John Travolta
| John Travolta | |
|---|---|
John Travolta in 2007 |
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| Born | John Joseph Travolta February 18, 1954 Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Residence | Jumbolair subdivision; Ocala, Florida |
| Occupation | Actor, singer, dancer, producer, writer |
| Years active | 1969–present |
| Religion | Roman Catholic (until 1975) Scientologist (1975-present) |
| Spouse | Kelly Preston (1991–present) |
| Children |
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| Website | |
| http://www.travolta.com | |
John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor, dancer, and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease. Travolta's acting career declined in the early 1980s and continued to deteriorate for the rest of the decade. His career enjoyed a resurgence in the 1990s with his role in Pulp Fiction, and he has since continued starring in Hollywood films, including Face/Off, Ladder 49, and Wild Hogs. Travolta was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance in Get Shorty.
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Early life
Travolta, the youngest of six children,[1] was born and raised in Englewood, New Jersey, an inner-ring suburb of New York City. His father, Salvatore Travolta (November 1912 – May 1995),[2] was a semi-professional American football player turned tire salesman and partner in a tire company.[3] His mother, Helen Cecilia (née Burke, January 1912 – December 1978),[2] 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.[4] His siblings, Joey, Ellen, Ann, Margaret, and Sam Travolta, have all acted.[4] His father was a second-generation Italian American and his mother was Irish American;[5][6] he grew up in an Irish-American neighborhood and has said that his household was predominantly Irish in culture.[7][8] He was raised Roman Catholic, but converted to Scientology in 1975.[6][9]
Career
Early career
After attending Dwight Morrow High School,[10] Travolta moved across the Hudson River to New York City and landed a role in the touring company of the musical Grease and on Broadway in Over Here!, singing the Sherman Brothers' song "Dream Drummin'".[11][12] He then moved to Los Angeles to further his career in show business.
Travolta's first California-filmed television role was as a fall victim in, Emergency! (S2E2), in September 1972,[13] but his first significant movie role was as Billy Nolan, a bully who was goaded into playing a prank on Sissy Spacek's character in the horror film, Carrie (1976).[14] 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).[15] The show aired on ABC.
1970s stardom
Around this time, Travolta had a hit single entitled "Let Her In", peaking at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[16][17] In the next few years, he appeared in two of his most noted screen roles: Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever (1977) and as Danny Zuko in Grease (1978).[4] The films were among the most commercially successful pictures of the decade and catapulted Travolta to international stardom.[18] Saturday Night Fever earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.[19] At age 24, Travolta became one of the youngest performers ever nominated for the Best Actor Oscar.[20] 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.[21] 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.[22]
Downturn
After Urban Cowboy, Travolta starred in a series of financial and critical failures that sidelined his acting career. These included Perfect, co-starring Jamie Lee Curtis, and Two of a Kind, a romantic comedy reteaming him with Olivia Newton-John. During that time he was offered, but turned down, lead roles in what would become box office hits, including American Gigolo[23] and An Officer and a Gentleman, both of which went to Richard Gere.[24]
Resurgence
In 1989, Travolta starred in Look Who's Talking, which grossed $297,000,000, making it his most successful film since Grease. Travolta continued to the two sequels Look Who's Talking Too (1990) and Look Who's Talking Now (1993). But 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 revived.[25][26][4] The movie shifted him back onto the A-list, and he was inundated with offers. Notable roles following Pulp Fiction include a movie-buff loan shark in Get Shorty (1995), an FBI agent and terrorist in Face/Off (1997), a desperate attorney in A Civil Action (1998), a Bill Clinton-esque presidential candidate in Primary Colors (1998),[4] and a military detective in The General's Daughter (1999).
2000–present
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.[27] Travolta played Mrs. Edna Turnblad in the remake of Hairspray, his first musical since Grease.[28]
Personal life
Travolta was in a relationship with actress Diana Hyland, whom he met while filming The Boy in the Plastic Bubble; Hyland died of breast cancer in 1977.[29]
Travolta married actress Kelly Preston in 1991. The couple had a son, Jett (1992–2009).[30] Their daughter, Ella Bleu, was born in 2000. On May 18, 2010, Travolta and Preston announced that she was pregnant with the couple's third child,[31] later confirmed to be a boy.[32] Their son, Benjamin, was born on November 23, 2010 in Florida.[33]
Travolta and Preston have regularly attended marriage counseling; Travolta has stated that therapy has helped the marriage.[34]
Travolta is a certified private pilot and owns five aircraft, including an ex-Qantas Boeing 707–138 airliner. The plane bears the name Jett Clipper Ella in honor of his children.[35] Pan American World Airways was a large operator of the Boeing 707 and used Clipper in its names. The 707 aircraft bears the marks of Qantas, as Travolta acts as an official goodwill ambassador for the airline wherever he flies. His $4.9 million estate in the Jumbolair subdivision in Ocala, Florida, is situated on Greystone Airport with its own runway and taxiway right to his front door.[36]
On November 24, 1992, Travolta was piloting his Gulfstream N728T at night on top of a solid undercast when he experienced a total electrical system failure while flying under instrument flight rules into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. During the emergency landing he almost had a mid-air collision with a USAir Boeing 727, attributed to a risky decision by an air traffic controller.[37]
On September 13, 2010, during the first episode of the final season of her talk show, Oprah Winfrey announced that she would be taking her entire studio audience on an 8-day expenses-paid trip to Australia, with Travolta serving as pilot for the trip. He had helped Winfrey plan the trip for over a year.[38]
Travolta has been a practitioner of Scientology since 1975 when he was given the book Dianetics while filming the movie The Devil's Rain in Durango, Mexico.[39] After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, joining other celebrities in helping with the relief efforts, Travolta flew his 707 full of supplies, doctors, and Scientologist Volunteer Ministers into the disaster area.[40]
Son's death
On January 2, 2009, Travolta and Preston's son, Jett, died while on their holiday vacation in The Bahamas.[41][42] A Bahamian death certificate was issued, attributing the cause of death to a seizure.[43] Jett, who had a history of seizures,[44] reportedly suffered from Kawasaki disease as an infant.[45] On September 24, 2009,[46] Travolta and Preston confirmed speculations that their son had autism and suffered regular seizures.[47] They made their statements while giving testimony after a multi-million dollar extortion plot against them regarding the circumstances of their son's death. After a mistrial, [48] Travolta dropped the charges.[49] Travolta has credited his family and faith in helping him survive the tragic death of his son, and in moving forward with his film career.[50]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Emergency! | Chuck Benson[52] | Episode: "Kids" |
| 1972 | Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law | Episode: "A Piece of God" | |
| 1973 | The Rookies | Eddie Halley | Episode: " Frozen Smoke" |
| 1974 | Medical Center | Danny | Episode: "Saturday's Child" |
| 1975–1979 | Welcome Back, Kotter | Vincent "Vinnie" Barbarino | Credited as "Special Guest Star" (Season 4 only) |
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | US |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Over Here! | — |
| 1976 | John Travolta | 39 |
| 1977 | Can't Let You Go | 66 |
| 1978 | Travolta Fever | 161 |
| Grease | 1 | |
| 1983 | Two of a Kind | 26 |
| 1986 | The Road to Freedom | — |
| 1996 | Let Her In: The Best of John Travolta | — |
| 2003 | The Collection | — |
| 2007 | Hairspray | — |
Singles
- "Dream Drummin'" (1974)
- "Easy Evil" (1975)
- "Can't Let You Go" (1975)
- "You Set My Dreams To Music" (1976)
- "Goodnight Mr. Moon" (1976)
- "Rainbows" (1976)
- "Settle Down" (1976)
- "Moonlight Lady" (1976)
- "Right Time Of The Night" (1976)
- "Big Trouble" (1976)
- "What Would They Say" (1976)
- "Back Doors Crying" (1976)
- "Let Her In" (1976) – #10
- "Whenever I'm Away From You" (1976) – #38
- "Slow Dancin'" (1976)
- "It Had To Be You" (1976)
- "I Don't Know What I Like About You Baby" (1976)
- "All Strung Out On You" (1977) – #34
- "Baby, I Could Be So Good At Lovin' You" (1977)
- "Razzamatazz" (1977)
- "You're the One That I Want" – #1 (1978) (w/ Olivia Newton-John)
- "Sandy" (1978)
- "Greased Lightnin" (1978) – #47
- "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" (1980)
- "Hooker Madness" (1983)
- "Take A Chance" (1983) (w/ Olivia Newton-John)
- "Two Sleepy People" (1997) (w/ Carly Simon)
- "I Thought I Lost You" (2008) (w/ Miley Cyrus)
See also
References
- ^ Pearce, Garth (July 15, 2007). "On the move: John Travolta". Times Online (London). http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/article2068940.ece. Retrieved July 17, 2007.
- ^ a b "Social Security Death Index". Ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com. http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
- ^ "John Travolta Biography (1954–)". Filmreference.com. http://www.filmreference.com/film/50/John-Travolta.html. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Stated on Inside the Actors Studio, 2003
- ^ "Begorrah!! Travolta's Irish...". Showbiz Ireland. January 7, 2007. http://www.showbizireland.com/news/july01/20-travolta01.shtml. Retrieved July 17, 2007.
- ^ a b Flynn, Gaynor (February 28, 2010). "The resurrection man". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/people/the-resurrection-man-20100227-pa1y.html. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
- ^ "Celebetty: John Travolta". BeatBoxBetty.com. 2000. http://www.beatboxbetty.com/celebetty/johntravolta/johntravolta2/johntravolta2/johntravolta2.htm. Retrieved July 17, 2007.
- ^ Grant, Meg (February 2005). "Night Moves". Reader's Digest. http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/face-to-face-with-john-travolta/article26272-1.html. Retrieved July 17, 2007.
- ^ "The Big Question: John Travolta". "THE BIG QUESTION" BBC1. January 28, 2004. http://cosmedia.freewinds.cx/media/articles/bbc250198.html. Retrieved July 17, 2007.
- ^ "Q&A: John Travolta". Sports Illustrated. February 28, 2007. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/richard_deitsch/02/28/qa.travolta/1.html. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ "Masterworks & Playbill Debut 2 Editors' Choice Compilations". Baltimore.broadwayworld.com. March 11, 2007. http://baltimore.broadwayworld.com/article/Masterworks_Playbill_Debut_2_Editors_Choice_Compilations_20070311. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ Collins, Nancy (August 18, 1983). "Sex and the Single Star: John Travolta". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/25281885/. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ "The Quintessential Tarot Tina: What's on the Cards for Star John Travolta". Highbeam.com. July 3, 2005. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-133738542.html. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ Mcelroy, Steven (July 8, 2006). "What's on Tonight". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE5DD1030F93BA35754C0A9609C8B63. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ "A Sister's Inspiration – John Travolta Followed Ellen's Lead into Acting". The Spokesman-Review. July 7, 1996. http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/SR/lib00140,0EAF4675750590A1.html. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ Blank, Ed (March 28, 2003). "John Travolta talks about his past, his present and his destiny in Hollywood". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_126015.html. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ "Then & Now: 10 Best Teen Idols of All Time". FOXNews.com. January 1, 2009. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,474846,00.html. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ White, Jim (October 17, 1994). "Look who's acting: Staying Alive was dire. Perfect was anything but. Now, courtesy of Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, Travolta is back.". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film--look-whos-acting-staying-alive-was-dire-perfect-was-anything-but-now-courtesy-of-tarantinos-pulp-fiction-travolta-is-back-by-jim-white-1443469.html. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ "Saturday Night Fever". Variety. December 14, 1977. http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_review&reviewid=VE1117794638&categoryid=31. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ Karger, Dave (April 27, 2007). "Spotlight on Ryan Gosling". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20035877,00.html. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ "Travolta, R.E.M., Moby, Danzig Make Movie/Music Crossovers". Mtv.com. July 17, 1997. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1427842/19970717/danzig.jhtml. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ "John Travolta". MTV. February 18, 1954. http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/travolta_john/artist.jhtml. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ Jackson, Kevin (February 6, 1996). "High-concept high roller". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/highconcept-high-roller-1317555.html. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ "John Travolta goes the whole Hog with his new hit movie". The Independent (London). April 6, 2007. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/john-travolta-goes-the-whole-hog-with-his-new-hit-movie-443516.html. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ Lasalle, Mick (October 15, 1995). "Making Movies With the Mob / John Travolta stars as gangster producer in Elmore Leonard's `Get Shorty'". Sfgate.com. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1995/10/15/PK67911.DTL&type=printable. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ James, Caryn (December 2, 2004). "CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK; As Praise Flows, Travolta Awaits His 3rd Comeback". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03EEDB1E3EF931A35751C1A9629C8B63. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ John Travolta at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ Travolta on becoming a woman, interview with stv/movies, June 2007 stv.tv
- ^ "Biography of Diana Hyland". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0405076/bio. Retrieved March 28, 2007.
- ^ Douglas Thompson (January 3, 2009). "'For John Travolta, protecting Jett was everything'". London: Dailymail.co.uk. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1104777/For-John-Travolta-protecting-Jett-He-control-Thats-flew-plane-says-biographer.html. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
- ^ "John Travolta and Kelly Preston Are Expecting!". People. May 18, 2010. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20386272,00.html. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
- ^ "Kelly Preston and John Travolta Expecting a Boy!". People.com. August 25, 2010. http://celebritybabies.people.com/2010/08/25/kelly-preston-and-john-travolta-expecting-a-boy/. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
- ^ "John Travolta and Kelly Preston Welcome Son Benjamin". People.com. November 24, 2010. http://celebritybabies.people.com/2010/11/24/john-travolta-kelly-preston-welcome-son-benjamin/. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
- ^ Linton, Marilyn (February 10, 2009). "Therapy can keep it real when the honeymoon is over". London Free Press. http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Today/2009/02/10/8330506-sun.html. Retrieved February 12, 2009.[dead link]
- ^ http://blog.flightstory.net/45/john-travoltas-boeing-707/
- ^ Kelly Preston showed a picture of this on the August 29, 2007, episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
- ^ http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1995-03-27/news/9503270179_1_joseph-travolta-actor-john-travolta-mid-air-collision
- ^ Clark, Ally (September 13, 2010). "Oprah Taking Audience Down Under, with Travolta at Controls". NBC Chicago. http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/Oprah-Takes-Audience-Down-Under-102775699.html. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
- ^ "Successes of Scientology". Church of Scientology International. May 2007. http://www.whatisscientology.org/html/Part05/chp19/pg0308.html. Retrieved May 21, 2007.
- ^ "John Travolta's mercy flight to Haiti". Douglas Hyde – CNN Entertainment Producer. January 25, 2010. http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/25/john-travoltas-mercy-flight-to-haiti/?hpt=T2. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
- ^ "Jett Travolta, son of actors, dies at 16". CNN. January 2, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/02/obit.jett.travolta/. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
- ^ "John Travolta's teenage son dies". BBC News Online (BBC). January 2, 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7809172.stm. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
- ^ "Death Certificate: John Travolta's Son Died of a Seizure". ABC News. January 5, 2009. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/MindMoodNews/story?id=6576215&page=1. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
- ^ "John Travolta's 16-Year-Old Son Dies". People. January 2, 2009. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20249865,00.html. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
- ^ Errico, Marcus (January 2, 2009). "John Travolta's Son Jett Dead at 16". E! Online. http://uk.eonline.com/uberblog/b77259_john_travoltas_son_jett_dead_16.html. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
- ^ Heureux, Steve L. (September 24, 2009). "Travolta finally admits that son had Autism". The Examiner. http://www.examiner.com/x-17410-Toledo-Autism--Parenting-Examiner~y2009m9d24-Travolta-finally-admits-that-son-had-Autism. Retrieved September 24, 2009.[dead link]
- ^ Abraham, Mary Rose (September 23, 2009). "From John Travolta: I Ran Down the Stairs To Help My Son". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/john-travolta-bahamas-testify-extortion-case/story?id=8649816. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
- ^ Usborne, David (October 23, 2009). "Judge declares mistrial in Travolta extortion case". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/judge-declares-mistrial-in-travolta-extortion-case-1807653.html. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
- ^ Allen, Nick (September 6, 2010). "John Travolta to drop charges in extortion case". The Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/7985783/John-Travolta-to-drop-charges-in-extortion-case.html. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
- ^ "John Travolta: Scientology Helped Me Heal". huffingtonpost.com. January 28, 2010. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/28/john-travolta-scientology_n_441399.html. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
- ^ NU Boyana CEO David Varod: Bulgaria Can Become Europe's No 1 Filming Destination
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000237/#actor1970
Further reading
- Tast, Brigitte (ed.) John Travolta. (Hildesheim/Germany 1978) ISBN 3-88842-103-9.
External links
| Wikinews has news on this topic: | |
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: John Travolta |
- Official website
- John Travolta at the Internet Movie Database
- John Travolta at the Internet Broadway Database
- John Travolta at the Open Directory Project
- John Travolta at Rotten Tomatoes
- John Travolta: A Passionate Ambassador of Aviation
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