Hey my friends, Happy Weekend to you all. Did you know that today is the fortieth anniversary of the release of the Paramount Pictures film “Grease”? Well it is so let’s don our leather jackets and head on down to the malt shop and remember its magic with the T-Birds and The Pink Ladies.
The Basic Plot: Good girl Sandy and greaser Danny fell in love over the summer. When they unexpectedly discover they’re now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance?
The Cast: (Main and Ensemble)
John Travolta as Danny Zuko
Olivia Newton-John as Sandy Olsson
Stockard Channing as Betty Rizzo
Jeff Conaway as Kenickie
Barry Pearl as Doody
Michael Tucci as Sonny LaTierri
Kelly Ward as Putzie
Didi Conn as Frenchy
Jamie Donnelly as Jan
Dinah Manoff as Marty Maraschino
Eve Arden as Principal McGee
Dody Goodman as Secretary Blanche Hodel
Sid Caesar as Coach Vince Calhoun
Eddie Deezen as Eugene Felsnick
Susan Buckner as Patty Simcox
Lorenzo Lamas as Tom Chisum
Dennis C. Stewart as Leo “Craterface” Balmudo
Annette Charles as Charlene “Cha-Cha” DiGregorio
Joan Blondell as Vi, a waitress
Ellen Travolta as Waitress
Frankie Avalon as Teen Angel
Edd Byrnes as Vince Fontaine
Sha-Na-Na as Johnny Casino and the Gamblers
Alice Ghostley as Mrs. Murdock
Darrell Zwerling as Mr. Lynch
Molly Brady (uncredited) as unnamed baby
Dick Patterson as Mr. Rudie
Fannie Flagg as Nurse Wilkins
Michael Biehn (uncredited) as Mike
Piercing Ken Thoughts: So the interesting thing was that I DID NOT see “Grease” in the movie theater when it was released because at that time I was all about the Science Fiction and Monster Movie stuff. Remember that the “Star Wars” franchise was keeping a lot of people’s geek interests alive at the time and musically speaking I had only a year or so by then discovered a band called KISS. Film adaptations of a Broadway hit were not on my list of things to do and besides that, my parents had taken me to the Original Broadway production a few years earlier. I loved it and thus began my interest in seeing shows on the stage when it was possible to do so. Of course back then I was really banking on my parents taking me and now its when the financial means allow since its gotten quite pricey. When I finally did see the film “Grease” I loved it. I had an intimate knowledge of the soundtrack from not only seeing the original on Broadway but from my group of friends at summer camp who had brought the album in and would play it all of the time. ALL of the time…… I do love the soundtrack though so looking back on this memory find it bringing a smile. What about you? Did you happen to enjoy this film way back in the day or did you discover it and appreciate it much later in life? Chime in down below in the comments section as I’d love to hear from you on this one. Below you can find the film on Blu-ray and CD and I’ve even embedded the live presentation that aired a couple of years ago on television. It was very well done and is a recommendation. Now its time to jump into Greased Lightnin’ and head to a convention for the day.
Official Film Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grease_(film)