Olivia Newton-John’s Nephew Shares Unseen Clips of Her From an Unaired Pilot

Olivia Newton-John, Welt-Tournee
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Olivia Newton-John’s nephew Emerson Newton-John recently shared some very sweet never-before-seen clips with fans of his late aunt. Olivia passed away in 2022 after several battles with breast cancer. At some point before her death, her nephew Emerson was working on an unaired pilot for a series called Celebrity Car Crush. He shared some clips from the show on his YouTube channel, including one surprising his aunt with a vintage VW Bug.

He shared about the filming, “Even in rapidly declining health due to cancer, and not bearing the strength that she once had, I could see flashes of the young Olivia popping in and out during filming. That alone made all of the time and investment in creating our show Celebrity Car Crush worth it, regardless of whether or not we would eventually watch it on television. There was no acting here; there was just pure surprise, joy and strong feelings of only positive nostalgia.”

Emerson Newton-John and Olivia Newton-John host a benefit for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer And Wellness Centre with the unveiling of PB42 wines at the Center Cut Steakhouse at Flamingo Las Vegas on July 22, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada

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“Due to her lack of physical strength at that time, and also because she had not driven a manual car in decades, we were making bets on whether or not she could get the car going without stalling it,” he added. “As much as I believed in her driving ability, I can’t deny that I’d bet that she would stall it! Well, not only did she not stall it, but she got away impressively smoothly and never made a mistake the entire time that she drove the car! As one can clearly see by my reaction, I was blown away, as was the entire crew.”

ÂMELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 16: Olivia Newton-John during the annual Wellness Walk and Research Runon September 16, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. The annual event, now in it's sixth year, raises vital funds to support cancer research and wellness programs at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre in Victoria

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In the clips, Olivia then shared why she purchased a VW Bug as her first car in America, saying that she just wanted a cute little convertible to drive around Malibu. She added that it was all she could afford at the time, and Emerson said that he always thought it was “so cool” that his aunt would never show off her wealth and instead used her money to help others. He concluded that she was always a great emotional support for him and would likely love to see his show finally get off the ground running. Check out the clips below:

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April 2018

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