This month marks one year since “Footloose” star Kevin Bacon returned to the film’s stomping grounds in Payson, Utah, to honor the students who spent several months doing everything in their power to get him there.
As the actor strutted onto the outdoor track at Payson High School last April and approached the students, he gave a wide smile.
“You were all just tireless, unrelenting, in your desire to have me return,” he said, as the Deseret News reported at the time. “And you talked me into it.”
Looking out over the field through his black sunglasses, Bacon marveled at how Payson had grown since “Footloose” was filmed in the summer of 1983.
“It 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,” he joked.
Now, a year after Bacon’s highly anticipated return to Payson, the actor has reunited with some of the same high school students in a coincidental meetup.
Kevin Bacon reunites with Utah high school students on ‘Today’
Bacon made an appearance on the “Today” show recently to chat about his new Amazon Prime Video series “The Bondsman” — and it just so happened that students from Payson High School were in the area at the same time for a school field trip.
“It’s like they’re stalking you now,” “Today” anchor Craig Melvin joked.
The school had reached out to the “Today” show and asked if they could stop by, per Today.com.
Out on New York City’s Rockefeller Plaza, the students donned their high school jackets and waved to Bacon before showing off the “Footloose” dance — moves they had mastered as part of their efforts to get the actor to return to Payson.
“That’s awesome,” Bacon said as he saw the students. “I recognize that jacket — in fact, I’ve got one of these jackets.”
The actor received a letter jacket last year while touring the high school — a tour that included revisiting his locker from the movie that was still intact. The visit came as the film celebrated its 40th anniversary.
“It was amazing,” Bacon told the “Today” show of returning to Payson, praising the kids’ community outreach efforts and collaboration with his charity organization SixDegrees. “They gave me a great tour of the school. It was amazing.”
When Kevin Bacon (sort of) crashed Payson High School’s prom
The “Today” show didn’t ask Bacon to join in on the “Footloose” dance — but the show’s anchors did ask if he remembers the moves.
“I do not,” the actor said with a laugh. “And I don’t want to injure myself.”
Bacon’s return to Payson last year happened on the morning of the high school’s “Footloose”-themed prom. Although he didn’t channel his inner Ren McCormack for the special occasion, Bacon did leave the students with a heartfelt message.
“The thing is, tonight, it’s not about me, it’s about you,” the actor said in a special video message that played at the prom, as the Deseret News reported at the time. “I want you all to have a great time, and most importantly, be good to each other. And don’t forget to cut loose.”
The video then cut to the final scene from “Footloose,” where Ren and his friends dance the night away after standing up to their town’s ban on dancing and rock ‘n’ roll. As the scene unfolded, Payson High School students cheered and broke out in a line dance to Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose.”
The prom not only marked the end of the night for the Payson High School students, but it was also the end of an intense effort to bring Bacon back to his “Footloose” roots.
“I really was just very pleased, really was just so happy and felt so proud of my kids that they accomplished this thing for themselves and just grateful to Kevin Bacon, honestly,” Jenny Staheli, Payson High School’s student council adviser, told reporters at the time.
“He didn’t have to say yes,” she continued. “And it’s taken some doing to get him here ... and the willingness that he showed to do that, what a generous guy. It’s great that he was willing to play along.”