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1980 ONJ special on ABC before the Oscars.

posted 14 years ago by view123
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Hey Xanadu fans, did you know that Olivia Newton-John had a music special on American TV (ABC) the night of the 1980 Oscars? It was the last time anyone else but Barbara Walters has had that coveted time slot.

Anyway, many of the Xanadu dancers are in this special and Gene Kelley is a special guest. They even do the tap-dance from "Whenever You're Away From Me", but to Sammy Kahn's "Making Whoopee". Cliff Richard is also a guest.

A whole year before anyone had even heard of Lady Diana Spencer, Olivia sang "Candle In The Wind", and I think Elton John played piano accompaniment.

Is this special on YouTube? I don't know.

[–] No 6 14 years ago

Hi View123

The ONJ music special you are referring to is called 'Hollywood Nights'.

I have seen it and it is the best of ONJ's 4 music specials (A Very Special Olivia Newton John (1976), Olivia (1978), Hollywood Nights (1980) & Physical (1982). I definitely recommend that you purchase a copy (I did). You can find the sellers on the IMDB boards for 'Hollywood Nights'.

The Hollywoods Nights special has a very xanadu-esque feel to it. There are music segments for 'Suddenly' as well as the Gene Kelly guest spot. It is a pity that the song 'Magic' did not feature in the special (as it was regrettably absent from the fim).

It is also a pity that the director of 'Hollywood Nights' did not direct Xanadu as I am sure he would have done a better job of the film

"Be seeing you!"

No6