JOHN TRAVOLTA SURPRISES GREASE FANS BY REPRISING DANNY ZUKO ROLE

Grease star John Travolta shocked fans by strolling out dressed as Danny Zuko at a sing-a-long event for the hit 1978 film in Los Angeles.

The 71-year-old actor starred as the charismatic T-Bird opposite Olivia Newton-John as angelic Sandy Olson in the hit musical.

It followed the two high school students as they fell in love on holiday and struggled to make the romance work after they returned to their hometown cliques and the judgement of their peers.

Almost 50 years after the film first premiered on the big screen, Travolta shared a photo of himself dressed as Zuko in a leather jacket and tousled wig to Instagram.

“Tonight at the Hollywood Bowl, for the first time I surprised everyone at the Grease Sing-A-Long and dressed up as Danny Zuko.

“No one knew. Not even the cast. Thank you for a great evening,” he wrote, alongside footage of him walking onto the stage to a standing ovation from the crowd.

Grease director Kleisler and cast members Barry Pearl (Doody), Didi Conn (Frenchy), Kelly Ward (Putzie) and Michael Tucci (Sonny LaTierri ) all expressed surprise as Travolta took to the stage.

Travolta then led the audience in a collective chant of the T-Bird’s call and response chant “wop-bop-a-loo-bop” that features throughout the film, before shouting, “Enjoy the show, we love you!”

Travolta’s solo appearance comes after Newton-John’s death from breast cancer in 2022, aged 73. Prior to her passing, Newton-John donned her Sandy costume for a “Meet n’ Grease” sing-along event in Florida in 2019 alongside Travolta; It was the first time she’d re-created the character since the film was released in 1978.

One month prior, Newton-John had auctioned off the famous leather jacket she wore during the Grease finale to raise funds for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre.

It was purchased for $243,200 (£185,000), but was returned to the star by the anonymous buyer to put on permanent display at the institute.

Newton-John died on 8 August 2022. Travolta wrote in a statement: “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!”

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2025-06-29T09:33:57Z