CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Beloved actress and singer Olivia Newton-John passed away on Monday morning at her home in California. She was 73.
The news has left people across the world reminiscing on their memories involving her.
In the 1980s, everyone knew Newton-John. The title single off her double-platinum album "Physical" was not only the biggest hit of the pop singer's career, but the number one hit of the entire decade.
Just a few years earlier, the bright-eyed actress captured the love of audiences as Sandy, opposite John Travolta's Danny Zuko in "Grease." It's a movie that to this day remains a generational icon.
For Frank Hatter, the news of Newton-John's passing was hard to hear.
"I can't say enough good things about her," Hatter said.
The two worked together a few times over Hatter's 25-year career at MCA Records.
"Her kindness, you know, she's just so nice to everybody, so accommodating, no ego like a lot of these singers have today. She's just real down to Earth," Hatter said.
In fact, Hatter snapped a few photos of Newton-John at a promotional event. She used one of the pictures as a cover photo.
"And she said, what do I owe you for it, and I said nothing. And she said why and I said because you're my favorite artist, I can't take money from you. I said, every time you go to a studio and record an album, that's enough payment for me," Hatter said.
Now retired and living in Chesterfield County, Hatter said he was thrilled when, just a few months ago, Newton-John responded to Hatter's letter along with several photographs he had taken of her.
"She had signed every one of them," Hatter said.
Hatter said that it's no surprise that off-screen, Newton-John was a long-time activist for environmental and animal rights issues and advocated for other women who were fighting breast cancer.
"Yes, they lost a good artist, but there's an angel in heaven," Hatter said.
Hatter now has a lifetime of memories that he said he will never forget.
