“We already knew what was coming,” the actor reveals.
Princess Diana made history in her blue velvet gown when she danced with John Travolta at the White House in 1985. The pair got everyone’s pulse racing when they danced for twenty minutes to hits from Travolta’s hit films Grease and Saturday Night Fever. But what is less known is that the Princess of Wales danced with more than one star that evening.
Royals and Hollywood stars
As a 24-year-old, Princess Diana, wearing a blue velvet gown and a sapphire and pearl necklace, made her appearance at the White House, where she and her husband, Prince Charles, were invited to a grand state banquet. At the request of then-President Ronald Reagan, the guests included several Hollywood stars.
Travolta’s presence is of course well known because of the beautiful photos of his dance with the Princess of Wales. But in addition to Travolta, actors Clint Eastwood and Tom Selleck were also invited to attend the state dinner at the White House. In Selleck’s recently published memoir, You Never Know, the actor opens up about that special evening.
Scandal
“When Diana and Travolta started dancing, Eastwood and I looked at each other, because we already knew what was coming,” Selleck says in his book. The Magnum PI actor was then kindly asked by one of Di’s assistants if he wanted to intervene. For the second dance, Selleck had to dance in Travolta’s place with the princess. “This is to avoid the fear of rumors,” he explains. According to Selleck, he loudly stated that he could not simply cut Travolta off.
Supple hips
Instead, the actor quietly waited his turn and took the princess’s hand for the next dance. Selleck says he was “a little nervous” before the “shy” princess asked him to dance. He would not exactly be a gifted dancer. The now 79-year-old actor reflects that he even felt compelled to apologize for his bad moves. “But she seemed to be having the time of her life as we moved around the dance floor,” he adds.
His partner, Jillie Mack, meanwhile, danced with Charles. “Charles thanked my other half for the rescue because Mrs. Reagan’s friends kept stepping on his toes,” he reveals. Oh dear! So not everyone had such supple hips as Diana.
In the clouds
In previous interviews, Travolta himself has also looked back on his dance with Lady Di. While Selleck may not be as rhythmic, Travolta of course has a lot of moves. And Diana appreciated that!
“I was on cloud nine. She has a great rhythm. We spun and moved around in a kind of modern foxtrot,” he revealed. Travolta reportedly suggested, “Maybe someday we’ll be able to do this in a less watched situation.” And Diana’s answer? “That would be great!”
At a subsequent press conference, Charles was asked about Diana’s dance with Travolta. “I’m not a glove puppet, so I can’t answer for my wife, but she’d be an idiot if she didn’t enjoy dancing with John Travolta,” he jokingly responded.
Source: Daily Mail | Image NL Image
