NEED TO KNOW
Didi Conn is a magic maker.
The 73-year-old actress opened up to PEOPLE about the June 27 Grease sing-along at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Her Grease costar John Travolta made waves when he arrived at the event dressed as his character Danny Zuko, but Conn, who played Pink Lady Frenchy Facciano, told PEOPLE that it took some serious maneuvering on her part, and that it was all to honor the memory of Olivia Newton-John.
“I was the host,” she explained, noting this was the fourth or fifth time she’s led the event. “I invited the T-Birds to be a part of it.”
“What’s so great about the sing-along, first of all, that it’s in the Hollywood Bowl, which is an amazing venue. To see that movie outdoors in that humongous screen for 18,000 people. everybody’s dressed up,” she said.
Paramount/Getty
As for Travolta’s appearance, Conn remembered that the last time she ran into Travolta, 71, he asked her, “Why don’t you ever invite me?”
“I said, ‘I always invite you,’ ” Conn said. “And I said, ‘Next time I promise, I’ll make sure.’ ”
Two months before the sing-along, she reached out with the invite, but heard nothing until four hours before the event. “I get a text from [his assistant] saying, ‘Guess who is coming and tell me the schedule of the event,’ ” she said.
The event started at 8 p.m. as they waited for the sun to set enough for the screening. Conn was joined on stage by three T-Birds from the movie: Barry Pearl who played Doody, Michael Tucci who played Sonny and Kelly Ward who played Putzie. Then she was joined by Randal Kleiser, the director of Grease.
David Becker/WireImage
Conn and Kleiser, 78, then told the crowd that the night’s screening was dedicated to Newton-John, who starred in the movie as Sandy and died in 2022. And then they told the audience they had a “special guest here in her honor.”
“And who walks out but Danny Zuko,” Conn shared. “We didn’t know he was coming dressed up with the black leather jacket and the strut. And oh my God, that was a surprise to me.” Only Conn, Kleiser and the head of the Hollywood Bowl knew Travolta was going to be there.
“Let me tell you something,” Conn added. “When 18,000 people stand up and scream, it is unreal. When I looked out and saw all those people there coming to have fun, and they’re all dressed up. There’s Pink Ladies, there’s T-Birds, there’s jocks, there’s nerds. It’s amazing that this film is a phenomenon. It’s just a phenomenon.” The movie, released in 1978, celebrated its 47th anniversary this June.
“It was perfect,” Conn said of the event. “What is better than a tribute to Olivia and [Sandy’s] boyfriend comes out to be there? It was so wonderful. Really wonderful.” Conn also relished the chance to hang out with Travolta and his daughter Ella, 25, backstage, too. Conn found it “touching” that Travolta would come to honor Newton-John, whom she remained close friends with throughout the decades after Grease wrapped.
Mike Coppola/Getty
Conn feels “blessed” that she got to be part of Grease — she also appeared in the sequel 1982’s Grease 2 and in a cameo in Fox’s 2016 Grease Live! — and that fans still love it to this day.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“Boy, how lucky was I? That was just a wonderful experience. We all had fun, but who knew?” she said. “And to have two days of my own little studio to do ‘Beauty School Drop Out’ with sexy Frankie Avalon coming with me. Honestly, my heart is so open.”
On stage at the sing-along, she just felt “gratitude,” she added.
“I really couldn’t speak at first,” she said. “I got so choked up. But I can just say that it’s a blessing, really.”
