John Travolta

Biography

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 American 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. One of Travolta's trademarks is his cleft chin.

Eric Kraljic Loves Joihn Travolta 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).

John Travolta in Sweden, 1983

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.

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. To date, however, this claim has not been confirmed. 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.

Travolta dancing with Diana, Princess of Wales at a White House dinner on 9 November 1985.

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.

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".

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 , 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 ).

Other

Travolta was previously involved with actress Diana Hyland, who died of breast cancer (reportedly in Travolta's arms) in 1977.

Travolta's 707

Travolta is a qualified pilot and owns five airplanes, including an Australian airline, the 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.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008	American Dog	Unknown	(voice only; pre-production)
	2007	Hairspray	Edna Turnblad	(currently filming)
	Wild Hogs	Unknown	(post-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

Salary

Hairspray (2007) $12,000,000 plus around $3,000,000 in perks   Primary Colors (1998) $18,000,000 Mad City (1997) $17,000,000 Face/Off (1997) $15,000,000

Michael (1996) $10,000,000 Phenomenon (1996) $8,000,000 Broken Arrow (1996) $7,000,000 Get Shorty (1995) $3,500,000 Pulp Fiction (1994) $140,000

Television work

The Tenth Level (1975) Welcome Back, Kotter (cast member from 1975 - 1978)   The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976)

Basements (1987) Chains of Gold (1991) (also writer) Punk'd (2004) (Uncredited)

Music career

Discography Over Here! (Original Cast Album) (1974) John Travolta (1976) Can't Let You Go (1977) Travolta Fever (1978) Grease (movie soundtrack) (1978) The Road to Freedom (Scientology album) (1986) Let Her In: The Best of John Travolta (1996) The Collection (2003)

Singles "You Set My Dreams To Music" (1969) "Goodnight Mr. Moon" (1969) "Rainbows" (1969) "Settle Down" (1970) "Moonlight Lady" (1971) "Right Time Of The Night" (1972) "Big Trouble" (1972) "What Would They Say" (1973) "Back Doors Crying" (1973) "Dream Drummin'" (1974) "Easy Evil" (1975) "Can't Let You Go" (1975) "Let Her In" (1976) "Slow Dancin'" (1976) "It Had To Be You" (1976) "I Don't Know What I Like About You Baby" (1976) "Baby, I Could Be So Good At Lovin' You" (1977) "Razzamatazz" (1977) "Sandy" (1978) "Greased Lightnin'" (1978) "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again" (1980)

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