Friday, September 13, 2019

Welcome Back, Karen!



To celebrate Karen's return from Greece:



29 Fascinating Facts About "Grease" (1978)




1. The 1978 film was based on the 1972 Broadway musical of the same name, which originally ran for 3,388 performances and has since been revived twice on Broadway and a live TV version on Fox. 
2. Several changes were made for the big-screen adaptation—the "Burger Palace Boys," as the greasers were called in the Broadway show, were changed to the much catchier "T-Birds" in the movie.


3. Originally, producers had the idea to make Grease an animated movie—they settled on a live-action film with animated opening credits instead.
4. Four Grease film stars also appeared in the Broadway production: John Travolta (Doody on Broadway and Danny in the movie), Jeff Conaway (Danny on Broadway and Kenickie in the movie), Barry Pearl (Sonny on Broadway and Doody in the movie) and Jamie Donnelly (Jan on Broadway and in the movie).
5. The majority of the cast hadn’t seen the inside of a high school in quite a while: John Travolta was 23 at the time of filming, Olivia Newton-John was 28 and Stockard Channing was 33.

6. Henry Winkler was considered for the part of Danny but he turned it down because he didn’t want to be typecast after starring on Happy Days.
7. Linda Ronstadt, Marie Osmond, Susan Dey and Deborah Raffin were all considered for the role of Sandy. Marie Osmond said the script she turned down was much raunchier than what was filmed. When Olivia was cast, the character was changed from Sandra Dumbrowski to Sandy Olsen to accommodate the singer's Australian accent. 



8. John Travolta was initially star struck by Olivia Newton-John—he went to her house to convince her to co-star in the movie and was very impressed that she had a pool.



9. Elvis Presley was originally offered the role of Teen Angel, but he turned it down. It was played by Frankie Avalon in the movie.
10. Another Elvis connection: In the stage version, “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee” had a reference to Sal Mineo, but he was murdered in 1976, so the reference was changed to Elvis for the film. Elvis died on August 16, 1977, the same day the scene was filmed.



11. Dinah Manoff, who played Marty, couldn’t dance, so she was conveniently missing from most of the dance scenes.


12. Lucie Arnaz was the studio’s original choice for Rizzo. Reportedly when Allan Carr told Lucille Ball he wanted Lucie to do a screen test, she refused.
13. Gerald Ford’s son Steven was initially cast as Sandy’s jock boyfriend Tom, but even though the part had no lines, he decided he was too nervous. The role went to Lorenzo Lamas instead. Steven went on to star in the Young and the Restless as well as many movies. 
14. During the movie’s shoot, the cast reportedly chewed 100,000 pieces of bubble gum.


15. The hickeys on Rizzo’s neck in the diner scene were authentic, given to Stockard Channing by Jeff Conaway, who played Kenickie. Talk about method acting!
16. The song “Greased Lighting” was originally supposed to be sung by Jeff Conaway, but John Travolta convinced producers to let him sing it instead.


17. John Travolta was disappointed when the last shot of the song “Sandy” ended with a cartoon hot dog jumping into a bun. “He wanted a close-up [on him],” director Randall Kleiser told The New York Post. “But that hot dog was fantastic. I didn’t want to shoot the close-up because I loved the hot dog. That was a battle, but I won.”


18. Although he was taller than John Travolta, Jeff Conaway slouched when he was filmed with the star so he would appear taller.
19. Most of the dancers had character names like Sauce, Trix, Cee Cee, Woppo and Bubba, even though they were never used in the movie.
20. It was 116 degrees during the filming of the Rydell prom scene, which took two weeks to film in a downtown Los Angeles gymnasium. Several extras were treated for heat-related illnesses.
21. The late Annette Charles (Cha Cha), who had been in the hospital undergoing tests for pain, checked herself out to film the drag race scene. That night, she was rushed into surgery for an ectopic pregnancy.


22. The producers had hoped for a product placement deal with Coke, but it fell through. There are several shots of Coca-Cola products and signs in the scenes taking place in the Frosty Palace that had to be blurred out or digitally removed.


23. After the success of the movie, Paramount had plans for a Grease franchise, featuring three more movies and a TV series. But when Grease 2 flopped in 1982, these plans were put on hold.
24. Randall Kleiser originally wanted to direct the song “It’s Raining on Prom Night” as a Singin’ in the Rain-esque sequence with Sandy, but that was vetoed in favor of a new ballad, “Hopelessly Devoted to You.”
25. The actors behaved almost like real high-school students on set. "We were so bad," Susan Buckner, who played Patty Simcox, told People. "Almost everybody would come in two, three hours late. They had to bring us all in and give us a lecture."
26. Jamie Donnelly had prematurely grey hair, so she had to dye it black to play Jan.
27. Jeff Conway (Kenickie), later married Rona Newton-John, Olivia’s sister. They both passed away; Jeff in 2011 and Rona in 2013. 
28. Grease only cost $6 million to make, but has taken in $400 million internationally to date, making it the highest-grossing movie musical of all time.

29. According to her autobiography, Adrienne Barbeau, the original Rizzo from the Broadway show, didn’t audition for the movie because, at 32, she assumed she was too old to play a high school senior. When 33-year-old Stockard Channing was cast, Adrienne was so disappointed, she couldn’t bring herself to see the movie for decades. She did hear the soundtrack, however, and stated that she didn’t like the jazzy arrangement for “There Are Worse Things I Could Do,” preferring the simpler version from the play. We were lucky to get her on GH in 2010! 


This is the blog for Friday. Please feel free to comment on the show and anything else.

PS. This is it for me for awhile. The queen arrives at midnight.
(Sounds like some secret code phrase, doesn't it?)
I am sure she will have something cooked up for Sunday Surgery.
Thanks as always for welcoming me into your backyard!

39 comments:

  1. And here I thought I knew everything about Grease! I was in high school when it came out. Saw it 3 times in the theater, bought the sound track, knew every word to every song (still do!) and was thrilled that Barry Gibb wrote the opening song. I was also a huge Bee Gee fan, lol! I remember critics snarking about Stockard being too old, but I really can't imagine any one else in the part. I thought she was great!

    Thanks for this week's blogging and comments DelcoDave. You and Sonya are the best!

    Happy Friday the 13th to everyone! :)

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  2. One of my faves! I was 8 when it came out, and we saw it at the drive in.
    I have to say though because I absolutely loved and crushed on Maxwell Caufield I liked Grease 2 better.

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  3. Thanks for the info on GREASE! Very interesting and brings back memories!

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  4. I love that moviews too. Went to see it in the theatre at age 12 with a friend of mine who died in a car accident a year after high school. I know all the songs

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  5. they announced they are trying to write a prequel called "summer nights" about the summer before the grease movie when danny and sandy met on the beach. this was announced this past april, so it is kinda recent and seems legit (go ahead and google search...). i pick nick jonas as Danny. just my 2 cents on that one. i would never, ever want a remake/reboot of this movie. a prequel about the summer might work in some fashion.

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    1. So you know I had to!! Lol! Read some of the commentary articles. Sounds like it could actually work if done right. I guess we shall see! Thank you for all you did this wk Dave! And of course you too Sonya! We have a great blog team here!

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    2. "gracegirl says, Thank you for all you did this wk Dave! And of course you too Sonya! We have a great blog team here!"

      Thank you!!! :) Dave you did an awesome job!!!! :)

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  6. I don't like remakes of classic movies. Won't watch them. Who ever thought of remaking Mary Poppins. Sorry, won't watch

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  7. Testing testing is this working? It keeps telling me that my HTML cannot be accepted. Must be at most 4,096 characters.

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    1. i know nothing about the technical aspect. I just know how to make things look pretty.

      can you post in separate posts? maybe break it up into 2 or 3?

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    2. "delcodave says, i know nothing about the technical aspect. I just know how to make things look pretty."

      Make things look pretty! ROFL!

      "can you post in separate posts? maybe break it up into 2 or 3?"

      It worked! Thank you!!! :)

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  8. WELCOME BACK KAREN!!! :) Oh I love the movie Greece!!! Greece 2, not so much.. I did love the songs though.

    Charlie's pub and restaurant: Brucas comes in with Jonah to see Julian.

    Brad and Julian: Brad brings up killing Dr. O again! Julian doesn't want to. He has a life and he is leaving to NY. Brad says that nobody is going to find out you killed her. *Facepalm*

    Brucas: Oh oh. Lucas has a very bad feeling that something is going to happen with their son and he doesn't want to lose him. Brad is all calm he won't let that happen. Oh Brad this is NOT going to end well!

    Lulu, Lucas and Jonah: They are having a sweet little visit!! :)

    Lulu and Dustin: Mmmm. They are having a little bit of eye sex, and he said he has been thinking about her all day!!! :) He said it's because of the article he read this morning about the wine tasting. He really liked it, and she says she is mortified by it! Oh and the person who is breaking into houses is still doing it!! Lulu brings up the haunted star, and Dustin wants to go see it!! :) She is going to give him a tour. Hmm a 3 hour tour? Can the Tribbles come too? :)

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  9. Inside Central Perk:

    Curtis and Laura: They are talking about Helena again and that thing he is looking for. She really wants to know who hired him, but he can't tell her anything!!! They make a deal!

    Laura: For each day I help you, you have to give me another detail.

    Curtis: Done.

    I like their deal!!! :)  They can't go to Wyndemere until another week when ValeNina won't be there because they are getting married. Laura has an idea before next week, they can go to the haunted star.

    Kelly's:

    Maxie, Jax, and Tamron Hall: Tamron Hall is a person who has her own talk show. They just advertised it during the commercial while GH was on. Hmm she is pretty and I like her dress. They want her on the cover of Crimson!!! Maxie just talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks without breathing. Jax ends up talking to Tamron alone, and well, she is going to be on the cover. :) Tamron just LOVES Maxie.. :)  

    Wyndemere:

    V.C. and Hiney: A tailor: A tailor is helping Hiney with a fitting, since he is going to be the best man at Valenina's wedding!! V.C. has a feeling that Hiney has a secret! He talks about the guilt, and to just to let it go and don't let it get in the way of your future!!!!

    The haunted star:

    Lulu and Dustin: She is giving him a tour!! Someone is following them!!!! Hmmm Olivia? Lulu tells him that Rocco and Charlotte really like him. He says he wants to go out on the boat!!!! :) He talked about his dad and him going fishing when he was a kid, and this story of a dead captain. OH BOY! THEY KISS!!!! He apologizes and walks away from her and she says shut up and they kiss again!!!! SOMEONE IS WATCHING THEM! She doesn't want to stop!!!!!

    Curtis and Laura: Meanwhile Curtis and Laura show up and Lulu and Dustin are nowhere to be seen!!!!! Curtis and Laura go to one of the state rooms and when Curtis opens the door, she gasps!!! OH OH! She saw Lulu and Dustin have sex I bet!!!

    The hospital:

    Nina, Sasha, Michael, and Dr.O, with a side of Lucy: Dr. O is a mess! ROFL! They all think it's a hangover! She doesn't have a hangover!!! She only had 1 drink, that Julian gave her to make her go night night! Oh hi Lucy!!! Dr. O wins the line of the day.

    Dr. O: Oh please God.

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! And the looks Dr. O gave Lucy are priceless! ROFL! Lucy wants to revive deception, and make Sasha the model and ambassador. Nina is shocked. She did not know this! Sasha isn't ready to do that, she has to get better first, she isn't saying no.

    Dr. O and Sasha: Yeah Dr. O doesn't think it's a good idea to be a model. With all that attention, people are going to find out who Sasha is!! Well she does have a point.

    Michael and Sasha: Michael knows something is going on, but if Sasha doesn't want to tell him, that's okay, he just doesn't want her to make anything up! Sasha wants to spill the beans!!! He really doesn't want to hear it, since he has a bad feeling it's gonna be bad!!

    Alexis's office: Whoa! It was 2:17 when they showed Alexis!!! I was surprised seeing her, since they didn't show her in the beginning of the show.

    Julexis: They are saying goodbye and talking about the past. Very nice scene.

    Previews: Yup Lulu and Dustin had sex and Laura saw them hahahhaha. Laura is in shock. Yup Sasha tells Michael she is not Nina's daughter.

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    1. You're welcome, and thank you!! :)

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    3. When Dr.O dragged Sasha to the other side of the hospital to talk to her about modeling she said to Dr.O "ouch! What are you lifting weights or something?" Lol!

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    4. Oh and one more thing,who do you think was on the boat watching LuLu & Dustin? Any guesses? Curiouser & curiouser! ��

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    5. Ok sooooo I have a guess who Curtis and Laura walk in on, I bet it's Lulu and DUSTIN!! Probably getting frisky? Haha!!

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    6. "gracegirl says,When Dr.O dragged Sasha to the other side of the hospital to talk to her about modeling she said to Dr.O "ouch! What are you lifting weights or something?" Lol!"

      Yeah that was really funny too!! ROFL! Dr. O won that line too. :)

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    7. "Shelley D. says It was Cassandra Pierce".

      Oh! You think it was her that was watching Lustin?!! I didn't even think about that. But why would she follow/watch them?

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    8. I really can't take the credit for my guess re Cassandra Pierce on the Haunted Star; it's all over the Internet in GH spoilers(could they be incorrect?).I think Cassandra came to Port Charles & is hiding on the boat; she just happens to see Lulu&Dustin.It's the other two people that she really has?her eye on.

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    9. Oooh Cassandra! Ok,and that makes sense hiding out on the boat. She has some issues with a whole boat load of people in PC including,of course, Laura & Curtis. Actually, the Haunted Star is a great place to hide out. I thought it was a little too soon for Lustin sex (love the name!)too but alas this is a soap and it really has been lacking any loving it the afternoon! Lol! I'd rather them than freakin Drewco & Kim!! I hear that's coming down the pike and will have to respectfully pass on that scenario! And If we have to choose between the man who held a knife to her throat or her former therapist for Alexis I'm for the therapist. I'd actually like to see a new love intrest for her. But the cast is very bloated as it is. I do enjoy Dr.O and you're right Sonya she did take the line of the day, so I hope Julian will leave her alone. Can't wait to see Laura's reaction to Sasha's real identity AND Laura's reaction to Lustin sex!! Have a blessed day!

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    10. *of course I meant Michaels reaction to Sasha! I guess I should preview my posts better!! LOL!!

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    11. "Gracegirl says, I'd rather them than freakin Drewco & Kim!! I hear that's coming down the pike and will have to respectfully pass on that scenario!"

      Yeah I heard that is coming. YUCK!!!! He is not in his right mind!!!!!! GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Sick!!

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  10. Well, wasn't ready for Lustin sex, I thought they would drag it out for much longer. Since they gave in and had sex MUCH sooner than other characters do, I think that the name I gave them should be the one you all use!!

    It looked like Alexis and Julian were going to kiss, she was crying, they still have feelings for each other. I still hope they can get back together, as Alexis should NOT be dating her former therapist, and Kim, well, she now is fixated on someone else . . .

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    1. Haha Lustin....I like it! Good for Lulu!
      I like Neil and Alexis together, oh well....maybe they can be friends. Not sure I can accept Jules back Alexis, a man who held a knife to her throat.
      Don't even get me started on Kim and "Drew"....just no. Infidelity...I will never accept Franco as Drew.

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    2. "AntJoan Well, wasn't ready for Lustin sex, I thought they would drag it out for much longer. Since they gave in and had sex MUCH sooner than other characters do,"

      Nah not fast at all. I mean compared to ValeNina who had sex the first day they met, yeah not fast at all. :)

      "I think that the name I gave them should be the one you all use!!"

      Yeah I have called them that awhile ago. :) Love it.

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  11. It's about time Deception made a comeback. I really wish this had happened back in 2011. I would have had Lucy rebuilding Deception with Brenda vs. Kate Howard taking over Jax Cosmetics with Skye. That would have been some good viewing.

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    1. Ohhhhhh! Yes!!! That would have been VERY good viewing! :)

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  12. Sonya and Dave: Thanks for the updates and fun facts this week. Much appreciated.
    Just watched yesterday's show. Maybe Lulu will make Dustin the captain of the Haunted Star. They should bring it back to use regularly.
    Nice scene with Alexis and Julian. We need more straight up soapie stuff like that and less network promo crap. Waste of time.

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  13. "zazu says, Sonya and Dave: Thanks for the updates"

    You're welcome!!! :)

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  14. HELLO!! Great POST!! LOVE it so much. I remember going to the movie in High School. It was so popular it stayed for THREE WEEKS ...huge for our home town

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  15. Wow! Totally fascinating, thank you Dave!! xoxo

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