John Travolta Gets Emotional While Remembering Olivia Newton-John at the Oscars
John Travolra paid homage to his longtime friend and Grease costar Olivia Newton-John at the Oscars tonight.
The actor took the stage at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles to introduce the in memoriam presentation of industry talent who died in the past year.
Though he did not name Newton-John, he spoke about making friends in the industry, saying that while doing what they love to do as actors on set, they often also get to meet people they love. He added that sadly, over the years, those people pass away, leaving an empty space in their loved ones' hearts.
With tears in his eyes, he asked the crowd to remember "those dear friends who we will always remain hopelessly devoted to," quoting Newton-John's iconic song "Hopelessly Devoted To You" from Grease. In the cult-classic film, Newton-John, who played Sandy Olsson, sings the track while thinking about her passionate love for Travolta, who played Danny Zuko.
After Travolta's emotional speech, Lenny Kravitz performed his song "Calling All Angels" while the slideshow showing black-and-white photos of Hollywood creators who've recently died played on the stage screen.
Newton-John died on August 8, 2022 following a 30-year battle with breast cancer. Following her passing, Travolta shared an emotional Instagram post dedicated to his on-screen love interest and close friend.
"My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better. Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever! Your Danny, your John!" he wrote on alongside an old photo of the beloved actress.
He again remembered the Newton-John that September 26, on what would have been her 74th birthday, by sharing a throwback photo on his Instagram Story of them wearing their iconic skintight all-black looks on the set of Grease. "Happy birthday my Olivia," he wrote over the image.
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