WATCH: Olivia Newton-John Showed Kindness to Merritt Island Native Julie Spurlock While Battling Cancer

By  //  August 11, 2022

SPACE COAST DAILY TV SPECIAL PRESENTATION

WATCH: Olivia Newton-John died on Monday, August 8, and many of us knew her well due to the movie Grease and her incredible talent as an actress and singer. However, Steve Wilson will remember her most for her kindness shown to Merritt Island resident Julie Spurlock, who was first diagnosed with cancer at age 13. (This video was originally produced in 2015)

BREVARD COUNTY • MERRITT ISLAND, FLORIDA – Olivia Newton-John died on Monday, August 8, and many of us knew her well due to the movie Grease and her incredible talent as an actress and singer.

However, this author will remember her most for her kindness shown to Merritt Island resident Julie Spurlock, who was first diagnosed with cancer at age 13. After defeating cancer one time, Julie relapsed and was diagnosed again at age 15.

When Julie relapsed, my friend Val Paul and I decided we wanted to do something different to cheer up Julie and decided to seek video clips of support for her. I emailed over 2,500 individual requests, literally all over the world, for videos.

As you can imagine, I received many rejections. However, through the kindness of strangers, we ended up with over 300 videos, and one of our very special videos was from Olivia Newton-John, who herself was a cancer survivor.

She was in her dressing room, taking a break from performing, and took the time to send a video of support to a young girl battling cancer that she didn’t even know. She could easily have been one of the many that did not respond or responded with a no, but that was not in her character.

I researched those that sent videos as I wanted to know more about them. I found out that Olivia Newton-John was involved with multiple charity organizations and was an incredibly giving person.

That, to me, was already evident.

So, today, when I heard the news that Olivia Newton-John died, I was sad. We lost a talented artist. We lost a giving person. And, as crazy as it sounds, I feel like I lost a friend.

‘Grease’ Star Olivia Newton-John Dies at Age 73 After Hard-Fought Battle With CancerRelated Story:
‘Grease’ Star Olivia Newton-John Dies at Age 73 After Hard-Fought Battle With Cancer

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