My crazed stalker murdered his family and had list of people he wanted to kill – I was on it, reveals Olivia Newton-John
FROM Elvis Presley to a US President and two crazed stalkers, Olivia Newton-John attracted all sorts of attention – good and bad.
In further extracts from her autobiography, the superstar, whose death was announced on Monday, tells how she hid one lover in a wardrobe, and while the fate of another former ex remains a mystery, she eventually found true love with the one man who barely knew who she was . . .
In her words...
One of the interesting parts of fame is that you get to meet so many actors and musicians you admire.
Clint Eastwood made my day when I did a photoshoot on his ranch in Carmel, California, because he was so delightful.
I spent a day with Dustin Hoffman when I auditioned for Tootsie.
He was really funny and suggested we just walk around the neighbourhood in Malibu.
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We walked up a long driveway by mistake. The homeowner said: “Can I help you?”
“Oh, we’re looking for our lost dog,” Dustin riffed.
And then there was Elvis.
I was invited to see The King sing at the Hilton in Las Vegas. During the show, Elvis shocked me and sang my song Let Me Be There.
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It blew me away to hear him say my name.
After the show, I went backstage but sadly I never met Elvis up close.
His road manager said there was an emergency and Elvis had to leave the building. Literally!
Once when I was on tour with the songwriter Paul Williams, we travelled on a private jet to each gig.
One crazy night, Paul and I — with my nice-girl image — got into the worst whipped cream fight at 35,000ft and we made a gigantic mess.
Later I heard that someone asked: “Who was on that plane? Led Zeppelin?”
“No,” they were told, “Olivia Newton-John.” Embarrassing . . .
I’ve even been fortunate enough to meet several US Presidents.
I was invited to the White House when Ronald Reagan was President and George HW Bush was Vice President.
I went to the White House again many years later when Bush was President, and he said to me: “Oh, so good to see you again.”
I was shocked he remembered.
BLACK WIG
“I can’t believe your husband remembered me,” I said to First Lady Barbara Bush.
“Well, you’re so ugly, dear,” she replied with a smile. I loved her from that moment!
Back when I was starting out I met Bruce Welch, from The Shadows.
When I turned 21, he and I got engaged, which created a stir since he was separated at the time but not quite divorced.
It provoked a scandal when Bruce declared his love for me openly.
I was abruptly fired from a TV show in Australia because of my boyfriend’s “entanglements”. I was mortified.
In 1971, at 23, I released my debut studio album, If Not For You.
Perhaps I was too young to handle it all, but I went down a path that I would later regret, which led to Bruce and me breaking off our engagement.
After our break-up I went to the South of France. I was sitting on the beach in Monte Carlo when out of the water swam a very tall, blond, very handsome man who was introduced to me as Lee Kramer.
The next day I was going back to England. Who was sitting next to me on the flight? Lee Kramer.
He actually paid someone off to get that seat by my side. I ended up dating Lee for a few years and he even became my manager.
On tour in France, I had a night off before my show and wanted to blow off some steam in a Paris club.
I just wanted to blend in like any other Parisienne. I put on a long black wig and wore a bohemian white outfit, while Lee put on a suit.
We arrived and in one second I heard a chorus of: “Bonsoir, Olivia! Je t’aime Grease!” I pulled off the wig and had a great time.
Despite that fun time in Paris, Lee and I didn’t see a future for our relationship.
After we broke up, I really needed time in the cherished haven of my ranch-style home in Malibu.
I loved my fans, but a part of me needed some “just me” time.
A few so-called fans didn’t agree — and wanted to get a bit too personal.
I had my first stalker at this time, and it was just so odd.
He kept sending me weird and threatening letters, and it was a bit upsetting.
The fact that he knew where I lived freaked me out, so I had 24/7 security at the house.
Mr Stalker would not be deterred, though. Luckily, the police finally caught this person on a traffic misdemeanour while I was on the road — thank goodness.
The creepiest part was that they found a list of people he wanted to kill, and my name was on it.
He’d already killed his entire family. Scary, scary stuff.
On my security team’s advice I took a vacation to Hawaii. While I was away, another stalker broke in.
My team found this stranger relaxing in my bed. How she got in there remains a mystery.
I was just glad I wasn’t in that bed when she slipped inside the house.
In 1979 I filmed the musical fantasy Xanadu, which also starred Gene Kelly.
The songs of the film — Xanadu and Magic, both No1s — were not the only gift it gave me.
Matt Lattanzi, a dancer, was ten years younger than me but smart, sweet and very handsome.
My team found this stranger relaxing in my bed. How she got in there remains a mystery.
It made me laugh when he would stay at my hotel.
In the morning, the hair and make-up artist from the film arrived early and Matt would hide in the cupboard with a blanket and pillow, without anyone knowing he was there.
Enough of my life was out in the world for public consumption. I was keeping this for myself.
In December 1984 we were married at my ranch. As we were saying our vows, I was hiding a major secret from everyone.
I was pregnant and lost the baby.
I had a few miscarriages during my marriage and each time my heart was broken.
In 1985 I fell pregnant again, at 37. The love of my life came into this world a few weeks prematurely on January 17, 1986.
Chloe was the most beautiful angel, with bright blue eyes and fair hair.
By 1996, however, I had to face the fact that my relationship with Matt had been slowly deteriorating and it wasn’t going to get better.
There was no choice but to end our marriage.
Slowly, I began to date again, and now had a boyfriend named Patrick McDermott, a 44-year-old cameraman and gaffer, or lighting technician.
We met for the first time in Los Angeles while I was shooting a commercial.
ALARM BELLS
We were both divorced and cautious about getting involved.
He had his own home in Los Angeles and a four-year-old son who would sometimes come over to hang out with Chloe.
Patrick became my on-again, off-again boyfriend for eight years.
The last time I saw him, he was at my house and we were deciding to take a break from each other again.
I was in Australia for a holiday when my assistant Dana called and asked if I’d heard from Patrick.
I’d received a missed call from him a few days after I arrived in Australia, but when I tried to call back there was no response.
He had gone on a fishing trip on a charter boat off San Pedro in Los Angeles.
He was supposed to show up for a family get-together that weekend but he didn’t make it.
He didn’t pick up his son either. That set off alarm bells for his ex-wife Yvette. Me too.
He adored his son and wouldn’t go on trips with me if it meant he couldn’t see his boy.
As time went on and he remained missing, I had such an odd, hollow feeling in my gut.
I had been through cancer and divorce, but the idea of someone in my life suddenly being gone without a trace left me with an emptiness I hadn’t known before.
By November 2005, four months after he disappeared, the US Coast Guard concluded that Patrick “most likely” drowned.
Part of my healing process was building a labyrinth as a private memorial to him.
The wonderful thing that has come out of this is that his ex-wife Yvette and I became close friends.
Our main concern has been their son, Chance. Yvette believes that Patrick would never have left his boy. I agree.
I lived in pain for so long over this, but I had to teach myself to live in the now, which is an important life lesson.
There remains endless speculation that he faked his own death.
The truth is, I’ll never really know what happened.
Then true love found me when I wasn’t looking. I first met John Easterling through friends.
John is an environmentalist who spent 42 years working with plants in the Amazon rainforest in Peru.
We had crossed paths over the years at charity events and talks he gave on plants and botanicals and I found him very interesting.
Apparently, he didn’t feel the same way about me.
He knew so little about my career. He’d previously thought I was just this “Hollywood chick” but now he was seeing me in a different light.
I invited him to my concert in Florida and when I opened the show with Pearls On A Chain he told me everyone in the audience was deeply moved.
The moment hit him especially hard, piercing him right in the heart.
John took me to the Amazon and he was like The Godfather there.
The locals adored and respected him.
In the peace of a mountaintop, so far from city noise and distractions, we just knew we were meant to be together.
I fell in love with this incredibly smart, compassionate man.
Six months later, at dinner, I proposed.
We didn’t have a ring, but he hollowed out a roll and put it on my finger.
I’d received a missed call from him a few days after I arrived in Australia, but when I tried to call back there was no response.
It was absolutely perfect. It was us.
I married John on the Peruvian winter solstice, June 21, 2008, on that same mountain where we’d first sat.
It was exactly a year since we were on this ledge, visioning our future.
John Travolta invited my new husband and me to dinner at his home.
Halfway through, John T said something about Grease and my John told him: “Never seen it.”
“Seriously?” said John Travolta. “Were you living under a rock?”
“No, I was in a canoe up the Amazon,” my husband said.
John T suggested we have dessert on one of his planes.
We wandered over to this sleek, magnificent machine parked on John T’s very own runway and dessert was served.
As we sat down, Grease starting playing on the television screens.
Here we were, watching Grease on a plane with John Travolta!
When the film was over, my John said: “That was a really good movie.
"But one thing. Olivia looks better now.”
Another reason to love him!
I always tell my friends that you’re never too old to find love.
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I found the love of my life at 59 going on 60.
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Lucky me.
- Extracted by Doug Wight from Don’t Stop Believin’, by Olivia Newton-John, (Simon & Schuster).
