That Gaby Roslin Podcast: Reasons To Be Joyful - Didi Conn (Frenchy from 'Grease')

Episode Date: July 28, 2026

Gaby welcomes legendary actor Didi Conn to the podcast to chat about her iconic role of Frenchy in the film of 'Grease'. Didi shares her joy of making that film, her favourite song and moment from it - and talks about how the cast remained friends ever since filming it. They also chat about the joys of family and singing (oh yes, there's some singing!) We hope you enjoy listening to this trip down memory lane as much as we did recording it!

Didi, I don't really know where to begin. Yes. But may I embarrass you, please? Oh, absolutely. Go right ahead. You don't mind? No, I don't mind. So I have a video that I still have where I marked off how many times.

I'm really emotional because I marked off on the film how many times I saw it. And I got to 70. Oh, my goodness. 70? 70 times. But that was with the video. Then I got the DVD and I started marking that and that was 50 times. I then I learned every single word of the album

and you were all on all of my school books Oh my goodness And I know every single word of every single song And when little me was watching it Very shy little me I used to say one day One day I want to be in Greece So I'm nearly in it

I'm with you and DETI you don't know what this means to me And my daughters Because they grew up loving the film and they've probably watched it about a thousand times to you. Thank you, thank you, thank you for Greece. Have you really seen it that many times? Oh, and more. Oh my good.

Well, y'all test you. A wop, baboomop. A wab bamboo. We go together like ramalama lawa. Kada dingi-dik-dun. Remember forever like shoo-wop, shaw-da-wada-dib-dib-to-do-mo. Oh, my word. Chang-chang.

That's the way. it should be. Oh, you sing so beautifully. Oh, yeah! I knew everybody. There we go. Oh, God bless. Deasy, what's so lovely is,

all the interviews that I've seen, and every time I've seen you talk about it, the love of that movie is still so deep in your soul, isn't it? Well, it's really just how much love it's brought to people that I feel, you know, that I'm, I feel. so blessed.

You know, I'm very, very grateful that I had that experience and that it's brought such... Venus, look at you. I mean, it's... It means the world to make that film. It really does. And everyone has a story to tell me about showing it to their children

for the first time with their grandchildren. And it makes them happy. I mean, I can't imagine what it must be like if you're in a horror movie or like psycho or something and people come up and see you. and they, you know, are repelled by you. But Greece is about friendship. And we really are still friends, 48 years later.

I saw when you, because you do the sing-alongs. That's correct. Oh, my word. And then John turned up as a surprise, wouldn't he? Well, it took a little bit of doing. It was a surprise to everybody. How did you do it? How did you get that?

Well, every time, I've done it five or six times, the sing-alongs for 18,000 people. Oh. And he always, when I'd see him, he'd say, why didn't you invite me? Well, I always invited him, but he was busy doing one film or another. So this time I said, we're going to dedicate this one to Olivia. I hope you can come. And he made it. At 4 o'clock that after, I didn't tell anyone because I was afraid.

Well, when he came out, the audience went crazy, screaming, only like the Beatles got that kind of, you know. So it really was great. So hearing everybody singing all the songs with you, it must be overwhelming. Well, you know, this Greece immersive experience, have you been? I've been. I've been. I immersed myself. Oh, it's just so much. It's fun. Well, first of all, I was like flabbergasted, you know, walking around and the values of the colors that they use and the wallpapers. and the decorations were really exactly the same,

just enlarged. The band was superb. And you've got my lovely friend, Ricky Wilson, a teenager. He sang to you. I've seen the video. Last night. Oh, he's sweet. What a sweetheart.

Can we go to the actual making of the film? Sure. So there are all sorts of stories that have sort of gone on over the years. Yes. The lovely story of, I mean, I know that you were all friends. And I'm so sorry about Olivia. I was very lucky to interview her years ago and she was the most adorable.

Was she adorable to work with? She's beautiful. She's just a dream. Wonderful person, good friend, beautiful friend, beautiful mother. And what a performer, you know. She was touring up until a few years before, about two years before she got sick again.

She was touring. And whenever she'd be on the East Coast in the U.S., I'd go and see her. And she'd always get to the end of the show. She would do a grease set. And she'd say, you know, some people make friends back in high school that they have their whole life. And I have a friend like that who's here tonight. Dedia, you're here?

And I go, yes, I'm here. And, whoa, the place would be so happy. And she'd tell me to come on stage and then I would sing with her. So I got to be a, you know, what it feels like to be a rock. star you know oh how wonderful five minutes well also you two is it right that when you when she were you were reading for the roles that yes you just sort of ad libbed a bit and we all did we all stayed in character all the whole time because which is great because when you stop and start and stop and start and you have to pick up that energy again it's very difficult but if you just in a constant improvisation in character

then when the camera's rolling, you just continue playing. And she wasn't quite sure what was going on because we were standing there waiting for her first entrance, which was on the campus of Rydell. And I could see she was concerned, you know. So I said, gee, Sandy, I'm so happy that you move right next to me. Somebody from Sydney, Australia, I can't believe. Tell me what it was like to go to high school

in Australia. And she looked to me like, is this in the script? What's going on? But she caught on and she's taught it to tell me about how she had to wear white gloves to school and the boys went in one door and the girls. They were separated.

And then director said, action. And we just went into our dialogue. Oh, how lovely. And she hugged me afterwards and thanked me so much for, you know. And that was, we were already friends but that was... That's very special. Yeah.

And also, is this also true that it was your birthday when the high school dance happened? Yes. Yes, it was. Something about the birthday cake. There's a story about the birthday cake. Yes, that was true.

Yes, it was July 13th, very close to now. Happy birthday. You just had your birthday. And it was hot. We were in an actual school, an old school, no air conditioning, and it was downtown Los Angeles,

and right next door to this school was a pork plant. A pork plant? I don't know what they were doing to the pork pigs. Oh, no, run pigs, run. But it was awful. So they had the windows close. It was so hot. You wouldn't know it looking at the movie

that we were sweating our guts out. And they brought the cake out in the morning and it was sitting there. By the time we had lunch, it would all melt. Oh, no. It was this beautiful sheetcake. Yeah. Did you still eat it?

Yeah. Good. Please. You're here. So all of the, I mean, coming over here and doing immersive grease, and what's so lovely is a lot of people, so if they've been a movie that's been a huge movie or a TV show, or they've had an album or a single that everybody loves,

a lot of people say, can we not talk about it? But what I get from you is real love and that you're so happy to still be associated with something like that. Oh, absolutely. Oh, yeah. I mean, you know, what's that saying? Don't postpone joy. You know, when I meet people like you and just how you felt the way you about this film, it makes me so grateful, so happy. You've just used my favorite word, joy.

What brings you true joy, real joy? Well, you, D, D, D, D, not Frenchy. Well, I right away think about my husband and my son and my grandkids and, you know, my three brothers, who I adore, you know, family. I guess family. How many grandchildren have you got? Two. How old are they? One seven, well, no, it's going to be seven in September.

He's six and eight, six and eight. Oh, how lovely. Oh, do you sing to them, please? Have they seen Greece? Have they seen Greece? because they live in L.A. And they loved it. They saw this past, last year for the first time.

They loved it. They loved Greece Lightning the best. Good choice. Good choice. Did they see you on ice? No, they weren't born. No, when was that? 2019.

Yeah, they weren't born yet. That was a cuckoo thing I did. But, you know, sometimes you get paid well. You know. It really was cuckoo, but I had the best coach, my dancing partner, Lukash, that made the whole thing. He was a wonderful teacher, wonderful man, beautiful wife, who was also in the cast. Yeah, that's... You're dancing on ice, so. You know, all of us were watching it, it's...

That's French. But you know what was so funny? You know, I was... Everybody was saying, Did he, you've got to be careful. You know, you're going to get hurt. Why are you doing this? You're too old. No.

Yeah, well, so I said, no, right. And then one night, every night, actually, I would call my husband back in New York. And he'd be so proud because it was five or six o'clock at night and he had made himself a hot dog or something. You know, big deal. And one night I called up and he said, he didn't look right. I said, you're wearing pajamas? Why are you wearing pajamas? He was in the hospital.

He got out of bed to go to the bathroom and he broke his hip. He felt out. Sorry, out of the bed, but you'd been on ice and you were okay. And I was okay. So then I had to say, I had to go home. Don't fall for me. Don't fall for me. I have to go home.

Was he okay? No, he broke him. And he still, all these years later, he's very, very careful walking. He uses a cane. Oh, yeah. Did he not get a new hip? He did. Oh, he did?

But he's still afraid, you know. Oh, bless him. Oh, please send him our love. Thank you. I will. I will. I will. Now, here's the thing.

I don't know whether I should do this, but I, for many years, have been doing, should I do my impression? Producer Dave, should I think you should. It's good. How do I do French to Frenchie? Oh, you can't. You got a beautiful pink shirt on, so you're already getting in character. Okay. Luck of Fury Beauty's call.

that's that yeah very good very good no no because I need you to say it back to me so can you say it please just that I know oh yeah men please do the line men are men what men oh yeah men are rats

worse than that there fleas on rats you do it no you do it I'm just mouthing it with you worse than that there are meepas on fleas on rats the only man you can depend on is your daddy

Oh my word We just had a live Frenchy moment here in the magic studio I'm going to absolutely But you know what I didn't remember it And you were moving your lips So I was reading your lips

The Miba's on fleas on rats You know the I really really mean this Truly I was an extremely shy Teenager and Greece meant the world to me And to meet you

has meant the world to me. So thank you so much for coming in. Thank you. And you are magic. You epitomize what magic is. Um, uh, out of all the songs, because you just said to the song that your grandchildren liked, out of all the songs from Greece, which is the one that when it's played, your eyes light up and you, you just think, oh wow. Beauty school drop out. No graduation day for you. Yeah, I mean, you know, so that's your song. I guess so. Oh, yeah. Well, you're magical. Thank you for being here, Dee Dee.

D-Die, everybody. No, thank you.