Corey Feldman pays tribute to Jeff Conaway, but no Grease stars attend the funeral

Child star Corey Feldman paid tribute to Jeff Conaway with a touching speech at his funeral…but Grease co-stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John were notably absent.

Fellow cast members Stockard Channing and Didi Conn, who played Rizzo and Frenchie in the 1978 musical, were also missing from the private ceremony in Encino, California.

Instead, Feldman, Ghostbusters actor Ernie Hudson and Back To The Future legend Christopher Lloyd were among the famous faces to bid fare well to the late actor.

Screen veteran Lloyd starred with Conaway and Danny Devito in hit seventies show Taxi, about the staff of a New York company who dreamed of greater things as they went about their day job.

Feldman, famed for roles in Gremlins and the Goonies, celebrated his 25 year-old friendship with Conaway by speaking highly of his friend and recalling his fondest memories.

He said, “Jeff was an amazing leader. He had a light inside of him that was so inspiring to many. I was one of those people that he affected so profoundly. He had energy. He had charisma…he had joy and laughter in his heart. And he wanted to share that with as many people as he could.”

Conaway, who survived in the industry with small television roles and a stint on Celebrity Rehab in 2008, was found unconscious last month from what was initially described as an overdose.

His condition became critical after slipping into a coma and a few days later, his family took him off the life support machine. He was aged just 60.

Jeff struggled with addiction for decades, with several attempts at rehab back in the eighties.

After agreeing to appear on the reality show in a bid to seek treatment, he confessed he had contemplated suicide.

When Conaway was asked how he envisaged doing it, he replied that he could see himself breaking a mirror and slicing his throat with it.

During group sessions, he spoke of torture from his childhood, as older boys in his neighbourhood would put him in dangerous situations and threaten him.

He also revealed he was a victim of a paedophiles and child pornographers when he was seven.

Soul group The Temptations put in a special performance at the memorial service, hosted by his former fiancée Vikki Lizzi.

The Temptations sang hits which included ‘It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye’ and a track they wrote especially for their friend called, ‘I’ll Miss You Buddy’.

by Helena Bryanlith

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