Celebrities on the couch
Olivia Newton-John Striving For Perfection In Her Career
Olivia Newton-John, although still a very young woman is already a show business veteran of long standing. She has been involved in music, striving for perfection in her career since her early teens. Yet she has always managed to retain her gentle manner.
Her hits include “Let Me Be There” “If You Love Me, Let Me Know”, “Have You Never Been Mellow,” Please, Mister, Please” and of course “I Honestly Love You”.
MAURICE: The critics have often referred to your “pretty looks”. Do you think this image has hindered or helped your career?
NEWTON-JOHN I know I’m pretty. This may sound silly, but being pretty can create problems and doubts for a female singer. Some people don’t take you seriously because they think you’re a model who is just playing at having a career.
In one review, someone said I couldn’t sing, but that I would make a terrific model or air hostess. That really hurt and upset me.
If a pretty singer gets popular, there’s another problem. Is it you or your looks that got you where you are? When you don’t know whether people like you for your singing or your looks, it really shakes your self- confidence
MAURICE: Did you dream about becoming star?
NEWTON-JOHN: Although sometimes I used to sit down and pray that all this would happen to me. I didn’t think in all my wildest dreams it would all come true.
What about my dreams for the future? Well, now that I’ve done “Grease” with John Travolta, I know a whole new world is opening for me and I’m excited. There’s so much for me to do and I definitely want to do more films.
MAURICE: What the story with you and John Travolta?
NEWTON-JOHN: John and I became very close when we were filming Grease, I was a bit nervous at first, but John was fantastic and we became great friends right away.
A lot of people tried to pair us off and say that we re dating but that was never true. It was just that we were working together and of course that meant that we were spending a lot of time together, but we were never going out romantically. It just never happened like that and in a way that pleases because I know that if we had had a relationship we wouldn’t be as close as we are now. The atmosphere on the set of Grease really was like a family and nothing more.
MAURICE: What about your future plans? Is marriage a possibility that you’ve thought about?
NEWTON-JOHN: I’ve got no timetable on marriage at all. It’s just a question of the right husband. It doesn’t matter whether he’s in show business or not. It’s not what he is, but who and how he is.
Marriage frightens me though. My parents, my elder sister and friends have been divorced. It left me afraid of marriage and I guess that’s why I keep putting it off. As I get older it’s not quite so terrifying to me.
MAURICE Dp you believe in having a positive attitude?
NEWTON-JOHN That’s always been a rule of mine. I try and be as positive as I can even when the odds are against me.
I really don’t like people who are negative and really can;t understand why they behave that way. It’s not the approach to life I like to have.
MAURICE I understand you’ve had ESP experiences
NEWTON-JOHN: Yes, I’ve had several psychic experiences and I’m a firm believer in ESP.
Mother and I have always had an uncanny ability to communicate with each other by ESP. It’s weird, but she always knows when I’m in trouble or worried about something and she’ll call me from her home in England no matter what country I’m in.
My must uncanny ESP experience came when I was England in 1974. And it involved the birth of my sister’s child. We both hoped the baby would be born on Sept. 26 - my 26th birthday. Even though the baby wasn’t due for a couple of days, my sister was in the hospital in case of complications. On the eve of my birthday I told my sister’s husband to call me if anything happened. He promised he would and I went to sleep.
I dreamed that my sister had a son with black curly hair. The dream was so vivid I woke up. I looked at my clock and saw that it was exactly 5am. I thought about my sister and her husband both having blond hair and I thought “Well that can’t be,” so I went back to sleep. When I woke up and called my brother-in-law at 10am. I could not believe my ears. He said that the baby arrived at 5am, was a boy and had curly black hair - exactly as I’d dreamed.
By Dick Maurice, Copley News Service