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John Travolta shocks fans with brand new look during surprise appearance

Rebecca Lewis
Los Angeles correspondent
Updated: June 28, 2025
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Grease lightning! John Travolta shocked fans by appearing live on stage at the Hollywood Bowl on Friday June 27 at a Grease Sing-A-Long event.

Dressed up as his character Danny Zuko, John wore a wig that recalled his character's hair, with a large quiff.

He took to social media after the moment to thank everyone "for a great evening," and revealed that "not even the cast" knew he would be making the surprise appearance.

In the video, he can be seen walking on stage to the shock of his castmates Barry Pearl (Doody), Michael Tucci (Sonny LaTierri), Kelly Ward (Putzie) and Didi Conn (Frenchie) plus director Randal Kleiser.

View post on Instagram
 

"I thought you were going back to Australia?" he exclaimed to the crowds, referencing what Danny said to Sandy after their summer romance.

His appearance came before the sing-a-long began, and he led the cast and the crowd in a shout of "A-womp-bop-a-looma, A-womp-bam-boom."

"Tonight at the Hollywood Bowl, for the first time I surprised everyone at the GREASE Sing-A-Long and dressed up as Danny Zuko. No one knew. Not even the cast. Thank you for a great evening. (*Swipe left to see the video!)" he captioned the post.

Olivia Newton-John as Sandy and John Travolta as Danny in Grease, 1978© Grease
Olivia Newton-John as Sandy and John Travolta as Danny in Grease, 1978

Grease is a 1978 film, and an adaptation of a 1972 musical. It follows the lives of teenagers at a high school, with a focus on Australian transfer student Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John), who had enjoyed a summer fling with Danny Zuko but discovers he wasn't who he said he was.

It was John's second breakthrough film; a year earlier he made his big screen debut in Saturday Night Fever, for which he was nominated for his first Oscar.

Photo shared by John Travolta on Mother's Day 2025 featuring his late wife Kelly Preston and their kids Ella and Benjamin© Instagram
Photo shared by John Travolta on Mother's Day 2025 featuring his late wife Kelly and their kids Ella and Benjamin

In 1992 John married Kelly Preston, and together they welcomed three children; daughter Ella and two sons Jett and Benjamin.

Jett tragically passed away in 2009 at the age of 16, and Kelly died after a breast cancer diagnosis in 2020.

Actress Kelly Preston gets a visit from husband John Travolta (L) and son Jett while on location filming the 1997 motion picture "Addicted to Love."
John, Jett and Kelly on location filming the 1997 motion picture Addicted to Love

John, 71, now lives in Florida with Ella, 25, and Benjamin, 14.

Ella also got her start in acting, often performing right beside her dad, but she is now following his footsteps in another avenue — music. 

The budding songstress released her debut EP, Colors of Love, last year.

"Full EP with 2 new songs out this Friday," Ella captioned a post, sharing the news with fans.

The singer-songwriter had previously released five tracks, with three of those coming just in the final months of 2024.

After releasing debut single "Dizzy" in 2022, she followed it up with "No thank you" the same year. In September, she released "Little Bird," which was inspired by her late mom Kelly.

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