Kevin Bacon fulfilled his promise to return to the Utah high school where his iconic 1984 film “Footloose” was filmed.
Bacon visited Payson High School on Saturday after months of efforts by the students who launched the #BacontoPayson social media campaign. The students recreated movie scenes and choreographed videos to catch Bacon’s attention, hoping he would attend their final prom before the school relocates at the end of the school year.
“When I first heard about this Bacon to Payson thing, I was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy.’ But you were all just tireless,” Bacon said in his speech on the school’s football field, according to ABC7. “You talked me into it.”
Bacon expressed his appreciation for the students’ dedication.
As part of the effort to bring Bacon back to campus, Payson High School pledged to create 5,000 essential resource kits for his Sixdegrees.org foundation, which supports underserved communities. The organization aims to pack and distribute up to 40,000 kits through its “Footloose40” initiative.
In his speech, Bacon thanked the students for turning the event into something meaningful and positive.
During his visit, Bacon received an honorary Payson High School diploma, posed for photos with students, and even visited his old locker, as shown in a video posted to his Instagram Stories.
“Footloose,” released in 1984, starred Bacon as a teenager who moves to a small town where dancing is forbidden, a rule he works to overturn. The movie ends with a prom, which, even after 40 years, remains the place to get footloose.
