7 Fun Facts About the 1978 Summer Blockbuster Musical ‘Grease’
Grease was released on June 16, 1978, and was directed by Randal Kleiser, who happened to be a roommate of George Lucas. The film starred the era’s most bankable leading man (John Travolta), while its leading lady (Olivia Newton-John)was an Aussie and a freshman to film who didn’t want to mess up her singing career with another movie bomb (her debut film was in 1970s Toomorrow). Critics hated the film. The Today show’s Gene Shalit called the movie “visual junk food.” Hardly, as moviegoers showed up in droves, and the film brought in nearly $9 million in its opening weekend and spent five weeks atop the box office. The film ended up making more money internationally ($206 million) than it did domestically ($160 million). it also starred Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway, Didi Conn and Frankie Avalon
While Travolta plays greaser Danny Zuko, leader of the T-birds and romance king of Rydell High. When his Aussie summer fling — the dainty Sandy (Newton-John) — becomes the newest student at the school he rules, Danny is thrown for a loop. The sun-drenched romance is also forever remembered for its beloved soundtrack, which was No. 1 on the U.S. charts for 21 weeks. You were born to hand jive, baby.
Did you know these fun facts about Grease?
1 Elvis Presley, Donny Osmond, Marie Osmond, Carrie Fisher, Susan Dey and Henry Winkler (as Danny, but he took a pass fearing being typecast) were all considered for roles in the movie. Elvis was offered the role of Teen Angel.
2 Channing was actually 33 when she played the teenage role of Rizzo, and those “hickeys from Kenickie” (Conaway) were real.
Paramount/Everett Collection
3 Avalon was terrified of heights and almost killed the “Beauty School Dropout” number because he had to descend a three-story staircase without a railing. Kleiser put mattresses along the staircase to help alleviate some of his fears.
4 The song “Greased Lightnin” was originally to be by Kenickie, as in the musical; however, Travolta really wanted the scene and knew he could pull it off, which caused some tension. “I have to be completely honest with you,” Travolta said. “I wanted the number. And because I had clout, I could get the number.”
Paramount Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
5 The National Bandstand scene was filmed over five days at an actual Los Angeles high school gym with no air conditioning.
6 At the time of filming, Travolta was in mourning, having just lost his great love Diana Hyland, who died in his arms after losing her battle with cancer.
7 Since nearly all of the primary cast was well over their high school age, director Kleiser would do what he called the “crow’s-feet test” during auditions. “I would get up close to them and see if they had any crow’s-feet around their eyes, and that would show they were beyond the surreal age that we had determined would work,” he told Vanity Fair. “High school kids could not have crow’s-feet.”
Is Grease one of your favorite Summer Blockbusters? Vote at the link below!
Remind 
Summer Blockbusters
June 2025
'Jaws' made us afraid of the water, 'Star Wars' took us light years away and Marty McFly took us back to 1955. Flashback to these classic Summer Blockbusters.
Buy This Issue