THIS BOOK WAS MADE POSSIBLE by the support of so many people. I thank my fellow Greasers who dug into forty-year-old memories to share their insights about the production: John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John; my partner and guide, choreographer Pat Birch; director of photography Bill Butler; the cowriter of the hit Grease musical Jim Jacobs; Pink Ladies Didi Conn, Jamie Donnelly, and Dinah Manoff; T-Birds Barry Pearl, Michael Tucci, and Kelly Ward; casting director Joel Thurm; dancer (now director) Andy Tennant; songwriter John Farrar; still photographer Dave Friedman; Travolta stand-in and future cinematographer Peter Lyons Collister; special photographer Jonathan Becker; and costume designer Albert Wolsky.
Grease was a community effort, from the entire cast, crew, and management to the many assistants and extras who populated the hallways of Paramount and Rydell High. I thank everyone who brought so much to the production of the movie Grease, especially those who have passed away but whose contributions live on. In addition to the people listed above, I especially thank Warren Casey and Ron Taft; actors Frankie Avalon, Joan Blondell, Susan Buckner, Edd Byrnes, Sid Caesar, Annette Cardona, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway, Eddie Deezen, Fannie Flagg, Alice Ghostley, Dody Goodman, Lorenzo Lamas, Dick Patterson, Sha Na Na, Dennis Stewart, and Ellen Travolta; the extras and dancers, especially Pat’s “Dancers 1 through 20” (Barbi Alison, Helena Andreyko, Jennifer Buchanan, Carol Culver, Dennis Daniels, Cindy DeVore, Larry Dusich, Deborah Marie Fishman, Antonia Franceschi, John Robert Garrett, Sandy Gray, Daniel Levans, Mimi Lieber, Sean Moran, Greg Rosatti, Andy Roth, Lou Spadaccini, Judy Susman, and Richard Weisman); musical director Louis St. Louis; producer Neil A. Machlis and Linda Zimmerman; assistant directors Jerry Grandey, Paula Marcus, and Lynn Morgan; script supervisor Joyce King; assistant choreographer Carol Culver and dance consultant Tommy Smith; camera crew Colin J. Campbell and George Hill; film editor John F. Burnett and Robert Pergament; the sound department’s Jerry Jost, Sean Hanley, Charles E. Moran, and Bill Varney; Ron Hays for his electronic visual effects; property master Rich Valesko; the wardrobe and makeup department’s Betsy Cox, Bruce Walkup, and Daniel C. Striepeke; stunt coordinator Wally Crowder; music editor June Edgerton and the music department’s David J. Holman, Bill Oakes, Charles Fox, Cubby O’Brien, Bradford Craig, and Michael Gibson; animator for the main title John Wilson and end title designer Wayne Fitzgerald; location manager Alan B. Curtiss; and unit publicist Gary Kalkin.
At HarperCollins, I thank Marta Schooler, Elizabeth Smith, Lynne Yeamans, Raphael Geroni, and Dani Segelbaum.
This book would not be possible without the support of Paramount. I especially thank Bil Bertini, Risa Kessler, Sabi Lofgren, and Andrea Kalas, as well as the tireless efforts of Caitlin Denny, Becky Ruud, Dony West, Chuck Woodfill, Eric Hoff, and Jeffrey Osmer; Randall Thropp for discovering the costume-continuity book; and Jaci Rohr for her knowledge and hospitality.
I thank Anne Coco, Taylor Morales, and Rita Sottile at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Margaret Herrick Library.
I thank my dear interns, who helped me blow the dust off my photo archives: Macarena Abad, Andrea Casamitjana Samper, Merisa Hakaj, and Ross Matlin.
And a special thanks to Mani Perezcarro, my jack-of-all-trades, who handled organization, tracked down rights, prepared graphics, restored pictures, supervised interns, and taught me things only millennials know.