Frenchy was played by Didi Conn, who was 26 while filming during the summer of 1977. Conn had appeared in multiple TV shows and movies before hitting it big with "Grease."
Most of the lead stars were in their 20s and 30s while filming Grease with Travolta aged 23 and Newton-John aged 29, despite playing teenagers. However, casting director Joel Thurm has at long last explained why older actors were used, stressing that it was totally intentional.
The classic 1978 movie stars John Travolta as T-Birds leader Danny Zuko, and the late Olivia Newton-John as Australian student, Sandy Olsson. At the time of filming, the former was 23 while the latter actually turned 29 on-set. The pair were therefore playing characters much younger than their actual ages.
Kelly Ward brought the youngest member of the T-Birds, Putzie, to life in a role specifically created for the film. Grease wasn't his first time working with costar John Travolta, as the two worked together on 1976's made-for-television movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble.
Some Rydell High School students were in their 30s
Annette Charles, who played bad girl Cha Cha DiGregorio, was 30. Only Lorenzo Lamas, who played Sandy's jock boyfriend Tom, and who had no lines, was an actual teenager.
Grease (1978) Cast THEN AND NOW 2023, All cast died tragically!
Who was the oldest while filming Grease?
The late Olivia Newton-John, who costarred as Sandy, was 29 at the time Grease was filmed; Stockard Channing, who played Rizzo, was the principal cast's oldest member at 33 during filming, according to a 2016 Vanity Fair article about the production.
Following her Grease days, Channing really hit her stride in the world of TV, playing the Emmy-winning role of First Lady Abbey Bartlet on The West Wing for seven years. She's also a frequent player on the Broadway stage, appearing in shows like It's Only a Play and Other Desert Cities.
With only a few television roles and small film appearances, Michelle Pfeiffer, then aged 23, was a relatively unknown actress when she attended the casting call audition for the role of Stephanie. Other actresses considered for the part included Lisa Hartman, Kristy McNichol, Andrea McArdle, and singer Pat Benatar.
The Grease co-stars were still very close up until Olivia's death in August 2022, and even famously reunited in LA in 2002 to sing their classic hit 'You're The One That I Want'. John Travolta was a huge support to Olivia Newton-John as she underwent treatment for breast cancer.
Grease was shot in various locations across the Los Angeles area, from the lively South Bay to the charming Silverlake neighborhood. Much of the production was filmed on-site, including exterior shots of Rydell High, taken at Venice High School, Huntington Park High School, and John Marshall High School.
The film is also notable for having Danny (played by John Travolta, who had already had top-40 hits before Grease) sing lead on the song, while Kenickie (Jeff Conaway) contributed with a few call-and-response lines.
Another Grease actor has died. Annette Charles, who played Cha Cha Digregorio in the 1978 movie musical, lost her battle with cancer at age 63 on Wednesday, Access Hollywood reports.
Grease's casting director Joel Thurm, who would been pivotal to assembling the final cast, has finally answered the question. According to him, using older actors was a completely intentional choice on the creative team's part.
Is Rydell High School a real school? Not only is Rydell High School fictitious, but the school scenes in Grease were also actually filmed in three different places—Venice High School, Huntington Park High School and John Marshall High School. Of the three schools, Venice High was used for its aesthetics.
Sandy is bashed by Rizzo and the other women for her lack of sexual experience. Rizzo is judged by the women and men in the movie for her promiscuity. They highlight her problematic expression of her sexuality by Danny Zuko saying, “Sloppy seconds ain't my style”.
Did Stockard Channing do her own singing in Grease?
Stockard Channing sings lead on two of the tracks; the two tracks remain her only significant contribution to recorded popular music to date. The title track is featured twice on the soundtrack and performed by Frankie Valli, who had no other connection with the film.
Casting Sandy would prove trickier. Director Randal Kleiser saw rushes from a new film his old college buddy George Lucas was making, titled Star Wars, to see if its female lead, Carrie Fisher, could be a fit. She wasn't. Marie Osmond (left) and Carrie Fisher (right) were both considered for Olivia Newton-John's Sandy.
Grease could've had very different cast members. According to Vanity Fair, Henry Winkler of Happy Days fame was offered the lead role of Danny Zuko and Travolta only stepped in after Winkler turned down the opportunity.
Named after the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as greasers, the musical is set in 1959 at the fictional Rydell High School in Northwest Chicago. This fictional high school was based on Taft High School in Chicago, Illinois, and named after rock singer Bobby Rydell.
Stewart was diagnosed with HIV in 1993 and died from pneumonia as a result of complications from AIDS in 1994. Stewart was buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park Whittier, Los Angeles County, California, USA along with his mother Evelyn M. Stewart.
Vi is the head waitress at the Frosty Palace. She is portrayed by the late Joan Blondell, and by Didi Conn in "Grease Live" (AKA The original performer of Frenchy). Along with her fellow waitresses, she enjoys serving the T-Birds and Pink Ladies, along with the rest of the students at Rydell.
