The first episode of Olivia: Hopelessly Devoted to You stayed pretty close to the true story of Olivia Newton-John’s life, but what about the miniseries’ second instalment? Here are the questions we most want answered after watching episode two.
Is that really how Olivia met Matt Lattanzi on the set of Xanadu?
This is likely an instance of events being “fictionalised for dramatic purposes”, since the story of the pair roller-skating into each other doesn’t appear to have been told previously (and surely it would have been). Olivia’s daughter, Chloe, has revealed that it was her mother’s co-star Gene Kelly that introduced her to Lattanzi, who played the younger version of Kelly’s character and was also a backing dancer in the big production numbers.
Who is Olivia’s friend Nancy?
Played by Diana Glenn, Nancy Chuda is a screenwriter and broadcast journalist, who gave birth to her daughter, Colette, around the same time the Lattanzis had Chloe. As depicted on-screen, Chuda and husband Jim lost Colette when she was just five to a rare, non-genetic form of cancer. Since then, Nancy has worked extensively to promote children’s environmental health protections.
Was ONJ reluctant to record “Physical”?
Yes, although apparently the song was presented to her by former manager/boyfriend Lee Kramer (Todd Lasance) and not Roger Davies (Gyton Grantley). Looking back on the Australian and American chart-topping single, Livvy has said, “I had a bit of a panic session. I went, ‘Oh my God! I can’t put this out. It’s way too radical! What are people going to think of me?'”
What happened with Olivia’s stalker?
Michael Owen Perry, the stalker depicted in the miniseries but not Olivia’s only stalker, was found guilty of the murder of five people following his killing spree in his Louisiana hometown. He was sentenced to the death penalty, a punishment that has never been allowed to take place due to his insanity. Instead, he remains on death row. Around the same time as Perry was stalking Olivia, she was also the target of Ralph Nau, who twice travelled to Australia from the US in an attempt to locate her. Nau, who also stalked Cher and killed his step-brother, was committed to an Illinois mental institution, where he remains today.
Who is Gregg Cave, Olivia’s friend who was a companion to her mother?
A one-time recording artist (see above) and actor—he appeared in early ’80s drama Carson’s Law and on The Ossie Ostrich Video Show—Gregg Cave (aka Greg Caves) left the entertainment business to work as an art consultant. He, Olivia and a couple of their friends did end up opening the Gaia Retreat & Spa in the Byron Bay hinterland, and it is an incredibly successful and well-reviewed establishment.
Did Olivia really not lose her hair during chemotherapy?
Yes, as shown in the miniseries, Olivia opted to wear a cold cap, which contains a gel cooled to -35 degrees. The process stops the blood flow (and therefore the cancer-fighting toxins injected into the body) from reaching hair follicles.
What TV show did Matt Lattanzi come to Australia to work on?
It’s not named in the miniseries, but he appeared in Paradise Beach, a short-lived early evening soap on the Nine Network that debuted in May 1993. Lattanzi played American character Cooper Hart and the show’s producers had aspirations of the series becoming a hit in the US. Original cast members included then-unknowns Ingo Rademacher, Kimberley Joseph and Manu Bennett (then known as Jon). Established stars Melissa Bell and Melissa Tkautz later joined the series, but it was off the air by mid-1994.
Did Olivia and Chloe really make a Christmas movie together?
They sure did. The mother and daughter appeared in made-for-TV film A Christmas Romance in 1994. Olivia played single mum-of-two Julia Stonecypher (yep, that was the character’s name), while a then-eight-year-old Chloe potrayed one of her daughters, Deenie. The storyline revolves around a broke and recently jobless Julia helping out a cranky bill collector who becomes stranded during a snowstorm. You can probably work out what happens next…
What actually happened with Patrick McDermott?
After disappearing from a fishing boat in mid-2005, Olivia’s one-time boyfriend was initially presumed drowned, but lingering suspicions about the possibility that he may have faked his own death led to ongoing investigations by American TV series America’s Most Wanted and Dateline NBC. Multiple sightings of McDermott and reports that he is now living in Mexico have emerged in the years since, but there is yet to be definitive proof of his whereabouts.
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