JOHN TRAVOLTA

'John Joseph Travolta' (born February 18, 1954) is a two-time Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe Award-winning American actor and singer. He established his career as a leading Hollywood actor with films such as ''Saturday Night Fever'' and ''Grease''. Travolta enjoyed a career revival in the 1990s, stemming from his role in ''Pulp Fiction''.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Early career

70s Stardom

Downturn

Resurgence

Personal life

Controversy

Filmography

Salary

Television work

Music career

Discography

Singles

Further reading

References

External links

Biography

Early life

Travolta, youngest of six children,^[1] was born in Englewood, New Jersey, the son of Salvatore Travolta, a semi-professional football player turned tire salesman and partner in a tire company,^[2] and Helen Cecilia (née Burke), an actress and singer who had appeared in ''The Sunshine Sisters'', a radio vocal group, and acted and directed before becoming a high school drama and English teacher. She was 42 when Travolta was born. Travolta's father was a second-generation Italian American and his mother was Irish American;^[3][4] Travolta grew up in an Irish-American neighborhood^[5] and has said that his household was predominantly Irish in culture. His family was Catholic.^[6]

Early career

After dropping out of Dwight Morrow High School after his junior year, Travolta moved to New York City to get a job as a performer. He landed a role in the touring company of ''Grease (musical)'' and on Broadway in ''Over Here!'' singing the Sherman Brothers' song "Dream Drummin'.'" Travolta also cut singles for a local record company, but the songs were quickly forgotten. But eventually, he moved to Los Angeles to further his career in show business.
Travolta's first television role was as a fall victim in ''Emergency!'' (S2E2) in Sept. 1972, but his first major movie role as Billy Nolan, a sadistic bully who taunted Sissy Spacek's Carrie White in the horror film ''Carrie'' (1976). Around the same time he landed his star-making role as Vinnie Barbarino in the TV sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) in which his sister, Ellen, also occasionally appeared (as Arnold Horshack's mother). (Travolta also had appeared in various TV commercials during this time span, appearing in ads for Band-Aid, Haggar Slacks and Mony Insurance among others.)

70s Stardom

Around this time he also had a hit single entitled "Let Her In" peaking at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the next few years, he appeared in some of his most memorable screen roles: Tony Manero in ''Saturday Night Fever'' (1977) and as Danny Zuko in ''Grease'' (1978). These two films were among the most commercially successful pictures of the decade and catapulted Travolta to international stardom. His mother and his sister Ann appeared as extras in ''Saturday Night Fever'' and his sister Ellen appeared as a waitress in ''Grease''. Travolta performed several of the songs on the ''Grease'' soundtrack album, that eventually went on to sell more than 10 million copies. In 1980, Travolta inspired a nationwide country music craze that followed on the heels of his hit film, ''Urban Cowboy'', in which he starred with Debra Winger.

Downturn

After ''Urban Cowboy'' came a string of flops that sidelined his acting career. ''Staying Alive'', the sequel to ''Saturday Night Fever'', ''Perfect'', co-starring Jamie Lee Curtis, and ''Two Of A Kind'' a romantic comedy reteaming him with Olivia Newton John, were all commercial disasters severely beaten up by critics. Some suggest that he was typecast as a disco stud or 1970s icon, which could be the reason his agent intervened on several occasions to turn down acting roles. During that time he was offered, but turned down, lead roles in what would become box office hits, including ''American Gigolo'', ''An Officer and A Gentleman'', ''Splash'' and ''Fatal Attraction''. Disenchanted, Travolta pursued flying and eventually earned his license to command aircraft. His only hit film was ''Look Who's Talking'' with Kirstie Alley and a baby voiced by Bruce Willis.

Resurgence

It was not until he played Vincent Vega in Quentin Tarantino's hit ''Pulp Fiction'' (1994), for which he received an Academy Award nomination, that his career was revived. The movie shifted him back onto the A-list, and he was inundated with offers. Coincidentally, before Travolta took the role he visited Tarantino, who was living in the same ramshackle apartment in Los Angeles that Travolta had inhabited when he got his start. Notable roles following ''Pulp Fiction'' include a movie-buff loan shark in ''Get Shorty'' (1995), an FBI agent in ''Face/Off'' (1997), a desperate attorney in ''A Civil Action'' (1998) and a military detective in ''The General's Daughter'' (1999).

Travolta also starred in ''Battlefield Earth'' (2000) based on a work of science fiction by L. Ron Hubbard, in which he played the leader of a group of aliens that enslaves humanity on a bleak future Earth. The film received almost universally negative reviews and did very poorly at the box office.^[7]The film won a Razzie Award for Worst Film of the Year at the 2000 awards. Travolta, who converted to Scientology in 1975 and endorses Hubbard's teachings, had hoped that the film would be well received and be the first in a series of Hubbard film adaptations. In 2004, Travolta played Deputy Chief Mike Kennedy in the ''Ladder 49''. This film was notable for being the first post-9/11 film that focused on the life of a crew of firefighters. Travolta starred as a workaholic with a bad hairpiece turned biker in 2007's ''Wild Hogs''. Travolta plays Edna Turnblad in the remake of ''Hairspray'', his first musical since ''Grease''.^[8]

Personal life

Travolta married actress Kelly Preston in 1991. They have a son named Jett, and a daughter named Ella Bleu.

Travolta is a certified pilot and owns five airplanes, including an ex-Australian Boeing 707-138 airliner. The plane bears the name ''Jett Clipper Ella'' in honour of his son Jett and his daughter Ella. Pan Am was a large operator of the Boeing 707 and used Clipper in their names. The 707 aircraft bears the marks of Qantas, as Travolta acts as an official goodwill ambassador for the airline wherever he flies. His US$4.9 million estate in the Jumbolair subdivision in Ocala, Florida is situated on Greystone Airport with its own runway and taxiway right to the door. ^[9]
In 1992, he wrote and illustrated a short children's book entitled ''Propeller One-Way Night Coach'' about the fictional journey of an 8-year-old boy named Jeff across the USA in the 1950s.
Travolta was previously involved with actress Diana Hyland, who died of breast cancer in 1977.^[10]

Controversy

In 2007, Travolta intervened on behalf of fellow Scientologist Tom Davis who he believed had been unfairly treated in the BBC current affairs program ''Panorama'' episode "Scientology and Me", lobbying Members of Parliament to stop the documentary from being aired.^[11]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975	''The Devil's Rain''	Danny
1976	''The Boy in the Plastic Bubble''	Tod Lubitch
	''Carrie''	Billy Nolan
1977	''Saturday Night Fever''	Tony Manero
1978	''Moment by Moment''	Strip Harrison
	''Grease''	Danny Zuko
1980	''Urban Cowboy''	Buford 'Bud' Uan Davis
1981	''Blow Out''	Jack Terry
1983	''Staying Alive''	Tony Manero
	''Two of a Kind''	Zack
1985	''Perfect''	Adam Lawrence
1989	''Look Who's Talking''	James Ubriacco
	''The Experts''	Travis
1990	''Look Who's Talking Too''	James Ubriacco
1991	''Shout''	Jack Cabe
	''Eyes of an Angel''	Bobby
1992	''Boris and Natasha''	Himself	(cameo)
1993	''Look Who's Talking Now''	James Ubriacco
1994	''Pulp Fiction''	Vincent Vega
1995	''Get Shorty''	Chili Palmer
	''White Man's Burden''	Louis Pinnock
1996	''Michael''	Michael
	''Phenomenon''	George Malley
	''	Himself	(short subject)
	''Broken Arrow''	Maj. Vic 'Deak' Deakins
1997	''Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's''	Himself	(documentary)
	''Mad City''	Sam Baily
	''Face/Off''	Sean Archer
	''She's So Lovely''	Joey
1998	''A Civil Action''	Jan Schlichtmann
	''The Thin Red Line''	Brigadier General Quintard
	''Junket Whore''	Himself	(documentary)
	''Primary Colors''	Governor Jack Stanton
1999	''The General's Daughter''	Warr. Off. Paul Brenner/Sgt. Frank White
	''Our Friend, Martin''	Kyle's dad	(animated educational film, voice only)
2000	''Welcome to Hollywood''	Himself	(documentary)
	''Lucky Numbers''	Russ Richards
	''Battlefield Earth''	Terl
2001	''Domestic Disturbance''	Frank Morrison
	''Swordfish''	Gabriel Shear
2002	''Austin Powers in Goldmember''	"Austinpussy" Johann van der Smut / Goldmember
2003	''Basic''	Hardy
2004	''Ladder 49''	Captain Mike Kennedy
	''A Love Song for Bobby Long''	Bobby Long
	''The Punisher''	Howard Saint
2005	''	Himself	(narrator; documentary)
	''Be Cool''	Chili Palmer
2006	''	Dave	(voice only)
	''Lonely Hearts''	Elmer C. Robinson
2007	''Wild Hogs''	Woody Stevens
	''Hairspray''	Edna Turnblad
	''Dallas''	J.R. Ewing	(pre-production)
	''Sashank''	Italiano Nick Bhanni	Announced
2008	''Bolt''	American Dog the Hound Dog	(voice only; pre-production)

Salary

★ ''Hairspray'' (2007) US$14 million including ''ca''. US$3 million prerequisites

★ ''Ladder 49 (2004) US $20 million

★ ''Primary Colors'' (1998) US$18 million

★ ''Mad City'' (1997) US$17 million

★ ''Face/Off'' (1997) US$15 million

★ ''Michael'' (1996) US$15 million

★ ''Phenomenon (film)'' (1996) US$18 million

★ ''Broken Arrow (1996 film)'' (1996) US$17 million

★ ''Get Shorty (film)'' (1995) US$3.5 million

★ ''Pulp Fiction'' (1994) US$140,000

Television work

★ ''The Tenth Level'' (1975)

★ ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (cast member from 1975 - 1978)  

★ ''The Boy in the Plastic Bubble'' (1976)

★ ''Basements'' (1987)

★ ''Chains of Gold'' (1991) (also writer)

★ ''Punk'd'' (2004) (Uncredited)

Music career

Discography

★ ''Over Here!'' (Original Cast Album) (1974)

★ ''John Travolta'' (1976)

★ ''Can't Let You Go'' (1977)

★ ''Travolta Fever'' (1978)

★ ''Grease'' (movie soundtrack) (1978)

★ ''The Road to Freedom'' (Scientology album) (1986)

★ ''Let Her In: The Best of John Travolta'' (1996)

★ ''The Collection'' (2003)

★ ''Hairspray'' (2007)

Singles

★ "You Set My Dreams To Music" (1969)

★ "Goodnight Mr. Moon" (1969)

★ "Rainbows" (1969)

★ "Settle Down" (1970)

★ "Moonlight Lady" (1971)

★ "Right Time Of The Night" (1972)

★ "Big Trouble" (1972)

★ "What Would They Say" (1973)

★ "Back Doors Crying" (1973)

★ "Dream Drummin'" (1974)

★ "Easy Evil" (1975)

★ "Can't Let You Go" (1975)

★ "Let Her In" (1976)

★ "Slow Dancin'" (1976)

★ "It Had To Be You" (1976)

★ "I Don't Know What I Like About You Baby" (1976)

★ "Baby, I Could Be So Good At Lovin' You" (1977)

★ "Razzamatazz" (1977)

★ "Sandy" (1978)

★ "Greased Lightnin'" (1978)

★ "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again" (1980)

★ "Hooker Madness" (1983)

Further reading

★ Brigitte Tast (ed.) ''John Travolta'' (Hildesheim/Germany 1978) ISBN 3-88842-103-9.

References

1. On the move: John Travolta Garth Pearce
2. http://www.filmreference.com/film/50/John-Travolta.html
3. Begorrah!! Travolta's Irish...
4. Night Moves Meg Grant
5. Celebetty: John Travolta
6. The Big Question: John Travolta
7. rotten tomatoes about "Battlefield Earth"
8. ''Travolta on becoming a woman'', interview with stv/movies, June 2007 'stv' website
9. Kelly Preston showed a picture of this on the August 29, 2007 episode of ''Late Night With Conan O'Brien''.
10. biography of Diana Hyland
11. Travolta spearheads Scientologists' attack on BBC

External links

★ John Travolta official homepage

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