Translation:
It’s the day after the premiere of the movie “Grease.”
In Hollywood, the sun is high in the sky. On Hollywood Boulevard, the long, wide shopping street that cuts through the dorado of America’s film world, most tourists stroll lazily past the shop windows.
Olivia Newton John, the petite blonde Australian singer who stars alongside John Travolta in the movie “Grease,” walks nervously through the crowd. She acts very hurried, and on every street corner she glances anxiously around. No one notices the little girl.
Last night, when she arrived with John Travolta at the large Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard to see “Grease” for the first time, it was very different. Thousands of people crowded around the couple. With great difficulty, Olivia and John managed to reach the theater. After the performance, Olivia felt uneasy again. Hundreds of photographers prevented her from finding her way into the hall where a grand premiere party had been organized.
At an unguarded moment, she took off… Olivia kept grabbing her blond hair, which was loosely tied in her hair. shoulders. “I hope people don’t recognize me,” she sighs nervously, because then I’ll have to run for my life… “
Olivia Newton John doesn’t talk, she whispers. “In the movie, I combed my hair back. As soon as I go out in the street with that hairstyle, I’m lost. I get shy and break out in a cold sweat. That party last night, for example. I didn’t fancy that at all.”
Olivia Newton John puts her hand on my shoulder and whispers in my ear: “It’s wonderful to be able to walk out in the street with you like this. Do you know, I haven’t done this in months?”
Olivia seems to have forgotten her fear of all the people around her for a moment. “Americans,” she continues, “are actually just strange people. As soon as you walk around in a glittery dress, you’re a star and they all get hysterical. Now no one will believe that I’m Olivia Newton John. And that’s how it should be.” The blonde singer laughs with relief.
“What do you want me to do for the photos? Do I have to bend over? Sit on the sidewalk? Stand in the middle of the street? You name it, I’ll do anything for you.”
A moment later, Olivia Newton John is indeed sitting on the sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard. A few people stop when they see Olivia pulling off the most cheerful antics. But no one notices that this is John Travolta’s co-star and the singer of the world hit “You’re the one that I want.” Smiles appear on the faces of the spectators.
However, when Olivia notices that the number of spectators is growing by the minute, she is suddenly that scared little bird again. Her spontaneous and exuberant laughter disappears when she grabs my arm and practically begs me to move on.
“Before you know it,” says Olivia, “they all throw themselves at me again. That’s happened to me dozens of times.” Olivia walks on quietly. Every now and then she glances back to make sure she’s not being followed by a horde of fanatical admirers.
“A few years ago,” she says, “I came to America via England, because I couldn’t get a foothold in show business in my own country. My pictures weren’t quite good enough to reach the top. When I decided to go to America, I had the idea of becoming a big star.”…
“I’d long since given up on becoming a star. I wanted to work in backing vocals. I’d heard there was plenty of work. I wanted to start my own life. Finally be able to decide for myself what I would do. Before I left, I always lived with my parents. First in Australia, then in England. My father and mother … (?) That’s why we never stayed in the same place. That also meant that I had so many friends. As soon as you got attached to someone, you left again. As I got older, I started to share that as a loss. I often felt alone and also isolated. That was also a reason to go to America. There I wanted to be all over again. With real friends around me…”
OLivia’s wish, however, was not fulfilled. Barely after arriving, a record company friend convinced her to make a record. Within a year she was one of America’s most popular singers. “Ugh,” mumbles Olivia, as she walks reminisces, “because in the end, that was what I had fought for in England and had gotten. But it did mean that I couldn’t take a step without all kinds of people following me. I’m constantly being watched by many security guards and I’m always in the company of my manager or my driver. That’s not always pleasant. I’d love to have real friends. But I don’t have many. Everyone is nice to me because I’m so relaxed. I hardly ever have any real contact with people. I don’t know if I can keep going like this. I think there will come a time when I suddenly have to tell everyone I won’t sing a note again. And then I won’t let them talk me out of it.”
Olivia looks at me somberly. “You know,” she says immediately, “why can I just walk here with you? I got up very early this morning and got dressed very quietly. Even the guards didn’t wake up. I took the first bus to the center. That was the first time in years, because I always got driven in those big cars.”
Olivia’s eyes sparkle. The spontaneous smile has returned to her face. She seems as happy as a child who has just played a prank. “When I get home later, everyone will be in a panic. I know they will. I bet the police have already been alerted because they found my bed empty. Isn’t it fun?”
Olivia Newton John, the little girl who’s topping the charts all over the world, dances happily along the sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard, where the names of the greatest artists are immortalized in the tiles.
“My name doesn’t need to be there,” she says mischievously. “I’d rather keep it simple.”
Olivia Newton John giggles like a schoolgirl skipping school. “How wonderful it is to be able to walk down the street like that. Wouldn’t you like to go to the supermarket with me one afternoon? I hardly remember what a place like that looks like on the inside…”
By Ben Holthuis