The Cast of Grease: Then and Now

The songs have survived the tests of time, the sequel not so much, but ‘Grease’ was a genuine cultural phenomenon in 1978, making fresh-faced stars of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.

But what of the other T-Birds and Pink Ladies – what became of them? Can they still dance like greased lightning? Is there still a whole lot of shaking going on?

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Let’s slip on our leather jackets, slick back our hair, thrust our pelvises and find out…

John Travolta – Danny

The one-two-punch of ‘Saturday Night Fever’ and ‘Grease’ made Travolta the sexiest man of the late seventies – never underestimate the pull of looking good on the dancefloor. Travolta quickly fell out of favour until ‘Pulp Fiction’ gave him a career resurrection in 1994 – one which lasted approximately until the release of mega-flop Scientology vanity project ‘Battlefield Earth’ in 2000.

His last major release was Oliver Stone’s ‘Savages’ in 2012 and he was mocked for mispronouncing singer Idina Menzel’s name as “Adele Dazeem” at last year’s Oscars. Currently on the slate is a mixed bag of projects: filed under ‘promising’ is Ti West revenge Western ‘In A Valley Of Violence’; filed under ‘WTF’ is a movie based on old German YouTube phenomenon, Gummy Bear.

Olivia Newton-John – Sandy

Dubbed ‘Olivia Neutron Bomb’ for her devastating good looks, the Australian ‘Grease’ star – who taught young girls that the way to get your man was to dress more slutty – favoured a career in music over movies, with her hit track ‘Physical’ (that music video though) contributing to album sales of over 100 million.

She appeared in ‘Xanadu’ in 1980 and survived breast cancer in 1992 and played a MILF in little-seen wedding comedy ‘A Few Best Men’ in 2011. She recently enjoyed a 45-week residency at the Flamingo hotel and casino in Las Vegas and it’s rumoured she’ll play Principal McGee in a new live TV version of ‘Grease’ – a cruel reminder of the passage of time. She is still the one that we want.

Jeff Conaway – Kenickie

The guy best known as cool dude Kenickie hid a tragic secret – Conaway had serious substance abuse problems. A back injury sustained during the filming of ‘Greased Lightnin” led to an addiction to painkillers, which he later supplemented with an addiction to alcohol and cocaine.

Conaway’s troubles were well documented on two seasons of reality TV show ‘Celebrity Rehab With Dr Drew’, in which he admitted he’d had suicidal thoughts. In 2011, Conaway was sadly found dead aged 60 after accidentally overdosing on pain medication. None of his Grease co-stars attended his funeral, but Corey Feldman, Christopher Lloyd and Ernie Hudson were there representing the 80s.

Stockard Channing – Rizzo

Channing was 34 when she played bad girl teenager Rizzo, meaning when that role gave her a big break, she was wise enough to make smart decisions. She had full creative control over her own self-titled sitcom and worked solidly on stage and on set throughout the 80s and 90s, securing an Oscar nomination for her part in Six Degrees Of Separation alongside a young Will Smith.

She landed a plum role on Aaron Sorkin’s presedential drama The West Wing as First Lady Abbey Bartlett opposite Martin Sheen, winning a Primetime Emmy for her trouble. Most recently, Channing has played a recurring role in TV smash The Good Wife – perhaps ironic, as she’s been married and divorced four times.

Didi Conn – Frenchy

The mousy broad with her smile a mile wide, Conn was one of the only original ‘Grease’ cast members to reprise her role in the camptastic but ultimately forgettable sequel, ‘Grease 2’.

Real name Edith Bernstein, Didi starred with Robert Guillaime in sitcom ‘Benson’, provided the voice for doll Raggedy Ann and made more TV movies than you’d ever think possible (choice highlight: Star Fairies, alongside a very young Drew Barrymore). Her son Daniel was diagnosed with autism so Conn became a spokesperson for Autism Speaks, and she also recorded a video for anti-bullying PSA ‘It Gets Better’.

Barry Pearl – Doody

One of three supporting T-Birds, Doody found it difficult to segue from ‘Grease’ into a serious movie career – perhaps because everyone called him ‘Doody’. But did Barry Pearl curl up into a ball and cry? No Barry Pearl did not: he embraced the Doody. He didn’t step on a film set between 1978 and 2012 (for frat comedy ‘The Newest Pledge’), but he played Professor Tinkerputt in a ‘Barney the Dinosaur’ TV special and played Arnold in a tour of ‘Happy Days’.

Autographed photos are $20 on his official website (plus $5 postage, please allow three weeks for delivery), where you’ll find faintly disturbing pictures of him painted blue for a stage performance of Genie from Disney’s ‘Aladdin’.

Michael Tucci – Sonny

Another fellow T-Bird, Tucci – aged 32 when he attended Rydell High School – didn’t make much of an impression on the medium of cinema (although his role as ‘Man Leaving Restaurant’ in 1982 mountie drama ‘Pandemonium’ was described as ‘totally believable’). He did, however, enjoy a good stint on TV, first as the erstwhile Larry Sanders’ best mate on ‘The Garry Shandling Show’, then as Dick Van Dyke’s buddy in TV’s medical murder mystery ‘Diagnosis: Murder’.

It seemed like Tucci would live out his days playing best friends on screen and teaching acting in California, until he busted out a role as Melissa McCarthy’s father in Paul Feig’s brilliant 2013 Sandra Bullock cop comedy ‘The Heat’.

Kelly Ward – Putzie

Uninterested by a life on camera, the dude they called ‘Putzie’ went on to find success behind the scenes of the entertainment industry. Save for a few appearances on the likes of ‘M*A*S*H’ and ‘Magnum P.I.’, Kelly Ward went on to provide the voices for a few Gobots animations and turned his hand to writing and directing.

To date, he’s written several episodes of Disney shows like ‘Jake And The Never Land Pirates’ and ‘Mickey Mouse Clubhouse’, holding various other technical jobs at the Mouse House. Other projects written by his hand? ‘All Dogs Go To Heaven 2’! ‘The Further Adventures Of Super Ted’! ‘The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley’! Now that is one diverse CV…

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Image credits: REX/Press Association/Paramount/YouTube