LOS ANGELES – Julien’s Auctions will honor one of the most celebrated and beloved pop culture icons with their Property From the Collection of Olivia Newton-John event on Saturday, Nov. 2. Over 200 of the most iconic film and television costumes, ensembles, gowns, personal items and accessories owned and used by the four-time Grammy award-winning singer and Hollywood film star will take the auction stage headlining Julien’s Auctions’ Legendary Women of Hollywood extravaganza taking place Friday, Nov. 1, and Saturday, Nov. 2. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.
The English-born and Melbourne, Australia-raised singer became a household name with the release of her 1974 single, I Honestly Love You, her first No. 1 Pop single. She won two Grammys for “Record of the Year” and “Best Pop Vocal Performance-Female” that year and her album reached No. 1 on both the Pop and Country Albums charts. Newton-John became one of the first artists to successfully cross over and topped both the Pop and Country Albums charts again with her next album, Have You Never Been Mellow, and dominated in the mid-70s with numerous No. 1 singles and hits including I Honestly Love You, Have You Never Been Mellow, Please Mr. Please, Something Better to Do, Let it Shine/He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother, Come on Over and Don’t Stop Believin’.”
In 1978, Newton-John would become a pop culture icon when she co-starred opposite John Travolta in the high school musical film, Grease (Paramount, 1978). Set in the 1950s, Newton-John played Sandy Olson, a demure Australian high school senior and Travolta played Danny Zuko, a tough but tender greaser. Grease became a blockbuster smash and one of the most successful movie musicals of all time. The soundtrack would become one of the top best-selling soundtracks, spending 12 weeks at No. 1, producing three Top 5 singles for Newton-John with the platinum and No. 1 hit single You’re the One That I Want with Travolta, the gold Hopelessly Devoted to You, and the gold duet Summer Nights with Travolta. Newton-John earned a Golden Globe nomination as “Best Actress in a Musical” and performed the Oscar-nominated Hopelessly Devoted to You at the 1979 Academy Awards.
In 1981, Newton-John released her most successful studio album, the double-platinum Physical. The monster title track set the record for the most weeks spent at No. 1 and ranked as the biggest song of the 1980s. She broke ground by being the first artist to record a video album for Physical, featuring videos of the album’s tracks which earned her fourth Grammy award and continued to dominate in the decade with some of her greatest hits including “Heart Attack,” “Make a Move on Me,” “Landslide” and “Twist of Fate.”
Her illustrious music career has spawned five number-one and 10 other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles with eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums (including two platinum and four double platinum).
After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, Newton-John has been a staunch advocate for health awareness which inspired her to help create and become the Founding Champion of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre in her hometown of Melbourne, Australia. A portion of the auction proceeds will go toward the ONJ Cancer Center, a cutting edge facility that provides a comprehensive range of services for cancer treatment, education, training and research including a wellness cent to support the mind, body and spirit (ONJCancerCentre.org).
One of the highly anticipated moments of the auction will be the sale of one of the film’s most iconic costumes – Newton-John’s black leather jacket and skin-tight pants (estimate: $100,000-$200,000) from Grease (Paramount, 1978).
Other items from Grease include Newton-John’s original script from the film (estimate: $2,000-$4,000); a Grease 10 times platinum award (estimate: $1,000-$2,000); her custom made 1950s inspired petal pink point d’esprit lace gown worn to the 1978 premiere of Grease at the Mann’s Chinese Theater in Los Angeles (estimate: $3,000-$5,000); a custom “Pink Ladies” jacket presented to Newton-John by the cast and crew of Grease (estimate: $2,000-$4,000) and more.
Two of her Physical wardrobe pieces make an appearance consisting of a white ribbed velvet and gold lamé long top and a pair of short shorts worn by the singer on the October 2, 1981 episode of the Merv Griffin Show (NBC, 1962-1986) (estimate: $1,000-$2,000) and her custom made silk satin bodice worn on the cover of the 1982 “Physical” tour book (estimate: $1,000-$2,000). Costume items from her cult-classic film Xanadu are featured including her custom-made cream thigh-high suede western boots (estimate: $2,000-$4,000) and a pair of Missoni colorful knit harem pants embellished with gold-tone bugle beads worn by Newton-John while singing the title song in the film. Other highlights include her custom-made silk beaded chiffon gown and spandex cat suit worn at the 50th Annual Academy Awards in 1978; a white chiffon gown worn by Newton-John while performing a medley of songs with Andy Gibb and ABBA on her ABC 1978 television special, Olivia; her 1978 “Totally Hot World Tour” pink chiffon bodice; her custom denim bell bottom jeans worn on her 1975 appearance on The Midnight Special (NBC, 1972-1981) and more.
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