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Actor Kevin Bacon returned to his Footloose alma mater, Payson High School in Utah, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the musical film that put his career on the map.
Footloose was filmed in 1984. Bacon was 25 when he played teenage character Ren McCormack.
"Wow, look at this place, look at these people," he said on his handheld mic as he walked onto the high school football field. "So good to be here."
He greeted the Payson High student body with:
“Go Lions! Here we are on this beautiful, beautiful spot on this beautiful, beautiful day."
"It’s been a long time–40 years–that just blows my mind, you know. Things look a little different around here."
" I’d say the thing that looks the most different is me.”
His visit was prompted by the tireless efforts of Payson High’s student body, who for years have been trying to entice Bacon to make an appearance on campus.
The 65-year-old actor couldn't resist.
He said in a video shared by Salt Lake City’s ABC 4:
“When I first heard about this Bacon to Payson thing, I was like ‘Wow, this is crazy.’ But you were all just tireless. Unrelenting … You talked me into it."
“I think it’s great to see that kind of commitment to anything."
"I also think that it’s amazing the power that this movie has had to just kind of bring people together, and connect on the basic ideas there are behind the movie–you know, standing up to authority sometimes, and to being forgiving to people who are not exactly the same as you, and for standing up for your own freedoms and your right to express yourself, and for having compassion for other people.”
The TODAY Show reported coverage of his visit, which you can see here.
He slipped right back into character.
As an incentive to bring home the Bacon, students pledged to donate to his foundation, SixDegrees.org, which is aiming to create 40,000 “essential resource kits” for students and schools.
According to Payson High Principal Jesse Sorenson, the students created 5,000 of those care packages on the same day as their Footloose-themed prom as a gesture of gratitude for Bacon answering the call.
The students filled each kit with hopeful messages and worked with the Utah Film Commission and SixDegrees to raise money and donations for essential items like toiletries and clothing to go into the individual backpacks.
Bacon helped an estimated 700 students and 300 local community members to fill those bags.
Bacon continued:
“And that’s what all of you have shown here, by turning what could be just a movie star coming back to get a pat on the back, into something really positive."
"And that’s what we’re going to do today when we build these kits."
"Thank you so much for your commitment to giving back to your community and to the people you’re sharing this planet with, and I’m thrilled we’re going to be working here together today.”
Fans of the film waxed nostalgic, '80s-style.
@TODAYshow @kevinbacon @KayleeHartung How nostalgic and heartwarming! "Footloose" holds a special place in many hearts, and seeing Kevin Bacon celebrate the 40th anniversary at Payson High School must have been a trip down memory lane. Childhood movies like these have a way of staying with us and evoking such fond\u2026— (@)
Footloose is about a Chicago teen played by Bacon, who leads the charge to overturn a small town's ban on dancing imposed by the local minister.
It is a cult classic that went on to become the seventh highest-grossing film of 1984 and spawned a stage musical of the same name in 1998.
The iconic soundtrack featured the titular earworm "Footloose" performed by Kenny Loggins and "Let's Hear It for the Boy" by Deniece Williams, both nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.