Shy girl of Hollywood

Press, 15 August 1978, Page 13

Shy girl of Hollywood

By

JOANNE WILLS

Three great danes and an Irish setter rush out to greet you when you ring !he bell on the gate' set in the high electrified fence which surrounds the ranch in the hills behind Hollywood. ‘They’re very friendly,” explains Olivia NewtonJohn. "I prefer dogs to people. They don’t ask for anything and they’re always pleased to see vou. You can t say the same about the folks in this town, can you. From which you will eather that 29-year-ald 1 vvy, whose smash hit success in the musical •Grease” has made her one of the hottest properties on the movie scene, has some pretty down-to-earth views about stardom. “I’m a realist,” she told me during a brief break in her jam-packed schedule of concerts, record sess.ons and public appearances. “I found success in America, but I won’t stay here for ever. “One of these days I’ll go back home to Australia. settle down, marry and have children. But it won’t be just yet. . Which will 'make Hollywood film-makers breathe

a sigh of relief. Since her current hit with “Grease,” in which she co-stars with John Travolta, there are plans for another lavish Hollywood musical. And, of course, as an added bonus, the song John and Livvy sing in “Grease” — “You’re the One That I Want” — is top of the pop charts in six countries. It’s five years since Livvy left Britain and moved to America to become the biggest-selling

country singer of the midseventies. But her one previous film — “Tomorrow” — turned out to be such a disaster that she swore she’d never make another movie.

It took a fellow Austra* lian, impresario Robert Stigwood, to make her change her mind.

“Grease” is about the rock and roll rave-up set of the fities. “I remember the fifties, but was too ycrung to join in,”’ Livvy told me. “I did have a round skirt and I loved all those Elvis records.

“In Australia there was a lot of rock and roll around when I was a kid but I never really did the dances. I had to learn them all for the film.” In black skin-type pants and off-the-shoulder blouse. Livvy takes off with Travolta in hectic dance routines . . . and loved every moment of it. And as John Travolta told me shortly before the premiere of “Grease”: “Livvy really worked hard at the dance routines and

was amazingly good. I had been in the Broadway version of the show and knew what to expect, but to her it was all new.”

“Grease” has its European premieres in September, but already its reputation has preceded it across the Atlantic. “The fifties was a great era,” says Livvy, “and I think we’ve really captured the feeling of them. “People weren’t necessarily more innocent, but because it wasn’t all out in the open, romance and tension actually were romantic and tense.”

She’s won four gold and four platinum discs for million-sellers, and her success as a country and western star brought her

the house, dogs and six horses. But she is under no illusions about the price of such success.

“The pressures here are enormous,” she admits. “People in Hollywood are out for themselves. They love to stir up trouble. They can’t wait to tell you the bad news.

“You’ve got to make an effort to find the real people, and it takes so long.”

Today she has an electric fence around her house and a phone with an unlisted number by her bed. Even so, gossip columnists discover the number and ring it at 3 a.m. hoping that a man will answer.

At 29, Livvy still might be mistaken for a teenager with her trim figure and wide-eyed honesty. “I’m still a very shy and introverted person,” she said.

“I realise that right now I’m a novelty — a singer who has broken into the big time with her first major film. Before, I wasn’t usually written about, except in the musical papers. “1 suppose I’m a pretty boring person. I’m pretty normal, I don’t take drugs, and I’ve never been involved in any scandals.” Now, whether she likes it or not, the shy girl of Hollywood has become a musical superstar.