Joyce Marshall/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/ Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Joyce Marshall/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/ Tribune News Service via Getty ImagesMany Elton John fans know that before he became famous, he was weeks away from marrying a woman named Linda Woodrow, but his friends convinced him to call it off.  The incident, depicted in the movie Rocketman, later inspired Elton’s hit “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” — and now, 50 years later, Elton is coming to Linda’s aid.

As the British paper The Mirror reports, the 76-year-old, now Linda Hannon, manages a doctor’s office in Dallas. She needs a knee replacement but hasn’t been able to have the operation because she can’t afford to take five weeks off of work to recuperate. Then, her thoughts turned to her ex, the man she knew as Reg Dwight.

“In the late ’60s, Reg and Bernie [Taupin] weren’t earning any money, so I was hoping, from one friend to another, whether they could help me through this financial blip,” she explains to The Mirror. “When Reg started out, I was paying the rent, bills and for the food.”

She continues, “My knee is awful to walk on..I thought of Reg and whether he could help. It was a long shot.”

Linda emailed Elton’s management, but when she never heard back, she asked The Mirror for help. The paper then reached out to Elton’s team, and heard back right away.

A source close to Elton told the paper, “When [he] heard about Linda’s plight, he didn’t hesitate for a second to help out. He remembers how good she was [to him] 50 years ago, when he and Bernie needed the support, and is really pleased to be able to help her in her hour of need.”

Linda’s response?

“I am so touched by Reg,” she says. “After all these years, it’s so kind.”

By Andrea Dresdale
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