Olivia Newton-John is in Ireland today to open a special exhibit of her costumes and memorabilia before the items go up for auction in Beverly Hills.
So for fans of the pop culture extravaganza of 1978 that became the most successful movie musical of all time, Grease is definitely the word…
Are they the ones that you want?
Everyone will want to see the iconic black skin-tight trousers and biker jacket from the "You’re the One That I Want” scene, where Olivia’s character transforms into “Siren Sandy” to woo John Travolta’s Danny Rizzo.
Olivia had to be sewn into the trousers?
Yes, the star, who was 29 and superslim when she played 17-year-old Sandy Olsson, still had to be carefully stitched into the 1950s vintage trousers.
She said: “I limited myself to a few sips of water and no food. At lunch, they actually had to unstitch me to eat and then re-stitch me after a bathroom trip.”
The trousers made crew members drop their lunch?
Apparently. In her new memoir, “Don’t Stop Believin”, she said: “All the men on the crew began to do double and triple takes as they turned around to stare at me with jaws that headed south. I think a sandwich or two hit the floor.”
How much are they likely to sell for?
The jacket and trousers could go for around $200,000 alone.
What else is on show?
Other Grease-related items include her original script and while Sandy herself never sported one of the movie’s monogrammed Pink Ladies jackets, Olivia is auctioning off one later presented to her by the cast and crew.
Olivia isn’t ‘hopelessly devoted’ to her belongings?
Now 70, the Cambridge-born star, who emigrated to Melbourne, Australia, when she was six, feels the time is right to let them go.
“It won't be a wrench to part with them because they were never really mine. They were Sandy’s,” she said.
How is she doing now?
Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, she was given the all-clear after chemotherapy and a mastectomy, but in 2013, she found out it was in her shoulder and it then in 2017, it was found in her lower back.
Last week, she revealed her positive outlook: “I’m living with cancer and it’s going away. I’m grateful for every day and life is wonderful.”
She has her own “wellness centre?"
Olivia has been a staunch advocate for health awareness, which inspired her to help create the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre in Melbourne.
A portion of the auction proceeds will go towards the cutting edge facility.
From County Kildare to…California?
Quite a leap on the face of it, but the venue for the pre-auction exhibit is Newbridge Silverware’s Museum of Style Icons in County Kildare. The museum came into being when the CEO of Newbridge snapped up Audrey Hepburn's iconic black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany's at auction. When Martin Nolan, the Irish executive director of Beverly Hills-based Julien's celebrity auction house heard about this, he suggested working together with the venue in his homeland.
So when is the auction?
Olivia will officially open the exhibit today, which runs to August 18, before the items go on show at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills from October 28, with the auction held live and online on November 1 and 2.
She said: “Selling them is a joyful thing. And I think as you get older, you want to simplify things. You have so much stuff and that's not what's important in life. Memories are enough.”
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