John Travolta
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John Travolta | |
Born | February 18, 1954 (age 52) Englewood, New Jersey |
Notable roles | Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever Danny Zuko in Grease Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction Chili Palmer in Get Shorty |
John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor, singer and entertainer.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Travolta, the youngest of the six children in the Roman Catholic family of Salvatore and Helen Travolta, was born in Englewood, New Jersey. His father was an Italian American semi-professional football player turned tire salesman. His mother was an Irish American actress and singer under her maiden name Helen Cecilia Burke who had appeared in The Sunshine Sisters, a radio vocal group, and acted and directed before becoming a high school drama teacher.
[edit] 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 roles in the touring company of Grease 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, California to further his career in show business.
Travolta gained 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).
Around this time he also had a hit single entitled "Let Her In" peaking at #10 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). 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.
After Urban Cowboy came a string of flops that sidelined his acting career. 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*, and Splash. His only hit film during this period was alongside Kirstie Alley and a baby voiced by Bruce Willis in Look Who's Talking. However, it wasn't 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).
*Both films ultimately starred Richard Gere in the lead role and went to be become box office successes. This was also the case with the movie Chicago - the role of lawyer Billy Flynn was offered to Travolta, but ultimately was played by Gere; the film went on to become a highly commercial and critical success.
Travolta also starred in Battlefield Earth (2000) (which is 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 poorly at the box office. Travolta, who converted to Scientology in 1975 and endorses the teachings of the late Hubbard, had hoped that the film would be well received and be the first in a series of Hubbard film adaptations. In fact, the film won a Razzie Award for Worst Film of the Year at the 2000 awards. John Travolta will play Edna Turnblad in the 2007 adaptation of Hairspray.
[edit] Family
There has also been widespread speculation that Travolta's son Jett does not have Kawasaki syndrome, as he and wife Kelly Preston have claimed, but is autistic, and the Travoltas are denying him treatment because autism is not recognized by Scientology. This is primarily because the triggers listed by Preston (various environmental toxins) have not been linked to Kawasaki Syndrome in the past, and because this illness is primarily found in Japanese children under the age of five. [1] To date, however, this claim has not been confirmed.[2] [3] On April 10, 2006, Hollywood, Interrupted made a public plea to Travolta and Preston to have their son treated properly, claiming five reliable sources—including representatives from Cure Autism Now and The Autism Perspective—who have confirmed Jett Travolta's affliction with autism.
Members of the autism civil rights movement have berated both Travolta and Cure Autism Now. In the first case, the anger is due to the state of denial exhibited by Travolta and Preston, when early detection and positive intervention have proven key to successful life outcomes for autistic children. In the latter instance, critics are accusing Cure Autism Now of exploiting a confused couple's denial to once again make autism seem like a crippling disease.
[4] John's brother Joey is active in autism related charities.
Autistic advocates are especially upset by the choice of charities that Joey Travolta has thrown his weight behind. In the words of a director of one advocacy video, Joey's support of organizations like Cure Autism Now keeps him up at night, such is his fear of authorities breaking down his door and taking him away to be "cured".
[edit] Politics
Questions have also been raised regarding what kind of agreements were made between Travolta and then-President Bill Clinton, regarding how Travolta would portray Jack Stanton, a character based on Clinton, in the movie Primary Colors and whether Clinton would pressure the German government to remove its ban on Scientology. Travolta was quoted about the issue in May 1998 issue of George magazine:
The next day, I met with Clinton. He told me: "Your program sounds great. More than that, I'd really love to help you with your issue over in Germany with Scientology." I was waiting for the seduction that I had heard so much about. I thought, "Well, how could he ever seduce me?" And after we talked, I thought, "Bingo!" He did it. Scientology is the one issue that really matters to me. |
In another interview [5], Travolta admitted that his portrayal of Stanton was much more kind than that in the book Primary Colors. The next year, in November 1998, Clinton sent Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to urge German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel to grant Scientology the status of a registered religion (see [6]).
[edit] Other
Travolta was previously involved with actress Diana Hyland, who died of breast cancer (reportedly in Travolta's arms) in 1977.
Travolta is a qualified pilot and owns five airplanes, including a former Qantas Boeing 707-138. The plane bears the name Jett Clipper Ella in honor of his son Jett and his daughter Ella. Pan Am was a large operator of the 707 and used Clipper in their names. His house in Jumbolair, Florida has its own runway and taxiway right to the door. In 1993, Travolta successfully performed an emergency landing of a plane with electrical trouble at Washington National Airport, now known as Reagan Washington National Airport.
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.
He celebrated with the Australian national football team in their dressing room following their qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Travolta is currently writing his autobiography, which will be out soon.
[edit] Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | American Dog | Unknown | (voice only; pre-production) | |
2007 | Hairspray | Edna Turnblad | (currently filming) | |
Wild Hogs | Unknown | (pre-production) | ||
Dallas | J.R. Ewing | (pre-production) | ||
2006 | 2004: A Light Knight's Odyssey | Dave | (voice only; currently filming) | |
Lonely Hearts | Elmer C. Robinson | |||
2005 | Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D | Himself | (narrator; documentary) | |
Be Cool | Chili Palmer | |||
2004 | Ladder 49 | Captain Mike Kennedy | ||
A Love Song for Bobby Long | Bobby Long | |||
The Punisher | Howard Saint | |||
2003 | Basic | Hardy | ||
2001 | Domestic Disturbance | Frank Morrison | ||
Swordfish | Gabriel Shear | |||
2000 | Welcome to Hollywood | Himself | (documentary) | |
Lucky Numbers | Russ Richards | |||
Battlefield Earth | Terl | |||
1999 | The General's Daughter | Warr. Off. Paul Brenner/Sgt. Frank White | ||
1998 | A Civil Action | Jan Schlichtmann | ||
The Thin Red Line | Brigadier General Quintard | |||
Junket Whore | Himself | (documentary) | ||
Primary Colors | Governor Jack Stanton | |||
1997 | Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's | Himself | (documentary) | |
Mad City | Sam Baily | |||
Face/Off | Sean Archer/Castor Troy | |||
She's So Lovely | Joey | |||
1996 | Michael | Michael | ||
Phenomenon | George Malley | |||
Orientation: A Scientology Information Film | Himself | (short subject) | ||
Broken Arrow | Maj. Vic 'Deak' Deakins | |||
1995 | Get Shorty | Chili Palmer | ||
White Man's Burden | Louis Pinnock | |||
1994 | Pulp Fiction | Vincent Vega | ||
1993 | Look Who's Talking Now | James Ubriacco | ||
1992 | Boris and Natasha | Himself | (cameo) | |
1991 | Shout | Jack Cabe | ||
Eyes of an Angel | Bobby | |||
1990 | Look Who's Talking Too | James Ubriacco | ||
1989 | Look Who's Talking | James Ubriacco | ||
The Experts | Travis | |||
1985 | Perfect | Adam Lawrence | ||
1983 | Staying Alive | Tony Manero | ||
Two of a Kind | Zack | |||
1981 | Blow Out | Jack Terry | ||
1980 | Urban Cowboy | Buford 'Bud' Uan Davis | ||
1978 | Moment by Moment | Strip Harrison | ||
Grease | Danny Zuko | |||
1977 | Saturday Night Fever | Tony Manero | ||
1976 | The Boy in the Plastic Bubble | Tod Lubitch | ||
Carrie | Billy Nolan | |||
1975 | The Devil's Rain | Danny |
[edit] Salary
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[edit] Television work
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[edit] Music career
[edit] Discography
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[edit] Singles
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[edit] Trivia
Many of John Travolta's roles involve his characters dying:
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- There is a non-nudity clause in his contract.
- In Garfield Jon's Aunt Gussie has a crush on John Travolta.
As a pilot for Qantas, the official sponsors of the Australian national football team, in November 2005 Travolta offered to personally fly the players to Germany for the 2006 FIFA World Cup if they qualified. The Socceroos beat Uruguay to qualify and Travolta was good to his word. After the victory at Telstra Stadium, Sydney, Travolta celebrated with the Australian players by reciting songs from the film Grease.
- Faith No More's Mike Patton wrote and recorded a song called "Travolta" with his band Mr. Bungle. The name of the song was changed to "Quote Unquote" due to legal reasons. The song came out 1991, which was a time at which John Travolta was considered a "has-been" actor. This was before Pulp Fiction came out, and Travolta's career took off again. "Quote Unquote" is also the name of a book John Travolta published around this time.
- In an episode of South Park, John Travolta was one of the characters shown trying to get Tom Cruise out of Stan's closet. The other trying to get him out (Tom Cruise) was R. Kelly, threatening both Tom and John the count of three before he shoots both of them.
[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: |
- John Travolta official homepage
- John Travolta at the Internet Movie Database
- John Travolta at the Notable Names Database
- John Travolta links about John Travolta at dmoz the open directory
Categories: American film actors | American television actors | American musical theatre actors | Grease actors | Best Actor Academy Award nominees | Worst Actor Razzie | American actor-singers | American male singers | American pop singers | Former Roman Catholics | Hollywood Walk of Fame | American Scientologists | American aviators | High school dropouts | Travolta family | Sherman Brothers | Irish-American actors | Irish-American singers | Italian-American actors | New Jersey actors | 1954 births | Living people | Hairspray actors