Barry Pearl, who played one of the original T-Birds – Doody – in the iconic musical Grease, has shared a heartfelt tribute to his late co-star and friend, Olivia Newton-John.
WATCH: Olivia Newton-John’s incredible life story in pictures.
“She was an authentic,” he said while appearing on The Morning Show. “She was dear and so humble and so lovable that you just couldn’t help but wrap your arms around her.”
Barry went on to recount his time on set with Olivia, revealing that “she came to the project very humble… right down to the fact that she demanded to have a screen test before agreeing to do the movie”.
It’s been 45 years since Grease was first released. Since Olivia Newton-John died in 2022, re-watching or discussing the 1978 musical ultimately leads us to reminisce and mourn one of Australia’s most adored actresses.
“She had not the biggest success on screen she was a superstar with her music but she had done one film that didn’t hit so well,” Barry added.
Olivia appeared in the 1970 film Toomorrow, a British science fiction musical film in which dying aliens kidnap the pop group, Toomorrow.
The band consisted of Olivia and her co-stars Vic Cooper, Ben Thomas, and Karl Chambers; this was Olivia’s first major release album.
The former ‘T-Bird’ also explained that the Australian was “very careful” about re-entering the world of film.
“She came to the set wanting to learn from all of us and wanting to be part of the family immediately and we welcomed her in with open arms,” he said.
Barry and Olivia were great friends from the 70s, and had been in contact until her final week.
“We remained in contact over the years and I sent her an email a week before she passed,” Barry previously told The Sydney Morning Herald.
