John Travolta Biography:

Astounding Hollywood star of the late 1970s and early '80s whose stormy career resolutely discredits the old saying that there are no third acts in American life. Blue eyed and boyish, Travolta first gained fame as Vinnie Barbarino, head "Sweathog" on the admired high school sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter (ABC, 1975-79). The character began as a dim-witted, arrogant bully but soon evolved into good natured, vulnerable, and sexy teen celebrity idol.

Travolta even recorded the mandatory music album during this period and found himself mobbed by young teens at suburban malls.

He first appeared in features as a teen boy who plots against "Carrie" (1976) in the stimulating Brian De Palma thriller. He truly graduated from television and "hustled" his way to stardom in one of the signature films of the late '70s, "Saturday Night Fever" (1977). Travolta's convincing urban Italian American attitude, combined with a bruised sensitivity and several scorching disco dance routines helped make the film a resounding hit and earned the actor an Oscar nomination. The film benefited from, and contributed to, the growing popularity of disco with mainstream America.

After the critical and commercial disaster of "Moment By Moment" (1978), an absurd romantic drama co-starring Lily Tomlin, Travolta cemented his popularity and proved himself a capable romantic lead opposite Olivia Newton-John in "Grease" (1978). Propped up by the immense popularity of television "Happy Days" this imitation 1950's song and dance festival became one of Hollywood's highest grossing film musicals.

Travolta's next feature, the well received "Urban Cowboy" (1980), featured the dancing lead in cowboy hat and boots as it tapped into America's increasing interest in country and western culture. De Palma's "Blow Out" (1981) gave John Travolta one of his most compound roles: a dedicated film sound technician who accidentally records a political assassination. The result was a lavishly shaded portrait of the hack artist as fallen man with morals.

Nonetheless, "Blow Out" stalled at the box office. A revved up Travolta made a strong commercial comeback in "Staying Alive" (1983), the Sylvester Stallone directed sequel to "Saturday Night Fever". Travolta then spent the next ten years playing in dull and unpopular films. His most notable work during this phase was a 1987 ABC television special: Harold Pinter's, "The Dumb Waiter", a one-act two-character play directed by Robert Altman, in which Travolta played a Cockney hit man.

It was not until the sleeper hit of 1989, "Look Who's Talking" (1989) with Kirstie Alley and Bruce Willis however, that Travolta was associated with another major box office success, though in this case, he was not the main character role. This romantic comedy featured the popular device of presenting a baby's thoughts in voice over, and generated two more jobs for the superstar - "Look Who's Talking Too" (1990) and "Look Who'sTalking Now" (1993). Good reviews for his performance in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" (1994) alongside Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman and Rosanna Arquette, returned John Travolta to the Hollywood's sexy celebrity status. Heavy-set, long-haired, and wearing earrings, Travolta's Vincent Vega was a bizarrely sympathetic hit man with a heroin habit and a very innocent view of the world. Travolta found himself inundated with scripts and deals offering him the largest paydays of his admired career as well as an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

Travolta capitalized on his success by starring in a trio of films. As Chili Palmer in Barry Sonnenfeld's popular "Get Shorty" with Rene Russo, where Travolta was acclaimed for his portrayal of a hit man spellbound by Hollywood. In "White Man's Burden" (1995), Travolta starred with Harry Belafonte in a ruthless film about reverse discrimination that won mixed critical reviews but little audience support. He followed with John Woo's action adventure thriller "Broken Arrow" (1996) with Christian Slater in which he played a pilot who masterminds an extortion plot against the United States government. Travolta reportedly received an $9 million paycheck for "Phenomenon" (1996) where he plays a man who is struck by a white light and develops superior abilities.

Some of his films ranging from the crime comedy "Get Shorty" (1995), the feel good films "Phenomenon" and "Michael" (1996), the action adventure "Face Off" (1997) with Nicolas Cage, the political satire "Primary Colors" with Billy Bob Thorton (1998), the mystery "The General's Daughter" (1999), the techno-thriller "Swordfish" (2001) with Halle Berry, and as a frustrated father in "Domestic Disturbance" (2001) were very much enjoyed by viewers. Travolta also had roles as an attorney battling powerful corporations on behalf of toxic poisoning victims in "A Civil Action" and was part of a star studded cast including Sean Penn, Nick Stahl, Gary Oldman and George Clooney in Terrence Malick's war pix, "The Thin Red Line" (1998).

After appearing in the unsuccessful alien movie written by Ron L. Hubbard, "Battlefield Earth" (2000) which Travolta also produced,  and which some believed as a payback to the Church of Scientology, Travolta and Preston gave birth to a daughter Ella.  

John Travolta gave a great performance in his movie thriller, "Ladder 49" (2004), playing a veteran firefighter who tries to give wisdom to a aspiring newbie (Joaquin Phoenix). Even though the role was not exactly tailored to Travolta's strengths, he made the most of the supporting role. After a two year vacation away from movie projects and the big screen, Travolta returned in “Wild Hogs” (2007), a huge, funny and successful road comedy about four men (John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy) who set out to prove their manhood with a relaxed, transcontinental motorcycle trip. Despite a slew of poor reviews, “Wild Hogs” was a box office success, but with the musical “Hairspray” (2007) featuring Michelle Pfieffer, Amanda Bynes and a young Zac Efron ,critics and audiences alike were in agreement that John Travolta was still a sexy top-notch celebrity. 

Playing a role originated by famed drag queen Divine in the original John Waters film, Travolta was shockingly amusing as Edna Turnblad, the 1960s working class Baltimore mom of television dance star Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Bosky). The role required a huge amount of prosthetics and makeup to turn Travolta into his character, but the old-hat stage star still danced his way into a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The summer blockbuster went on to become the third top grossing musical of all time, with “Grease” still holding strong in first position.

In 2008, Travolta lent his voice talents to the animated comedy "Bolt" (2008) with young Miley Cyrus about Bolt, a German Shepherd, who has lived his whole life on the set of his action TV show, where he believes he has superpowers. Next was another science fiction adventure thriller "Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey" (2009) with Samuel L. Jackson and Christian Slater, "Quantum Quest" takes place in an atomic world, where the forces of the Core and the forces of the Void battle for the fate of the universe. 

In the can and waiting for release are the films "Old Dogs" (2009) starring Travolta and Robin Williams about two friends and business partners who find their lives turned upside down when strange circumstances lead to them being placed in the care of 7-year-old twins. And finally for Travolta is the thriller "The Taking of Pelham 123" (2009) a remake of the thriller from 1978 that pits a transit cop (Denzel Washington) against a group of hijackers lead by John Travolta, who take over a subway train in order to rake in a hefty ransom. 

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See Also: Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mel Gibson, Pierce Brosnan, Sean Connery, Keanu Reeves,
Tom Cruise, Michael Douglas, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Robin Williams, Bruce Willis, Zac Efron,
Daniel Radcliffe, Ben Affleck, Heath Ledger, Drake Bell, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Jude Law