06/10/2026
John Travolta, who had previously worked with producer Robert Stigwood on "Saturday Night Fever" (1977), had recorded the top-10 hit "Let Her In" in 1976, and had previously appeared as Doody in a touring production of the stage version of "Grease." He made a number of casting recommendations that Stigwood ultimately accepted, including suggesting director Randal Kleiser (who had never directed a theatrical feature before this but had directed Travolta in the 1976 telefilm "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble") as director, and Olivia Newton-John, then known almost exclusively as a multiple Grammy winning pop and country singer, as Sandy.
Newton-John had done little acting before this film, with only two film credits (1965's "Funny Things Happen Down Under" and the little-seen 1970 film "Toomorrow," which predated her singing breakthrough) to her name up to that time. Before accepting the role, Newton-John requested a screen test for "Grease" to avoid another career setback. The screen test was done with the drive-in movie scene. Newton-John, who was born in England and spent most of her childhood in Australia, was unable to perform with a convincing American accent, and thus her character was rewritten to be Australian. Before Newton-John was hired, Allan Carr was considering numerous names such as Ann-Margret, Susan Dey, and Marie Osmond for the lead role; Newton-John agreed to a reduced asking price in exchange for star billing. In a case of life imitating art, Newton-John's own musical career would undergo a transformation similar to that of the Sandy Olsson character; her next album after "Grease," the provocatively titled "Totally Hot," featured a much more sexual and pop-oriented approach, with Newton-John appearing on the album cover in similar all-leather attire and teased hair.
Henry Winkler turned down the role of Danny Zuko for fear of being typecast.
Jeff Conaway, like Travolta, had previously appeared in the stage version of "Grease"; he had played Danny Zuko during the show's run on Broadway. Jamie Donnelly reprised her role as Jan from the Broadway show, the only cast member to do so; as her hair had begun to gray by this point, she had to dye her hair to resemble her stage character. Kelly Ward had previously appeared as a similar sarcastic supporting character in "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble" with Travolta under Kleiser; he was cast as Putzie, a mostly new character.
Lorenzo Lamas was a last-minute replacement for First Son (Gerald's boy) Steven Ford, who developed stage fright shortly before filming and backed out. His role contained no spoken dialogue and required Lamas to dye his hair blond to avoid looking like one of the T-Birds.
Adult film star Harry Reems was originally signed to play Coach Calhoun; however, executives at Paramount nixed the idea, concerned that his reputation as a p**n star would hinder box office returns in the Southern United States, and producers cast Sid Caesar instead. Caesar was one of several veterans of 1950s television (Eve Arden, Frankie Avalon, Joan Blondell, Edd Byrnes, Alice Ghostley, Dody Goodman) to be cast in supporting roles. Coincidentally, Frankie Avalon and director Kleiser had both appeared in 1966's "Fireball 500," the latter as an extra.
