His father, Salvatore "Sam" Travolta, was a semiprofessionalAmerican football player turned tire salesman and partner in a tire company, Travolta Tire Exchange.[4] His mother, Helen Cecilia (née Burke), was 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.[5] His siblingsJoey,Ellen, Ann,Margaret, and Sam Travolta were all inspired by their mother's love of theater and drama and became actors.[5] His father was a second-generationItalian American with roots inGodrano,Sicily, and his mother wasIrish American.[6][7]
He grew up in an Irish-American neighborhood and said that his household was predominantly Irish in culture.[8][9] He was raisedCatholic, but later converted toScientology in 1975 at age 21.[7][10] He converted after being given the bookDianetics from former actressJoan Prather.[citation needed] Travolta attendedDwight Morrow High School, but dropped out as a junior at age 17 in 1971.[11]
After dropping out of school, Travolta moved across theHudson River to New York City and landed a role in the touring company of the musicalGrease as Doody and on Broadway inOver Here!, singing theSherman Brothers' song "Dream Drummin'".[12][13] He then moved to Los Angeles for professional reasons. Travolta's first screen role in California was as a fall victim inEmergency! (Season 2, Episode 2) in September 1972,[14] but his first significant movie role was asBilly Nolan, a bully who was goaded into playing a prank onSissy Spacek's character in the horror filmCarrie (1976) directed byBrian de Palma.[15] Around that time, he landed his star-making role asVinnie Barbarino in theABC TV sitcomWelcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979), in which his sister,Ellen, also occasionally appeared (asArnold Horshack's mother).[16]
Travolta had a hit single titled "Let Her In", peaking at number 10 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart in July 1976.[17][18][19] In the next few years, he starred in the television movieThe Boy in the Plastic Bubble and two of his most noted screen roles: Tony Manero in the dance dramaSaturday Night Fever (1977) andDanny Zuko in the musicalGrease (1978).[5] The films were among the most commercially successful pictures of the decade and catapulted Travolta to international stardom.[20]Saturday Night Fever earned him a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Actor,[21] making him, at age 24, one ofthe youngest performers ever nominated for the Best Actor Oscar.[22] His mother and his sister Ann appeared very briefly inSaturday Night Fever and his sister Ellen played a waitress inGrease. Travolta performed on theGrease soundtrack album.[23] After the failure of the romanceMoment by Moment (1978), in which he starred withLily Tomlin, Travolta rebounded in 1980, riding a nationwide country music craze that followed on the heels of his hit filmUrban Cowboy, in which he starred withDebra Winger.[24]
1980s
Travolta in 1983
Travolta followed upUrban Cowboy with a starring role inBrian de Palma's 1981 filmBlow Out, which was critically lauded but a box office disappointment, likely due to its bleak ending.[25] AfterBlow Out came a series of commercial and critical failures which sidelined Travolta's acting career. These includedTwo of a Kind (1983), a romantic comedy reuniting him withOlivia Newton-John, andPerfect (1985), co-starringJamie Lee Curtis. He also starred inStaying Alive, the 1983 sequel toSaturday Night Fever, for which he trained rigorously to portray a professional dancer and lost 20 pounds (9.1 kg);[26] the film was a financial success, grossing over $65 million, though it, too, was scorned by critics.
In 2000, Travolta starred in and co-produced the science fiction filmBattlefield Earth, based onthe novel of the same name byL. Ron Hubbard, in which he played the villainous leading role as a leader of a group of aliens that enslaves humanity on a bleak future Earth. The film was a dream project for Travolta since the book's release in 1982, when Hubbard wrote to him to try to help make a film adaptation.[32] The film received almost universally negative reviews and did very poorly at the box office.[33] Travolta's performance inBattlefield Earth also earned him twoRazzie Awards.
Following the death of his wifeKelly Preston in July 2020, Travolta hinted on hisInstagram account that he would be putting his career on hold, stating, "I will be taking some time to be there for my children who have lost their mother, so forgive me in advance if you don't hear from us for a while".[38]
Travolta is a pilot[2] and rated to flyBoeing 707 and747 planes.[a] He owns four aircraft. Travolta owned an ex-Qantas Boeing 707-138B (Ex-VH-EBM) which bears an old livery ofQantas, and Travolta acted as an official goodwill ambassador for the airline wherever he flew.[39] Travolta named his 707 "Jett Clipper Ella", in honor of his children. The "Clipper" in the name refers to the use of that word byPan Am as the company'scall sign[40] as well as in the names of their aircraft.[41] In 2017, Travolta donated the Boeing 707 to theHistorical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) nearWollongong, Australia. This was expected to be flown to Australia in November 2019,[42] but was later delayed to sometime in 2020 due to condition of the aircraft.[43] Travolta planned to be on board when the aircraft was to be flown toIllawarra Regional Airport, where HARS is based, but was not allowed to fly it, because it was to be registered as an Australian aircraft.[42]
On September 13, 2010, during the first episode of the final season ofher talk show,Oprah Winfrey announced that she would be taking her entire studio audience on an eight-day, all-expenses-paid trip to Australia, with Travolta serving as pilot for the trip. He had helped Winfrey plan the trip for more than a year.[47]
He is the author of the bookPropeller One-Way Night Coach, the story of a young boy's first flight.[48]
His estate inOcala, Florida, is situated atJumbolair Airport with its own runway and taxiway right to his house, with two outbuildings for covered access to planes.[2][49]
After the2010 Haiti earthquake, joining other celebrities in helping with the relief efforts, Travolta reportedly flew hisBoeing 707 full of supplies, doctors, and ScientologistVolunteer Ministers into the disaster area.[50]
Travolta was in a relationship with actressDiana Hyland, whom he met while filmingThe Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976). They remained together until Hyland's death from breast cancer on March 27, 1977. In 1980, Travolta dated French actressCatherine Deneuve.[51] Travolta also had an on-again/off-again relationship with actressMarilu Henner, which ended permanently in 1985.[52] In 1988 while filmingThe Experts, Travolta met actressKelly Preston, whom he married in Paris in 1991. They had three children: Jett (1992–2009), Ella Bleu (born 2000), and Benjamin (born 2010).[53] They regularly attended marriage counseling and Travolta has stated that therapy helped the marriage.[54] They lived nearOcala, Florida.
On January 2, 2009, Jett died at age sixteen while on a Christmas vacation inThe Bahamas.[55][56] A Bahamian death certificate was issued, attributing the cause of death to aseizure.[57] Jett, who had a history of seizures, reportedly hadKawasaki disease since the age of two.[58][59] Travolta confirmed that Jett wasautistic and had regular seizures, and immediately made his public statements while giving testimony at the trial of two defendants (a paramedic and a former Bahamas senator) who Travolta alleged tried to blackmail him with a multimillion-dollar extortion plot involving private information in connection with the death of his son Jett.[60] After a mistrial, Travolta dropped the charges and has credited his immediate family and Scientology with helping him to cope with Jett's death and move forward with his career.[61][62][63] In memory of Jett, Travolta created the Jett Travolta Foundation, a nonprofit organization to help children with special needs.[64] It has contributed to organizations such as theOprah Winfrey Leadership Academy,Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential, andSimon Wiesenthal Center.[65]
On July 12, 2020, Travolta's wife, Kelly Preston, died at the age of 57, at their home inClearwater, Florida,[66] two years after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.[67] Preston had undergone treatment at different hospitals, and at the time of her death, was receiving treatment at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.[68]
Travolta is "good friend[s]" with American rapperPitbull.[69] The two collaborated on Travolta's 2018 filmGotti, for which Pitbullscored and wrote the song "Amore".[70] In 2019, Travolta debuted a new shaved head look after receiving advice from Pitbull to do so.[69] Later that year, Travolta appeared in the music video for Pitbull's single "3 to Tango".[71]
Legal issues
In May 2012, an anonymous masseur filed a lawsuit against Travolta, citing claims of sexual assault and battery. A lawyer for Travolta said that the allegations were "complete fiction and fabrication". Travolta's counsel also stated that his client would be able to prove that he was not in California on the day in question and asserted that Travolta would "sue the attorney and Plaintiff for malicious prosecution" after getting the case thrown out.[72] A second masseur later joined the lawsuit, making similar claims.[73][74] Both lawsuits were subsequently dropped by the complainants and dismissedwithout prejudice.[75]
On September 27, 2012, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Malcolm Mackey dismissed a defamation lawsuit against Travolta and his attorney Marty Singer by writer Robert Randolph because he found that a letter, written by Singer in response to allegations in a book by Randolph, was protected by free speech.[76]
In July 2014, a California court allowed Travolta's former private pilot, Douglas Gotterba, to proceed with a lawsuit challenging the confidentiality and non-disclosure provisions of the termination agreement signed between Gotterba and Travolta years earlier.[77] Travolta's lawyers served Gotterba with a cease and desist letter in 2012 after learning through a tip that Gotterba was planning to release a book about his time working for Travolta between 1981 and 1987, during which period Gotterba claims to have had a homosexual extramarital affair with Travolta. Travolta strongly denied the allegations.[78][79]
^Karger, Dave (April 27, 2007)."Spotlight on Ryan Gosling".Entertainment Weekly.Archived from the original on January 6, 2008. RetrievedAugust 26, 2009.
^Jackson, Kevin (February 6, 1996)."High-concept high roller".The Independent. London.Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. RetrievedAugust 26, 2009.
All except noted:Kent, David (1993).Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 313.ISBN0-646-11917-6.
Travolta, John (1984).John Travolta, Staying Fit!: His Complete Program for Reshaping Your Body Through Weight Resistance Training and Modern Dance Techniques. Simon and Schuster.ISBN978-0-671-49798-9.
Travolta, John (1997).Propeller One-Way Night Coach: A Fable for All Ages. Warner Books.ISBN978-0-44652-257-1.
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