Olivia is Stronger than Before
Despite a bout with breast cancer and a missing boyfriend, Olivia Newton-John soldiers on
By Ed Condran Correspondent
Olivia Newton-John, 57, is a survivor who is aging more than gracefully. During her 2004 tour, the singer proved she can still hit the high notes.
Olivia Newton-John’s newest album, “Stronger Than Before.”
She also looks uncommonly good for someone approaching the big 6-0.
“I’ve always taken care of myself.” said Newton-John, who survived a bout with breast cancer. “That’s helped. I also have good genes.”
That’s about as much as you’ll get out of the longtime entertainer when asking about her looks and voice.
She’d also rather not talk about her boyfriend of nine years, cameraman Patrick McDermott, missing since June after reportedly going on a fishing trip.
His whereabouts still are unknown, but Newton-John, ever the survivor, has decided to go on with her current tour, which stops at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank on Sunday and the new Nokia Theatre in New York’s Times Square on Tuesday.
If Newton-John had her druthers, she would rather talk about any subject other than her current personal situation.
“Imagine you were my age and you talked about yourself since you were 15,” Newton-John said. “It gets boring after awhile.”
But then, Newton-John has had a lot to talk about over the last 40-some years.
She became one of the biggest pop stars on the planet during her salad days, courtesy of such tracks as “Let Me Be There” and “I Honestly Love You.” “When I was just starting out and people started buying my records, well, that was an incredible period,” Newton-John said. “It was very exciting, very memorable.”
By the mid-‘70s, Newton-John’s career had cooled, but then in 1978, she received a boost courtesy of a starring role in the blockbuster film “Grease.”
“It was something different for me,” Newton-John said. “I had a chance to act with some really great performers and I had so much fun. But it wasn’t just due to the film that things went so well for me.”
The soundtrack, which features Newton-John singing hits such as as “You’re the One That I Want” and “Summer Nights,” helped the pretty and perky singer enjoy her biggest success to date.
“I had so much fun doing that movie with John (Travolta),” Newton-John said. “It was the most amazing experience. My career benefited from that and I had the best time.”
Newton-John’s good fortune continued through the early ’80s. She recorded her biggest hit, the No. 1 smash “Physical,” and the undeniably catchy single “Twist of Fate.”
By the mid-‘80s, Newton-John settled down and married actor Matt Lattanzi and had a daughter, Chloe.
“It was time for a new challenge,” said Newton-John. “I have no regrets stepping away from my career at that time.”
The last 15 years haven’t been easy for Newton-John. In 1992, her father died and she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Newton-John survived, but her marriage to Lattanzi collapsed in 1995. In 2000 the effervescent entertainer filed for bankruptcy.
“The pain makes you stronger,” Newton-John said. “You can’t get to where you are without the pain.”
Even her bout with breast cancer has had some positive repercussions. Her current CD, the aptly titled “Stronger Than Before, was recorded specifically for Hallmark and its program in support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Available exclusively in Hallmark Gold Crown stores this month, the CD contains a track titled “Phenomenal Woman,” based on a poem by Maya An-gelou. Two dollars of the CD’s purchase price is being donated to benefit breast cancer research.
In the last decade, Newton-John has picked her spots, whether it’s touring, making an album or appearing in a film.
“I’m fortunate since I can choose what I want to work on,” Newton-John said. “I work on what’s important to me.”
OLIVIA TRIVIA
DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: Sept. 26, 1948, in Cambridge, England
PEDIGREE: Grandfather Max Born was a German Nobel Prize-winning physicist
EDUCATION: Dropped out of Australia’s University High School to pursue a singing career
GUILTY PLEASURE: Dark caramel chocolate
NEVER LEAVES HOME WITHOUT: Lipstick
FAVORITE FLOWERS: Lilies and orchids
FIRST HIT: In 1971, a cover of Bob Dylan’s “If Not For You”
NUMBER OF NO. 1 HITS: Five
NICKNAMES: Lovely Livvy, The Goddess, Olivia Neutron Bomb
Go to: www.onlyolivia.com
OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
8 p.m. Sunday. Count Basie Theatre, 99 Monmouth St., Red Bank, $50-$100 (732)842-9000
Also 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nokia Theatre, Time Square, 1515 Broadway, New York (212) 307-7171
More from Olivia’s 2005 Fall tour.