Danny Zuko

Danny Zuko is a fictional character that appeared in the Musical Grease, he was the the leader of high school boy greasers who called themselves the T-Birds in the film and the Burger Palace Boys in the theatrical production. The charicter is most commonly identified with John Travolta who played Danny in the film.

Charicter Plotline

Danny led the T-Birds boy greasers' group at their school, Rydell High, and served as the leader from September of 1957 to June of 1959, when he was a senior there. Zuko was one of the most popular and famous male teen models at Rydell, being known for his clean cut waved sideburns, an attractive magnet to the girls in his leader years. His friends or the followers to him were Kenickie, Doody, Sonny and Putzie. There was mention of another member named Roger, he was in the theatrical version, but was edited out in the film's version.

Danny, is a talented singer/songwriter, strong athlete, a girl's dating choice, advanced car mechanic, etc. Several of the girls he had in his time, were the less-popular Patti Simcox, a old family girlfriend, Cha-Cha DiGregorio, and the foreign-exchange student from Australia, Sandy Olsson. Since then, Sandy and Danny have been together, but unknown if they got married or are still together since their Rydell years. Danny got off to a nice start with Sandy, but later had a sort of off and on again relationship since his time leader of the Birds.

Danny became the leader of the T-Birds in his junior or sophomore year at Rydell after Kenickie, went on to look for a replacement leader after the former leader dropped out after being expelled from Rydell from Principal McGee for riding a motorcycle inside the school. Kenickie found Danny picking on a freshman and told him he'd be perfect for the leader role. Danny almost refused, but decided if he was leader, he agreed. He met the rest of the Birds, and offically took the leader's position on the first day of his sophomore year in 1957.

To show off if he was cool to get the T-Bird leader's jacket, Danny did tasks from starting a food fight, flat the tires of a freshman group, smoke a cigarette in class, steal a car, etc. After surpassing all the requirements, Danny got the jacket, and started his leader years of the T-Birds, which followed quickly of his popularity to the opposite sex. His leather jacket determined to showing off his coolness.

During this year, Danny took Drivers' Ed and failed but since his driving mentor thought he was beautiful and he thought she was beautiful, she passed him on Danny got his driver's license and Danny bought his first car, which he kept till 1959. Taking the SAT test that October, he got a score 750, and his IQ score was a 83. Danny was just about the leave the leader's position, hoping Kenickie would want to take over, a last minute talk with Kenickie told him he's better than the former leader and told him to be the leader till his senior year and graduation.

Danny tried in sports, but after problems with the gym coach, he praticed and got better and better in the sports from football to basketball.

Danny paticipated in the Thunder Road car race against the T-Bird's rival gang, the Scorpions, leaded by Leo. The Birds' made their car in auto shop and were prepared to take it to the test. When Kenickie wasn't able to drive, Danny took over, and despite several "bruises" of the car caused by Leo's blading car, Danny won.

Finally, Graduation Day for the class of 1959 (the class the Birds and Pink ladies were in) occured at despite the help she got from the Bird's female counterparts, the Pink Ladies, Sandy won Danny's heart and the two flew away from the school carnival in Danny's flying car to the diner in the sky. After that, the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies graduated, and Danny and Sandy got their diplomas along with the rest and he and rest of the Birds and Pink Ladies had a great summer. Several of them went to colledge, some went to part-time jobs, like Kenickie, who worked at the Bowl-A-Rama as the manager there.

For Danny and Sandy, they went to college and took drama coruses to pursue their dreams in film and movies, and they still kept a close touch with the Birds and the Pink Ladies. Danny and Sandy stayed in college for two and a half years before graduating and taking in their first movie role in 1961.

In August 1961, Danny left his leather jacket behind along with the rest of the former members of the Birds and Ladies and hoping the new group of seniors would continue the destiny of the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies at Rydell. Danny was succeeded by Johnny Nogerilli who took over the T-Birds when he started his senior year with a a new group of guys and Rizzo was succeeded by Stephanie Zinonie who took over the Pink Ladies with a new group of girls when she started her senior year at Rydell. And that is how the sequel Grease 2 started.

Italic text Danny Zuko and the original "Grease" gang can be seen a very small notice in Principal McGee's office in Grease 2, the picture is in black and white and was taken in Rydell's football field, the text in the bottom of the picture which reads out, "Rydell High School, Class Of 1959".