
TO EXPERIMENT WITH HER MUSIC.
THE RESULT WAS A NEW, EDGIER OLIVIA.
THE SINGLE "PHYSICAL" WAS RELEASED IN 1981.
AND MY MANAGER, I THINK, GAVE ME THE SONG.
AND I CAN'T REMEMBER
THE WHOLE CIRCUMSTANCE OF THIS SONG,
BUT WHAT I DO REMEMBER IS I RECORDED THE SONG,
JOHN FARRAR PRODUCED IT.
AND I KNEW IT WAS ONE OF THOSE SONGS.
IT SEEMS VERY TAME NOW,
BUT IN THE '80S, THE EARLY '80S,
IT WAS RAUNCHY.
I GOT VERY NERVOUS JUST BEFORE IT CAME OUT.
I SAID TO MY MANAGER, "YOU GOTTA PULL IT.
"I DON'T THINK I CAN DO THIS.
"THEY'RE GOING TO HATE ME.
"WHAT ARE MY FANS GOING TO THINK?"
TO AVOID A BACKLASH,
OLIVIA CAME UP WITH A QUIRKY PLAN.
♪ LET'S GET PHYSICAL, PHYSICAL ♪
♪ I WANNA GET PHYSICAL ♪
♪ LET'S GET INTO PHYSICAL ♪
♪ LET ME HEAR YOUR BODY TALK ♪
♪ YOUR BODY TALK ♪
♪ LET ME HEAR YOUR BODY TALK. ♪
I SAID, "LOOK, I THINK WE NEED TO DO A VIDEO
"AND WE NEED TO MAKE IT FUNNY
"AND WE NEED TO PLAY UP
"THE PHYSICAL, EXERCISE PART OF THIS
"TO KIND OF DILUTE IT A LITTLE BIT."
AND THE VIDEO, I THINK,
TURNED OUT REALLY GREAT AND REALLY FUNNY
AND KINDA WENT AGAINST WHAT WE WERE SINGING.
THE GIMMICK WORKED.
"PHYSICAL" VAULTED TO NUMBER ONE,
SPENDING TEN WEEKS AT THE TOP OF THE CHARTS.
WHILE THE PUBLIC EMBRACED THE SEXIER OLIVIA,
SOME RADIO STATIONS REFUSED TO PLAY THE SONG,
INCLUDING SALT LAKE CITY.
I WENT TO SALT LAKE CITY
TO DO MY LIVE CONCERT RECORDING
AND I THOUGHT NO ONE WAS GOING TO SHOW UP.
AND THEY DID
AND IT WASN'T A PROBLEM AT ALL.
"PHYSICAL" WENT ON TO BECOME
ONE OF THE BIGGEST HITS OF THE DECADE,
SELLING TWO MILLION COPIES.
IT'S LIKE EVERY TIME
I'VE BEEN REALLY AFRAID OF DOING SOMETHING,
IT'S USUALLY A SIGN.
COMING UP...
AND IT ALL CAME TUMBLING DOWN.
AND LATER...
YOU JUST THINK, "CANCER. I COULD DIE."
IN 1982, OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN RETURNED TO ACTING.
SHE RETEAMED WITH HER "GREASE" COSTAR JOHN TRAVOLTA
ON THE NONMUSICAL "TWO OF A KIND."
HOWEVER, THE MOVIE DID NOT LIVE UP TO EXPECTATIONS.
I THINK WE UNFORTUNATELY JUMPED ON THE IDEA
BEFORE THE SCRIPT WAS REALLY READY
AND IT WAS NOT A VERY--
IT JUST DIDN'T TURN OUT AS IT SHOULD HAVE DONE,
BUT WE HAD FUN ANYWAY.
DESPITE DISAPPOINTING NUMBERS AT THE BOX OFFICE,
ONCE AGAIN THE SOUNDTRACK GENERATED
A TOP-TEN HIT FOR OLIVIA CALLED "TWIST OF FATE."
THERE IS A GREAT TIE-IN THERE
AND FOR OLIVIA AFTER YOU'VE DONE "GREASE,"
YOU'D HAVE TO BE AN IDIOT NOT TO TRY
AND WORK WITH THAT FORMULA AGAIN
AND I THINK IT'S BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL.
LATER THAT YEAR, OLIVIA BECAME AN ENTREPRENEUR
WITH HER FRIEND PAT FARRAR.
THE TWO WOMEN OPENED A CHAIN OF RETAIL STORES
CALLED KOALA BLUE,
FEATURING AUSTRALIAN-THEMED MERCHANDISE.
OLIVIA AND I CONCENTRATED ON
THE CREATIVITY AND THE PUBLICITY
AND THE PRESS AND ALL THE NICE--
ALL THE FUN PART.
THE COMPANY EXPANDED TO NEARLY 30 STORES.
MEANWHILE, OLIVIA'S PERSONAL LIFE
TOOK A SIGNIFICANT STEP FORWARD.
IN DECEMBER 1984, 36-YEAR-OLD OLIVIA
MARRIED 25-YEAR-OLD MATT LATTANZI
IN A SMALL CEREMONY AT THEIR HOME IN MALIBU.
BEST FRIEND, NANCY CHUDA:
THEY WERE SO MUCH IN LOVE IN THE EARLY YEARS.
IN 1985, OLIVIA RELEASED "SOUL KISS,"
HER FIRST SOLO EFFORT IN MORE THAN FOUR YEARS.
ALBUM SALES WERE MODERATE.
OLIVIA THEN TOOK A BREAK FROM RECORDING
TO CONCENTRATE ON FAMILY.
I GOT PREGNANT AND SAID, "NANCY, HURRY UP."
BECAUSE WE WANTED TO HAVE
OUR BABIES AT THE SAME TIME.
WE WERE ABLE TO CONCEIVE OUR GIRLS
WITHIN TWO WEEKS APART
AND WE GAVE BIRTH TO OUR GIRLS
WITHIN FOUR WEEKS APART.
IN JANUARY OF 1986,
CHLOE ROSE LATTANZI WAS BORN.
NANCY'S DAUGHTER COLETTE WAS BORN A FEW WEEKS LATER.
OLIVIA BECAME COLETTE'S GODMOTHER.
WE WOULD TRAVEL EVERYWHERE TOGETHER
AND IT WOULD BE THE TWO COUPLES
AND THE TWO GIRLS AND THEY WERE BEST FRIENDS
AND IT WAS KIND OF IDEAL.
OUR LIVES TOGETHER WERE IDEAL.
AFTER THE BIRTH OF HER DAUGHTER,
OLIVIA REARRANGED HER PRIORITIES.
FRIEND, JIM CHUDA:
OLIVIA DIDN'T PERFORM VERY MUCH
AND SHE PUT ALL HER TIME
INTO HELP RAISING CHLOE.
YOU CAN LIST ALL THE CAREER THINGS IN THE WORLD,
BUT NOTHING COMPARES WITH HAVING A CHILD.
SHE WAS SO OVERJOYED.
I THINK SHE HAD WANTED A KID
FOR SUCH A LONG TIME.
IT WAS THE BEST THING I EVER DID.
TWO YEARS AFTER CHLOE WAS BORN,
OLIVIA LAUNCHED A CAMPAIGN
FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS.
I BELIEVE THAT OUR ENVIRONMENT
IS HEAVILY POLLUTED
AND WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING
TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN FROM THE POLLUTION
AND TO CHANGE THE LAWS
AND TO TEACH PARENTS
HOW TO PROTECT THEIR CHILDREN.
SHE SEEMED TO BECOME
MORE INVOLVED IN THE ENVIRONMENT
AS SOON AS SHE WAS A MOTHER.
I THINK THE WHOLE ISSUE
BECAME VERY IMPORTANT TO HER.
SHE REALIZED SHE HAD TO DO
THE RIGHT THING BY HER DAUGHTER.
IN 1990,
OLIVIA WAS APPOINTED BY THE UNITED NATIONS
AS A SPECIAL AMBASSADOR FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.
SOON AFTER, OLIVIA HIT HARD TIMES.
JUST EIGHT YEARS AFTER STARTING KOALA BLUE,
OLIVIA AND PARTNER PAT FARRAR FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY.
THE COMPANY GREW TOO FAST.
REALLY, REALLY FAST, GOT OUT OF HAND.
BORROWED FAR TOO MUCH MONEY,
PUT OUR OWN MONEY INTO IT BY MISTAKE,
AND THEN THE RECESSION HIT
AND IT ALL CAME TUMBLING DOWN.
WE SHOULDN'T HAVE GROWN AS FAST AS WE DID.
WE KNEW IT WASN'T OUR FAULT,
WE KNEW WE DID EVERYTHING CORRECTLY.
IN THE SPRING OF 1990,
OLIVIA WAS HIT WITH MORE DEVASTATING NEWS.
OLIVIA'S GODCHILD, COLETTE CHUDA,
WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A RARE FORM OF CANCER,
WILMS' TUMOR.
AND THE BUBBLE WAS BURST.
AND IT WAS INCREDIBLY SHOCKING
AND TRAGIC BECAUSE SHE WAS LIKE MY CHILD.
AND SHE WAS CHLOE'S BEST FRIEND
AND IT WAS DEVASTATING FOR EVERYBODY.
AND WHEN COLETTE WAS DIAGNOSED,
IT WAS VERY SHOCKING.
OLIVIA ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT COLETTE
WOULD SURVIVE HER CANCER.
SHE WAS A CRUSADER FOR THAT.