Gere-rease lightning on stage

Even a Hollywood heart-throb has to start somewhere. Before he quickened pulses as An Officer And A Gentleman, or thrilled the ladies as an American Gigolo, Richard Gere learned to be a smoothie on the London stage in Grease.

These never-seen-before pictures show Gere in 1973, at the tender age of 24, in one of his first live performances, before his good looks and talent were recognised by Hollywood.

Even at that age, and just out of college, Gere had a generous helping of star quality. With a towering quiff, dressed in black leather jacket, white T-shirt and turned-up jeans, he belted through You're The One That I Want, Summer Nights and Greased Lightning.

He played Danny Zuko. His earliest pretty woman was one Stacey Gregg as Sandy, for whom he declared his love in the ballad Hopelessly Devoted To You.

Gere's performance in the production, which opened at the New London Theatre, Drury Lane, on 26 June 1973, was applauded by audience and critics alike.

After 30 years of collecting dust, the footage from which these pictures were taken was recovered for the BBC1 series, Before They Were Famous, and will be screened for the first time later in the year.

Back in 1973, theatre critic Irving Wardle wrote in The Times of the "excellent group of performances from the jumping-bean cast". He went on: "The boys in particular couple explosive spontaneity with styles of movement defining the period: the vibrating spasmodic walk and the body shuddering as if with electric shocks. The grand master of this style is Richard Gere's Danny."

The cast had come to the West End from a successful run on Broadway, which made £1.5million. But the London production was the first one in which Gere performed.

The now Sir David Frost ploughed money into the production, which cost £50,000. At the first-night party the male cast twirled the girls over their heads and between their legs, Fifties-style.

In the end it was John Travolta who stole the glory when he played Danny in the movie version five years later - but Gere is unlikely to be jealous.