John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series
Welcome Back, KotterWelcome Back, Kotter was an American television sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan and featuring a young John Travolta.It originally aired on the ABC network from September 9, 1975 to June 8, 1979.-Premise:...
and starring in the box office successes
Saturday Night FeverSaturday Night Fever is a 1977 drama film directed by John Badham and starring: John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance...
and
GreaseGrease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
. Travolta's acting career declined in the early 1980s and continued to deteriorate throughout the remainder of the decade. His career faced a resurgence in the 1990s with his role in
Pulp FictionPulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
, and he has since continued starring in Hollywood films including
Face/OffFace/Off is a 1997 action thriller film directed by John Woo, starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. The two both play an FBI agent and a terrorist, sworn enemies who assume the physical appearance of one another....
,
Ladder 49Ladder 49 is a 2004 film about the heroics of a Baltimore fireman Jack Morrison, who is trapped inside a warehouse fire and his recollection of the events that got him to that point. The movie is a celebration of the firefighting profession and the life that comes with it...
, and
Wild HogsWild Hogs is a 2007 comedy film directed by Walt Becker and starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy. It was released nationwide in the United States and Canada on March 2, 2007, though preview film screenings were held in select areas on February 24, 2007.-Plot:Doug...
. Travolta was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
for
Saturday Night Fever and
Pulp Fiction. He won the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or ComedyThe Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...
for his performance in
Get ShortyGet Shorty is a 1995 crime-comedy film based on Elmore Leonard's novel of the same name. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, and Danny DeVito, the plot remained true to the book except for a few minor details....
.
Early life
Travolta, the youngest of six children, was born and raised in
EnglewoodEnglewood is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 27,147.Englewood was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of...
, New Jersey, an inner-ring suburb of New York City. His father, Salvatore Travolta (November 1912 – May 1995), was a semi-professional
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player turned tire salesman and partner in a tire company. His mother, Helen Cecilia (née Burke, January 1912 – December 1978), 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. His siblings,
JoeyJoseph "Joey" Travolta is an American actor, producer, director and writer. His brother is actor John Travolta.-Early life:...
,
EllenEllen Travolta is an American actress, the eldest sibling of John Travolta. She is probably best known for her portrayal of Louisa Arcola Delvecchio, the mother of Chachi Arcola in the 1950s-based sitcom Happy Days, and its unsuccessful spinoff, Joanie Loves Chachi...
, Ann,
MargaretMargaret Travolta is an American actress and a sister of actor John Travolta.-Early life:Travolta, one of six children , was born in Englewood, New Jersey, the daughter of Salvatore Travolta, a semi-professional football player turned tire salesman and partner in a tire company, and Helen Cecilia ,...
, and Sam Travolta, have all acted. His father was a second-generation
Italian AmericanAn Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
and his mother was
Irish AmericanIrish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
; he grew up in an Irish-American neighborhood and has said that his household was predominantly Irish in culture. He was raised Roman Catholic, but converted to
ScientologyScientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
in 1975.
Early career
After attending
Dwight Morrow High SchoolDwight Morrow High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Englewood, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Englewood Public School District. The school also serves students from Englewood Cliffs, who attend as part of a sending/receiving relationship...
, Travolta moved across the
Hudson RiverThe Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
to New York City and landed a role in the touring company of the musical
GreaseGrease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...
and on Broadway in
Over Here!Over Here! is a musical with a score by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman and book by Will Holt. The original Broadway production was directed by Tom Moore and choreographed by Patricia Birch, with scenic design by Douglas W. Schmidt and costumes by Carrie F...
, singing the
Sherman BrothersThe Sherman Brothers are an American songwriting duo that specialize in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman ....
' song "
Dream Drummin'"Dream Drummin'" followed by "Soft Music" are songs by Richard & Robert Sherman. They are from the musical Over Here!, which opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on March 6, 1974. The songs segue from one to the next and then back again...
". 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!Emergency! is an American television series that combines the medical drama and action-adventure genres. It was produced by Mark VII Limited and distributed by Universal Studios...
(S2E2), in September 1972, but his first significant movie role was as Billy Nolan, a bully who was goaded into playing a prank on
Sissy SpacekSissy Spacek is an American actress and singer. She came to international prominence for her for role as Carrie White in Brian De Palma's 1976 horror film Carrie for which she earned her first Academy Award nomination...
's character 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, KotterWelcome Back, Kotter was an American television sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan and featuring a young John Travolta.It originally aired on the ABC network from September 9, 1975 to June 8, 1979.-Premise:...
(1975–1979), in which his sister,
EllenEllen Travolta is an American actress, the eldest sibling of John Travolta. She is probably best known for her portrayal of Louisa Arcola Delvecchio, the mother of Chachi Arcola in the 1950s-based sitcom Happy Days, and its unsuccessful spinoff, Joanie Loves Chachi...
, also occasionally appeared (as Arnold Horshack's mother). The show aired on
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
.
'70s stardom
Around this time, Travolta had a hit single entitled "Let Her In", peaking at number ten on the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart. In the next few years, he appeared in two of his most noted screen roles: Tony Manero in
Saturday Night FeverSaturday Night Fever is a 1977 drama film directed by John Badham and starring: John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance...
(1977) and as Danny Zuko in
GreaseGrease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
(1978). The films were among the most commercially successful pictures of the decade and catapulted Travolta to international stardom.
Saturday Night Fever earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. At age 24, Travolta became one of the youngest performers ever nominated for the Best Actor Oscar. 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. In 1980, Travolta inspired a nationwide country music craze that followed on the heels of his hit film,
Urban CowboyReleased as a 2× vinyl record album, re-released on CD in 1995.Side A:#Hello Texas – Jimmy Buffett #All Night Long – Joe Walsh #Times Like These – Dan Fogelberg #Nine Tonight – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band...
, in which he starred with
Debra WingerMary Debra Winger is an American actress. Three-times an Oscar nominee, she received awards for acting in Terms of Endearment, for which she won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress in 1983, and in A Dangerous Woman, for which she won the Tokyo International Film Festival...
.
Downturn
After
Urban CowboyReleased as a 2× vinyl record album, re-released on CD in 1995.Side A:#Hello Texas – Jimmy Buffett #All Night Long – Joe Walsh #Times Like These – Dan Fogelberg #Nine Tonight – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band...
, Travolta starred in a series of financial and critical failures that sidelined his acting career. These included
PerfectThe soundtrack to Perfect was initially released in 1985 as a 12" vinyl record, and later re-released on CD.Side A#" Perfect" – 3:50#"I Sweat " – 3:54...
, co-starring
Jamie Lee CurtisJamie Lee Curtis is an American actress and author. Although she was initially known as a "scream queen" because of her starring roles in several horror films early in her career, such as Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train, Curtis has since compiled a body of work that spans many...
, and
Two of a KindTwo of a Kind is a 1983 American romantic comedy film directed by John Herzfeld and starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. The original music score was composed by Patrick Williams. The film has Travolta as an inventor and Newton-John as a bank teller. It is up to both criminally-minded...
, a romantic comedy reteaming him with
Olivia Newton-JohnOlivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
. During that time he was offered, but turned down, lead roles in what would become box office hits, including
American GigoloAmerican Gigolo is a 1980 crime drama film, written and directed by Paul Schrader. It is informally considered the second installment in his "lonely man" trilogy, following the Martin Scorsese directed Taxi Driver and preceding Light Sleeper .-Plot:Julian Kaye is a male prostitute in Los Angeles...
and
An Officer and a GentlemanA Officer and a Gentleman is a 1982 American drama film that tells the story of a U.S. Navy aviation officer candidate who comes into conflict with the Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant who trains him. It was written by Douglas Day Stewart and directed by Taylor Hackford...
, both of which went to
Richard GereRichard Tiffany Gere is an American actor. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and a starring role in Days of Heaven. He came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol...
.
Resurgence
In 1989, Travolta starred in
Look Who's TalkingLook Who's Talking is a 1989 romantic comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling and stars John Travolta and Kirstie Alley. Bruce Willis plays the voice of Mollie's son, Mikey. The film features George Segal as Albert, the illegitimate father of Mikey.-Plot:Mollie Jensen is an accountant...
, which grossed
$The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
297,000,000, making it his most successful film since
GreaseGrease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
. Travolta continued to the two sequels
Look Who's Talking TooLook Who's Talking Too is the 1990 sequel to the commercially successful movie Look Who's Talking . It stars John Travolta and Kirstie Alley as the parents of Mikey , a toddler coping with the newest addition to the family, baby Julie...
(1990) and
Look Who's Talking NowLook Who's Talking Now is the third and final installment in the film series that began with Look Who's Talking in 1989. Released in 1993, the film finds John Travolta and Kirstie Alley reprising their roles as James and Mollie Ubriacco, respectively, and introducing the newly extended family...
(1993). But it was not until he played Vincent Vega in
Quentin TarantinoQuentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
's hit
Pulp FictionPulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
(1994), for which he received an Academy Award nomination, that his career was revived. The movie shifted him back onto the
A-listA-list is a term that alludes to major movie stars, or the most bankable in the Hollywood film industry.The A-list is part of a larger guide called The Hot List that has become an industry-standard guide in Hollywood...
, and he was inundated with offers. Notable roles following
Pulp Fiction include a movie-buff
loan sharkA loan shark is a person or body that offers unsecured loans at illegally high interest rates to individuals, often enforcing repayment by blackmail or threats of violence....
in
Get ShortyGet Shorty is a 1995 crime-comedy film based on Elmore Leonard's novel of the same name. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, and Danny DeVito, the plot remained true to the book except for a few minor details....
(1995), an FBI agent and terrorist in
Face/OffFace/Off is a 1997 action thriller film directed by John Woo, starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. The two both play an FBI agent and a terrorist, sworn enemies who assume the physical appearance of one another....
(1997), a desperate attorney in
A Civil Action (1998), a Bill Clinton-esque presidential candidate in
Primary Colors (1998), and a military detective in
The General's DaughterThe General's Daughter is a 1999 murder mystery film starring John Travolta. The plot concerns the mysterious death of the daughter of a prominent general. The movie is based on the novel by the same name written in 1992 by Nelson DeMille, and was directed by Simon West...
(1999).
2000–present
Travolta also starred in
Battlefield EarthBattlefield Earth is a 2000 American science fiction film adapted from L. Ron Hubbard's novel of the same name. It was directed by Roger Christian, and stars John Travolta, Forest Whitaker, and Barry Pepper...
(2000) based on a work of science fiction by
L. Ron HubbardLafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
, 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. Travolta played Mrs. Edna Turnblad in the remake of
HairsprayHairspray is a 2007 musical film produced by Kolaja Productions and distributed by New Line Cinema. It was released in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on July 20, 2007. The film is an adaptation of the 2002 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was based on John...
, his first musical since
Grease.
Personal life
Travolta was in a relationship with actress
Diana HylandDiana Hyland was an American actress best known for her television appearances and occasional films.-Career:Hyland made her acting debut in 1955 in an episode of Robert Montgomery Presents...
, whom he met while filming
The Boy in the Plastic BubbleThe Boy in the Plastic Bubble is a 1976 made-for-TV movie inspired by the lives of David Vetter and Ted DeVita, who lacked effective immune systems. It stars John Travolta, Glynnis O'Connor, Diana Hyland, Robert Reed, and P.J. Soles...
; Hyland died of breast cancer in 1977.
Travolta married actress
Kelly PrestonKelly Preston is an American actress and former model.- Early years :Preston was born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother, Linda, was an administrator of a mental health center, and her father, who worked for an agricultural firm, drowned when Preston was three years old...
in 1991. The couple had a son, Jett (1992–2009). 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, later confirmed to be a boy. Their son, Benjamin, was born on November 23, 2010 in Florida.
Travolta and Preston have regularly attended marriage counseling; Travolta has stated that therapy has helped the marriage.
Travolta is a certified private pilot and owns five aircraft, including an ex-Qantas
Boeing 707–138The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
airliner. The plane bears the name
Jett Clipper Ella in honor of his children.
Pan American World AirwaysPan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991...
was a large operator of the Boeing 707 and used Clipper in its names. The 707 aircraft bears the marks of
QantasQantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
, 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, FloridaOcala is a city in Marion County, Florida. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 53,491. It is the county seat of Marion County, and the principal city of the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated 2007 population of 324,857.-History:Ocala...
, is situated on
Greystone AirportGreystone Airport is a private-use airport. It is located in the unincorporated community of Anthony, which is seven miles northeast of Ocala, Florida, USA. Jumbolair, Inc. owns and operates Greystone. The airport has two runways: 18/36 with an asphalt pavement measuring 7,550 x 210 ft and 9/27...
with its own runway and taxiway right to his front door. On September 13, 2010, during the first episode of the final season of
her talk showThe Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
,
Oprah WinfreyOprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
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.
On 24 Nov. 1992 Travolta piloting his Gulfstream N728T at night (on top of a solid undercast) had a total electrical system failure while flying under
instrument flight rulesInstrument flight rules are one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other are visual flight rules ....
into
Ronald Reagan Washington National AirportRonald Reagan Washington National Airport is a public airport located south of downtown Washington, D.C., in Arlington County, Virginia. It is the commercial airport nearest to Washington, D.C. For many decades, it was called Washington National Airport, but this airport was renamed in 1998 to...
. During the emergency landing there was a near mid-air collision with a
USAirUS Airways, Inc. is a major airline based in the U.S. city of Tempe, Arizona. The airline is an operating unit of US Airways Group and is the sixth largest airline by traffic and eighth largest by market value in the country....
Boeing 727The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
, due to a risky decision by an air traffic controller.
Travolta has been a practitioner of
ScientologyScientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
since 1975 when he was given the book
DianeticsDianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health is a book by L. Ron Hubbard which sets out self-improvement techniques he developed, called Dianetics. The book is also one of the canonical texts of Scientology. It is colloquially referred to as Book One...
while filming the movie
The Devil's RainThe Devil's Rain is a 1975 low-budget horror film, directed by Robert Fuest. The film is remembered primarily for its ending, in which most of the cast melts. It was one of several B-films in which William Shatner starred in the hiatus between the original Star Trek television series and Star Trek:...
in
DurangoDurango officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico. With a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja...
, Mexico. After the
2010 Haiti earthquakeThe 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
, joining other celebrities in helping with the relief efforts, Travolta flew his 707 full of supplies, doctors, and Scientologist
Volunteer MinistersThe Volunteer Minister program of the Church of Scientology dispatches groups of Scientologists using techniques developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard...
into the disaster area.
In June 2010, Travolta and Preston donated $10,000 to the
Nelson MandelaNelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
Children's Fund while on a trip to South Africa.
In September 2011, Travolta's classic 1970
Mercedes-Benz 280SLThe Mercedes-Benz W 113 roadsters, designed by Paul Bracq, were produced from 1963 through 1971. Their distinctive "pagoda" hardtop roof, designed by Béla Barényi, gave them their contemporary nickname...
roadster was stolen.
Son's death
On January 2, 2009, Travolta and Preston's son, Jett, died while on their holiday vacation in
The BahamasThe Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
. A Bahamian
death certificateThe phrase death certificate can describe either a document issued by a medical practitioner certifying the deceased state of a person or popularly to a document issued by a person such as a registrar of vital statistics that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death as later...
was issued, attributing the cause of death to a
seizureAn epileptic seizure, occasionally referred to as a fit, is defined as a transient symptom of "abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain". The outward effect can be as dramatic as a wild thrashing movement or as mild as a brief loss of awareness...
. Jett, who had a history of seizures, reportedly suffered from
Kawasaki diseaseKawasaki disease , also known as Kawasaki syndrome, lymph node syndrome and mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome, is an autoimmune disease in which the medium-sized blood vessels throughout the body become inflamed. It is largely seen in children under five years of age...
as an infant. On September 24, 2009, long a source of speculation, Travolta and Preston confirmed that their son had
autismAutism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
and suffered regular seizures. They made their statements while giving a testimony after a multi-million dollar
extortionExtortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
plot against them regarding the circumstances of their son's death. After a mistrial, Travolta dropped the charges. 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.
Filmography
List of film and television credits
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 1975 |
|
John |
TV movie |
| 1975 |
|
Danny |
|
| 1976 |
|
Tod Lubitch |
|
| 1976 |
Carrie |
Billy Nolan |
|
| 1977 |
Saturday Night FeverSaturday Night Fever is a 1977 drama film directed by John Badham and starring: John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance...
|
Tony Manero |
|
| 1978 |
Moment by Moment Moment by Moment is a 1978 film starring John Travolta and Lily Tomlin. The film was written and directed by Jane Wagner.-Plot:It tells the story of a romance between a young drifter named Strip Harrison and an older wealthy woman, Trish Rawlings .-Cast:*Lily Tomlin - Trisha*John Travolta -...
|
Strip Harrison |
|
| 1978 |
Grease Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
|
Daniel "Danny" Zuko |
|
| 1980 |
Urban CowboyReleased as a 2× vinyl record album, re-released on CD in 1995.Side A:#Hello Texas – Jimmy Buffett #All Night Long – Joe Walsh #Times Like These – Dan Fogelberg #Nine Tonight – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band...
|
Buford 'Bud' Uan Davis |
|
| 1981 |
Blow Out Blow Out is a 1981 thriller film, written and directed by Brian De Palma. The film stars John Travolta as Jack Terry, a movie sound effects technician from Philadelphia who, while recording sounds for a low-budget slasher film, serendipitously captures audio evidence of an assassination involving a...
|
Jack Terry |
|
| 1983 |
Staying Alive Staying Alive is the 1983 film sequel to Saturday Night Fever, starring John Travolta as dancer Tony Manero, with Cynthia Rhodes, Finola Hughes, Joyce Hyser, Steve Inwood, Julie Bovasso, and dancers Viktor Manoel, Kate Ann Wright, Kevyn Morrow and Nanette Tarpey...
|
Tony Manero |
|
| 1983 |
Two of a KindTwo of a Kind is a 1983 American romantic comedy film directed by John Herzfeld and starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. The original music score was composed by Patrick Williams. The film has Travolta as an inventor and Newton-John as a bank teller. It is up to both criminally-minded...
|
Zack Melon |
|
| 1985 |
Perfect The soundtrack to Perfect was initially released in 1985 as a 12" vinyl record, and later re-released on CD.Side A#" Perfect" – 3:50#"I Sweat " – 3:54...
|
Adam Lawrence |
|
| 1987 |
Basements |
Ben |
TV segment "The Dumb Waiter" |
| 1989 |
Look Who's TalkingLook Who's Talking is a 1989 romantic comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling and stars John Travolta and Kirstie Alley. Bruce Willis plays the voice of Mollie's son, Mikey. The film features George Segal as Albert, the illegitimate father of Mikey.-Plot:Mollie Jensen is an accountant...
|
James Ubriacco |
|
| 1989 |
|
Travis |
|
| 1990 |
Look Who's Talking TooLook Who's Talking Too is the 1990 sequel to the commercially successful movie Look Who's Talking . It stars John Travolta and Kirstie Alley as the parents of Mikey , a toddler coping with the newest addition to the family, baby Julie...
|
James Ubriacco |
|
| 1991 |
Shout Shout is a 1991 film starring John Travolta as a music teacher who introduces rock and roll to a west Texas home for boys in 1955. Travolta was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor....
|
Jack Cabe |
|
| 1991 |
Eyes Of An Angel |
Bobby |
aka The Tender |
| 1991 |
Chains of Gold Chains of Gold is a 1991 Made-for-TV crime drama/action film starring and co-written by John Travolta. It was directed by Rod Holcomb and included one of the early performances of Joseph Lawrence, who was nominated for Young Artist Award for his role in the movie.The film was released as a...
|
Scott Barnes |
TV movie; also writer |
| 1992 |
Boris and Natasha: The MovieBoris and Natasha is a 1992 comedy film that was loosely based on the animated television series The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. It was shot in New York City. The actors did not attempt to copy the accents of their animated counterparts, and although Rocky and Bullwinkle do not appear in this film,...
|
Himself |
cameo |
| 1993 |
Look Who's Talking NowLook Who's Talking Now is the third and final installment in the film series that began with Look Who's Talking in 1989. Released in 1993, the film finds John Travolta and Kirstie Alley reprising their roles as James and Mollie Ubriacco, respectively, and introducing the newly extended family...
|
James Ubriacco |
|
| 1994 |
Pulp Fiction Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
|
Vincent Vega |
|
| 1995 |
Get Shorty Get Shorty is a 1995 crime-comedy film based on Elmore Leonard's novel of the same name. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, and Danny DeVito, the plot remained true to the book except for a few minor details....
|
Chili Palmer Chili Palmer is a character from Elmore Leonard's novels Get Shorty, the movie adaptation of the same name, the sequel, Be Cool and the movie adaptation of the same name. Chili is played in the films by John Travolta...
|
|
| 1995 |
White Man's Burden White Man's Burden is a 1995 dramatic film about racism in an alternative America where black and white Americans have reversed cultural roles....
|
Louis Pinnock |
|
| 1996 |
MichaelMichael is a 1996 American fantasy film directed by Nora Ephron and released in 1996. The film stars John Travolta as the Archangel Michael, who is sent to Earth to do various tasks, including mending some wounded hearts...
|
MichaelMichael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...
|
|
| 1996 |
PhenomenonPhenomenon is a 1996 romantic fantasy-drama film written by Gerald Di Pego, directed by Jon Turteltaub, and starring John Travolta, Kyra Sedgwick, Forest Whitaker, and Robert Duvall....
|
George Malley |
|
| 1996 |
Orientation: A Scientology Information Film |
Himself |
short subject |
| 1996 |
Broken Arrow Broken Arrow is a 1996 American action film directed by John Woo, written by Graham Yost, and starring John Travolta and Christian Slater. The original music score was composed by Hans Zimmer, and features guitarist Duane Eddy. It deals with the theft of an American nuclear weapon.The film received...
|
Maj. Vic 'Deak' Deakins |
|
| 1997 |
Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's |
Himself |
documentary |
| 1997 |
Mad City Mad City is a 1997 drama film and thriller film written by Tom Matthews and Eric Williams, directed by Costa-Gavras, and starring Dustin Hoffman, John Travolta, Mia Kirshner, Alan Alda, Blythe Danner, Ted Levine, Raymond J. Barry, and Larry King.-Plot:...
|
Sam Baily |
|
| 1997 |
Face/OffFace/Off is a 1997 action thriller film directed by John Woo, starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. The two both play an FBI agent and a terrorist, sworn enemies who assume the physical appearance of one another....
|
Sean Archer/Castor Troy |
Nomination—Saturn Award for Best Actor The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed, who felt that films within those genres...
|
| 1997 |
She's So Lovely She's So Lovely is a 1997 film directed by Nick Cassavetes, written by the late John Cassavetes. At the time of its release, it received special attention because, eight years after his death, it was the first film to posthumously feature new material from John Cassavetes.The film stars Sean Penn...
|
Joey Giamonti |
also executive producer |
| 1998 |
|
Jan Schlichtmann Jan Richard Schlichtmann is an American attorney specializing in personal injury law and toxic torts. He was educated at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, B.A., and Cornell University, J.D., and was admitted to the bar in 1977....
|
|
| 1998 |
|
Brigadier General Quintard |
Satellite Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Motion Picture Ensemble |
| 1998 |
Junket Whore Junket Whore is 1998 documentary film. It's directed by Debbie Melnyk and hosted by Lauren Hutton. This revealing documentary explores the incestuous and parasitic relationship between Hollywood’s publicists and the entertainmentjournalists...
|
Himself |
documentary |
| 1998 |
Primary Colors |
Governor Jack Stanton |
Nomination—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...
|
| 1999 |
|
Warr. Off. Paul Brenner/Sgt. Frank White |
|
| 1999 |
Our Friend, Martin Our Friend, Martin is a 1999 animated children's educational film about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the American civil rights movement. Two friends travel through time, meeting Dr. King at several points during his life...
|
Kyle's dad |
animated educational film, voice only |
| 2000 |
Welcome to Hollywood Welcome to Hollywood is a mockumentary about a young man trying to make it in Hollywood as an actor. Tony Markes is the young man trying to pursue the means to become an actor. Various attempts to get him noticed and in roles in film and television fail...
|
Himself |
mockumentary A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
; cameo |
| 2000 |
Lucky Numbers Lucky Numbers is a 2000 comedy film directed by Nora Ephron. The screenplay by Adam Resnick was inspired by the 1980 Pennsylvania Lottery scandal.-Plot:...
|
Russ Richards |
|
| 2000 |
Battlefield Earth Battlefield Earth is a 2000 American science fiction film adapted from L. Ron Hubbard's novel of the same name. It was directed by Roger Christian, and stars John Travolta, Forest Whitaker, and Barry Pepper...
|
Terl |
also producer
Razzie Award for Worst ActorThe Razzie Award for Worst Actor is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst actor of the previous year. The following is a list of nominees and recipients of that award, along with the film for which they were nominated....
|
| 2001 |
Domestic Disturbance Domestic Disturbance is a 2001 thriller film directed by Harold Becker and stars John Travolta and Vince Vaughn. It co-stars Teri Polo, Matt O'Leary and Steve Buscemi.-Plot:...
|
Frank Morrison |
|
| 2001 |
SwordfishSwordfish is a 2001 crime-thriller film, directed by Dominic Sena and starring John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle and Vinnie Jones. The film is an action thriller that was also notable for Halle Berry's first topless scene...
|
Gabriel Shear |
|
| 2002 |
Austin Powers in GoldmemberAustin Powers in Goldmember is a 2002 American spy comedy film and the third installment of the Austin Powers series starring Mike Myers in the title role. The movie was directed by Jay Roach, and co-written by Mike Myers and Michael McCullers. Myers also plays the roles of Dr. Evil, Goldmember,...
|
"Austinpussy" Johann van der Smut (Goldmember) / Himself |
cameo |
| 2003 |
Basic Basic is a 2003 American/German thriller film directed by John McTiernan and starring John Travolta, Connie Nielsen and Samuel L. Jackson.-Plot:...
|
Tom Hardy |
|
| 2004 |
Ladder 49 Ladder 49 is a 2004 film about the heroics of a Baltimore fireman Jack Morrison, who is trapped inside a warehouse fire and his recollection of the events that got him to that point. The movie is a celebration of the firefighting profession and the life that comes with it...
|
Captain Mike Kennedy |
|
| 2004 |
|
Bobby Long |
|
| 2004 |
|
Howard Saint |
|
| 2005 |
Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D is a 2005 IMAX 3D documentary film about the first humans on the Moon, the twelve astronauts in the Apollo program.-Production:...
|
James Benson "Jim" IrwinJames Benson Irwin was an American astronaut and engineer. He served as Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15, the fourth human lunar landing; he was the eighth person to walk on the Moon.-Early life:...
|
narrator; documentary |
| 2005 |
Be Cool Be Cool is a 2005 crime-comedy film adapted from Elmore Leonard's 1999 novel of the same name and the sequel to Leonard's 1990 novel Get Shorty about mobster Chili Palmer's entrance into the film industry.The film adaptation of Be Cool began production in 2003. It was directed by F...
|
Chili Palmer Chili Palmer is a character from Elmore Leonard's novels Get Shorty, the movie adaptation of the same name, the sequel, Be Cool and the movie adaptation of the same name. Chili is played in the films by John Travolta...
|
|
| 2006 |
Lonely Hearts |
Elmer C. Robinson |
|
| 2007 |
Wild Hogs Wild Hogs is a 2007 comedy film directed by Walt Becker and starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy. It was released nationwide in the United States and Canada on March 2, 2007, though preview film screenings were held in select areas on February 24, 2007.-Plot:Doug...
|
Woody Stevens |
|
| 2007 |
HairsprayHairspray is a 2007 musical film produced by Kolaja Productions and distributed by New Line Cinema. It was released in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on July 20, 2007. The film is an adaptation of the 2002 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was based on John...
|
Edna Turnblad |
|
| 2008 |
Bolt |
Bolt the Dog |
voice |
| 2009 |
|
Benard Ryder |
|
| 2009 |
Old Dogs Old Dogs is a 2009 American ensemble comedy film directed by Wild Hogs Walt Becker and starring Robin Williams and John Travolta with an ensemble supporting cast played by Kelly Preston, Matt Dillon, Justin Long, Seth Green, Rita Wilson, Dax Shepard, and Bernie Mac...
|
Charlie Reed |
|
| 2010 |
From Paris with Love From Paris with Love is a 2010 action film starring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers and directed by Pierre Morel. The screenplay was co-written by Luc Besson. The film was released in the United States on February 5, 2010.-Plot:...
|
Charlie Wax |
|
| 2012 |
Savages Savages is an upcoming crime-drama film directed by Oliver Stone. It is based on the novel of the same name by Don Winslow, who co-wrote the script with Shane Salerno...
|
Dennis |
|
| 2012 |
The Expendables 2 The Expendables 2 is an upcoming ensemble action film directed by Simon West and written by David Agosto and Ken Kaufman based on a story by Sylvester Stallone...
|
|
|
List of credits in series television
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 1972 |
Emergency!Emergency! is an American television series that combines the medical drama and action-adventure genres. It was produced by Mark VII Limited and distributed by Universal Studios...
|
Chuck Benson |
Episode: "Kids" |
| 1972 |
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law is an American legal drama, jointly created by David Victor and former law professor Jerry McNeely, that starred actor Arthur Hill. The series was broadcast on ABC from 1971 to 1974...
|
|
Episode: "A Piece of God" |
| 1973 |
|
Eddie Halley |
Episode: " Frozen Smoke" |
| 1974 |
Medical Center Medical Center is a medical drama series which aired on CBS from 1969 to 1976.-Synopsis:The show starred James Daly as Dr. Paul Lochner and Chad Everett as Dr. Joe Gannon, surgeons working in an otherwise unnamed university hospital in Los Angeles. The show focused both on the lives of the doctors...
|
Danny |
Episode: "Saturday's Child" |
| 1975–1979 |
Welcome Back, Kotter Welcome Back, Kotter was an American television sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan and featuring a young John Travolta.It originally aired on the ABC network from September 9, 1975 to June 8, 1979.-Premise:...
|
Vincent "Vinnie" Barbarino |
|
Albums
| Year |
Album |
US The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
|
| 1974 |
Over Here! Over Here! is a musical with a score by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman and book by Will Holt. The original Broadway production was directed by Tom Moore and choreographed by Patricia Birch, with scenic design by Douglas W. Schmidt and costumes by Carrie F...
|
— |
| 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
"You're the One That I Want" is a song written by John Farrar for the 1978 film version of the musical Grease. It was performed by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John....
" – #1 (1978) (w/ Olivia Newton-JohnOlivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
)
- "Sandy" (1978)
- "Greased Lightnin" (1978) – #47
- "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again
"Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American pop rock artist Eric Carmen. It was released as the second single from Carmen's self-titled debut solo album, the song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in June 1976, remaining in the Top 40...
" (1980)
- "Hooker Madness" (1983)
- "Take A Chance" (1983) (w/ Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
)
- "Two Sleepy People" (1997) (w/ Carly Simon
Carly Elisabeth Simon is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records, and has since been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for her work...
)
- "I Thought I Lost You" (2008) (w/ Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
)
See also
- List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees – Youngest Nominees for Best Actor
Further reading
- Tast, Brigitte (ed.) John Travolta. (Hildesheim/Germany 1978) ISBN 3-88842-103-9.
External links