Several cast members of the smash-hit 1978 film Grease reunited in July to the delight of fans worldwide, with the fivesome singing together again almost 50 years after the flick premiered.
Grease stars Didi Conn (Frenchy), Dinah Manoff (Marty), Lorenzo Lamas (Tom), Barry Pearl (Doody) and Jamie Donnelly (Jan) joined forces at the reunion, as they sang “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” in a tribute to their fellow castmate, Michael Tucci (Sonny), who was away on vacation in Africa.
Fans couldn’t have been happier to see the cast reunite, with one writing on social media: “OMG I love this so much,” while another added: “They all look great,” and a third joked: “This is better than the original movie.”
Didi Conn in particular has helped to keep the magic of Grease alive over the years, and made a rare appearance at a performance of Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical on July 23 in London, dressed in her character’s iconic Pink Ladies jacket.
The actress opened up about the audition process in a video shared to Instagram, revealing that fate seemed to step in for her. “My agent said, ‘You gotta go looking like the character,'” she recalled. “All I knew was that her name was Frenchy. I did know that she wanted to be a beautician. I’m driving home and what do I see? But Frenchy’s Beauty Parlor.”
“Little Frenchy, she did my hair with at least two cans of spray. I had a big hairdo, and I learned so much about beauty school. When I went to the audition, I told them the story about Frenchy,” Didi added.
© Getty ImagesDidi also shared insight into her friendship with the film’s star, Olivia Newton-John, who portrayed Sandy. “She was a little bit nervous about doing this film and her first scene in the movie was with Frenchy,” the 75-year-old recounted.
“I started improvising with her. I said, ‘Oh, I’m so happy I have a new neighbor all the way from Australia.’ And Olivia looked at me like, ‘What? Is this in the script?’ She started to play with me. And when our director Randal [Kleiser] said action, we were right in the mode of the character.”
© Getty ImagesDidi added: “Afterwards she gave me the biggest hug and thanked me. And that’s how our friendship began.” Olivia passed away in 2022 following a lengthy breast cancer battle, though Didi remained friends with her until the last.
© Instagram/ @lauragellerbeautyAfter her breakout role in Grease, Didi went on to star in shows like The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, Benson and Shining Time Station. Her co-star, Dinah Manoff, did not slow down after acting in the movie musical, and even won a Tony Award in 1980 for her performance in I Ought to Be in Pictures.
Dinah later acted in Ordinary People, Child’s Play and Empty Nest, and even became an author, writing The Real True Hollywood Story of Jackie Gold in 2021.
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