Olivia Newton John passed away Monday at the age of 73. For so many she’ll remain forever 30, the age when the already famous singer starred opposite John Travolta in “Grease.”

With 9 top 10 hits in the 1970’s she was that decade’s number 1 female vocalist. Another way of saying it is she was the Taylor Swift of the 70’s. She was that big a star.

Kylie Moore and I took a call on her passing Monday from a guy who once spent a day with her and her daughter when she was honored at the United Nations for her work with breast cancer. He choked up on-air when talking about how unassuming and down-to-earth she was. She didn’t have an ounce of diva in her and could have so easily.

SiriusXM's Town Hall With John Travolta And Olivia Newton-John With Host Didi Conn At The SiriusXM Studios
Mike Coppola
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The outpouring of love on social media from fans and from fellow celebrities was like a tsunami. But the one that I think touched me the most came from her old “Grease” co-star and Jersey guy, John Travolta.

Travolta was born and raised in Englewood, New Jersey and was 25 years old when playing Danny opposite her Sandy.

On Instagram, he wrote:

Just a couple years ago in West Palm Beach, Florida the two appeared together in costume some 40 years after the film. Her in the yellow skirt and cardigan with the white button-up. Him with hair slicked back and a black leather jacket. They attended a “Grease” sing-along and did a Q&A that night.

The Academy Presents "Grease" (1978) 40th Anniversary
Getty Images
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My daughter spent a summer a few years ago watching “Grease” endlessly. Literally at least 50 times that summer. She knew it by heart. When I got home from work Monday she asked me if I’d heard the news. The fact that a 15-year-old girl was just as sad about Olivia Newton John as people in their 80s speaks volumes about the star.

“Was she old?” my daughter asked me.

“Could someone like her ever be old?” I answered.

“True,” she said with a tear.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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