Actress and singer Olivia Newton-John died this Monday at the age of 73 at her home in Southern California, her husband, John Easterling, announced on social media.
“Olivia has been a symbol of triumph and hope for more than 30 years as she shared her experience with breast cancer,” said her husband, who asked that “in lieu of flowers” donations be sent to Olivia Newton. John’s Foundation, dedicated to plant medicine and cancer research.
Although Newton-John (United Kingdom, 1948) developed his career in show business as a singer, with hits such as “If Not For You”, “Let Me Be There” and “Would You Never Be Nice”, his name is immortalized in Hollywood starring John With Travolta in the musical “Grease”.
The star was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992 and managed to keep the tumor in remission until 2017. That year, Newton-John revealed that the cancer had returned and spread to his spine. He also specified that in 2013 he was diagnosed with a second cancer, but remained silent.
The actor said he believed he could beat the disease and asked Australia to adopt the laws of the state of California, where he lived, to allow the medical use of marijuana. “My dream is that soon in Australia it will be available to all cancer patients and people with cancer that causes pain,” he said at the time.
After her first diagnosis, she became a well-known activist and founded the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Health Research Center in Melbourne. His good treatment will continue to be a key element of his legacy, as well as his artistic career, which has included four Grammy Awards and sales of more than 100 million records.
But it was “Grace,” the soulful 1978 adaptation of the Broadway musical, for which he will be most fondly remembered. When Sandy was offered the lead role, she had to be talked out of taking it because she was worried she was too old to play a high school senior. “Grease” was the biggest box office hit of the year and its soundtrack album spent 12 consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the US. Newton-John’s performance was nominated for a Golden Globe and she performed Hopeless Devoted to You at the 1979 Oscars.
Source: El Diario
