Recently I posted that for the 40th anniversary of "Footloose," the graduating class at Payson High in Utah (where "Footloose" was filmed) petitioned Kevin Bacon to return for the school's last ever prom since the school is being torn down.
Kevin Bacon visited the Payson, Utah high school where Footloose was filmed, 40 years later. The event followed a social media campaign led by students who wanted the actor to attend their prom before the school was relocated. “It’s been a long time — 40 years — that just blows my mind, you know,” Bacon told the crowd. “Things look a little different around here. I’d say the thing that looks the most different is me.” Students used the hashtag #bacontopayson and reenacted scenes from Footloose to capture the actor’s attention. They also supported his SixDegrees.org foundation by pledging to create 5,000 “essential resource kits” for youth and schools, out of the nonprofit’s 40,000 goal. “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,” Bacon added.
As you'll see in the video below, he surprised them by saying YES. And last week he made the trip back to his "alma mater" and we have that video too.
Here is my original post:
Four decades after Kevin Bacon shouted “let’s dance” in “Footloose,” students at Payson High School where the movie was filmed are on an all-out mission to have the star attend their prom.
Utah's Payson High School was where Bacon's Ren McCormack shows up in the movie and tries to overturn a local ban on dancing.
The high school is set to be knocked down later this year, meaning students will be relocated to another building, per the Hill and USA Today. Students there decided that, before the high school-turned-movie set is turned to rubble, Kevin Bacon should come for one last goodbye, at prom.
Payson students set to work to get Bacon's attention about their invite, learning dance moves from Footloose and re-creating scenes from the film, then posting them on social media with the hashtag #BaconToPayson.
In a TODAY exclusive, NBC’s Kaylee Hartung reports on their viral campaign — and Bacon's live response!
Jenny Staheli, the school's student council adviser, tells Today how proud she is of what the students pulled off. "To watch them just take ownership of that and run with it has been ... it succeeded beyond my wildest dreams, honestly."