‘Grease’ Actress Annette Charles Dies at 63

11:04 AM PDT 8/4/2011 by Mike Barnes

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She played Cha Cha DiGregorio on Paramount’s 1978 hit film.

Annette Charles, who played Charlene “Cha Cha” DiGregorio in the 1978 hit movie Grease, died Wednesday night of cancer in her Los Angeles home, TMZ reported. She was 63.

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Charles played the girlfriend of Leo (Dennis Stewart), the leader of the Scorpions, and wins a nationally televised school dance with John Travolta after Olivia-Newton John’s character is dragged away.

Before the Paramount release, the Los Angeles native appeared in several TV series since an appearance on High Chaparral in 1968, including The Flying Nun, Gunsmoke, Mod Squad, Bonanza, Barnaby Jones and The Bionic Woman.

Charles’ last TV gig was on Magnum, P.I. in 1987.