'Grease' Could Have Starred The Fonz, Carrie Fisher, and Elvis
Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in ‘Grease’ (Image: Paramount)
In retrospect, The roles of Danny and Sandy in Grease, that 1978 movie-musical classic, seem tailor-made for John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. The truth is, nothing about Grease was a sure thing — least of all its leading man and lady, one of whom had barely done any acting, the other still considered a B-list TV actor (though Saturday Night Fever, released after Grease was shot, would change that forever). A fascinating Vanity Fair story on the making of Grease reveals some early casting choices, from Carrie Fisher to Elvis Presley, that are bound to make any Pink Ladies or T-Birds fan let out a Travolta-style “wow!”
For the role of Danny, the tough-talking greaser played by Travolta, producers first approached Henry Winkler, who was then playing Fonzie on the hit TV comedy Happy Days. Winkler passed, fearing that he’d be typecast as ‘50s bad-boys forever (though as it turned out, he would play The Fonz well into the 1980s). Travolta, whose previous film credit was the TV movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, was cast because one of the producers had a three-picture deal with him.
In terms of casting the wide-eyed transfer student Sandy, director Randal Kleiser first looked at early Star Wars footage to see if Carrie Fisher might be a fit, but said he couldn’t get a good read on her acting ability, and wasn’t sure that she could sing. (Her performance of the “Life Day Song” in the Star Wars Holiday Special was still far, far away.) After considering a few other actresses, including Partridge Family star Susan Dey, he offered the role to Marie Osmond… who dropped out when she realized that Sandy’s big arc was a transformation from goody-two-shoes to naughty rebel. Eccentric producer Allan Carr pushed for Newton-John, and it was Travolta who ultimately got her on board. “I didn’t think there could be any more correct person for Sandy in the universe,” Travolta told Vanity Fair, comparing her casting to “putting Taylor Swift in that role today.”
Most of the minor roles in Grease were also disputed. The part of the “Teen Angel” who sings “Beauty School Dropout,” played in the film by Frankie Avalon, is rumored to have been offered to Elvis Presley. (Presley would die while Grease was in production in 1977.) Lucie Arnaz, daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, was considered for Rizzo, the Pink Lady played by Stockard Channing. Tom, the football player Sandy dates, was supposed to be played by President Gerald Ford’s son Steven Ford, but according to the director, “right after the dance rehearsals, he vanished.” (The role went to Lorenzo Lamas, then 19 years old.) And Sid Caesar’s character Coach Calhoun was originally supposed to be played by Deep Throat star Harry Reems — until the studio objected to a porn star appearing in their teen comedy.
More fun pieces of trivia from the Vanity Fair article:
— In the film’s initial treatment, the cars-and-sex anthem “Greased Lightnin'” was supposed to be sung by The Beach Boys.
— Olivia Newton-John’s pants were so tight in Sandy’s final scene, she had to be sewn into them.
— The initial film rights to the Broadway play Grease were sold to Ralph Bakshi, animator and director of the X-rated Fritz the Cat, which raises the possibility that Grease might have been an animated film.
— Sandy’s scenes were shot in soft focus because Newton-John was worried that, at 29, she looked much older than Travolta, 23. The oldest “teenager” cast was Stockard Channing, 33, and the producer initially tried to make her look more youthful by painting on freckles.
— Kleiser’s foot became infected from the water of the Los Angeles River during the drag-racing scene, and Travolta attempted to heal him with a Scientology technique known as a “touch assist.”
— Producer Carr wanted to make a Grease sequel called Summer School, about the wedding of Rizzo and Kenickie.
