Olivia Newton-John’s nephew, Emerson Newton-John, shared some previously unseen clips of his late aunt.
The professional race car driver posted two clips from an unaired pilot for the series “Celebrity Car Crush” on his YouTube page Friday.
“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,” he told E! News.
“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.”
In one 30 second clip, Emerson pulls up to Newton-John’s home in a vintage VW Bug. She tells him, “I learned to drive on a manual. I don’t know if I remember, but I can try.” In the next shot, she’s seen comfortably driving.
“This clip was the most satisfying for me to watch again because I remember in the weeks before filming the segment, there was so much anticipation about what her reaction would be when she saw the surprise I had in store for her. She had no clue what was about to arrive in her driveway, let alone have it be something she hadn’t seen in more than 40 years!” Emerson told the outlet.
“There was just pure surprise, joy, and strong feelings of only positive nostalgia.”
— Emerson Newton-John, nephew of Olivia Newton-John
He noted it was the first car she had purchased in America, and her being able to drive it again was a big deal due to her declining health.
“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. 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.”
In the second clip, Newton-John explains her thought process in deciding on the VW Bug, saying she wanted a “cute convertible little car I can use for [running] around Malibu.”
Emerson told E!, “It was interesting to hear her say that this car was just about all that she could afford new at that time, which brings a sense of realness about her that her fans might not have seen before.”
He added, “One thing I always found so cool about my aunt was that regardless of her obvious wealth, she was not one to show off her success with material gains. Instead, she intentionally understated so many material aspects of her life. No private jets, no yachts, no ridiculous cars that screamed ‘look at me.’”
The 46-year-old concluded his comments on the clips, thanking his aunt for being “a significant emotional support system for me while I was a racing driver, and I know she would love nothing more than for me to pick up where I left off all those years ago.”
Newton-John died in 2022 after a long struggle with breast cancer, at the age of 73.
“Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer,” her family shared in an Instagram post at the time.
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