Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Every Disney Hero Has a Voice Bolt John Travolta


Every Disney Hero Has a Voice
Bolt
John Travolta

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 through the 1980s. 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.Career

Early life

Travolta, the youngest of six children, was born and raised in Englewood, New Jersey, an inner-ring suburb of New York City. His father, Salvatore Travolta (November 1912 – May 1995), was a semi-professional American football 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, Joey, Ellen, Ann, Margaret, and Sam Travolta, have all acted. His father was a second-generation Italian American and his mother was Irish American; 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 Scientology in 1975. Travolta attended Dwight Morrow High School, but dropped out as a junior at age 17 in 1971.

Career

Early career

After attending Dwight Morrow High School, 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'". 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, 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). 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). The show aired on ABC.

1970s stardom

Travolta had a hit single entitled "Let Her In", peaking at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in July 1976. 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). 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 Cowboy, in which he starred with Debra Winger.

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 and An Officer and a Gentleman, both of which went to Richard Gere.

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. 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), 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. Travolta played Mrs. Edna Turnblad in the remake of Hairspray, his first musical since Grease.

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.
Travolta married actress Kelly Preston in 1991. The couple had a son, Jett (April 13, 1992 – January 2, 2009). Their daughter, Ella Bleu, was born in 2000 and a third child, a son called 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 707–138 airliner. The plane bears the name Jett Clipper Ella in honor of his children. 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.
On November 24, 1992, Travolta was piloting his Gulfstream N728T at night above 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, an event attributed to a risky decision by an air traffic controller.
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.
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. 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.
In May 2012, an anonymous masseur filed a lawsuit against Travolta citing claims of sexual assault and battery. A lawyer for Travolta said that the allegations were "complete fiction and fabrication" and someone wanting their 15 minutes of fame. Travolta's counsel also stated that his client would be able to prove that he was not in California on the day in question and asserted that Travolta would "sue the attorney and Plaintiff for malicious prosecution" after getting the case thrown out. A second masseur later joined the lawsuit making similar claims. Both lawsuits were subsequently dropped by the complainants and dismissed without prejudice.
A judge ruled to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against Travolta and his attorney Marty Singer by writer Robert Randolph. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Malcolm Mackey dismissed the case on September 27 2012 because he found that a letter, written by Singer in response to allegations in a book by Randolph, had free speech protection.

Son's death

On January 2, 2009, Travolta and Preston's son, Jett, died while on their vacation in The Bahamas. A Bahamian death certificate was issued, attributing the cause of death to a seizure. Jett, who had a history of seizures, reportedly suffered from Kawasaki disease as an infant. In 2009, Travolta and Preston confirmed speculation that their son had autism and suffered regular seizures.  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, 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
Tenth Level, TheThe Tenth Level
John
TV movie
1975
Devil's Rain, TheThe Devil's Rain
Danny
1976
Boy in the Plastic Bubble, TheThe Boy in the Plastic Bubble
Tod Lubitch
·        TV movie
·        Nominated—TV Land Award
1976
Carrie
Billy Nolan
1977
Saturday Night Fever
Tony Manero
·        National Board of Review Award for Best Actor
·        Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
·        Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
·        3rd place—National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
·        3rd place—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
1978
Moment by Moment
Strip Harrison
1978
Grease
Daniel "Danny" Zuko
·        Henrietta Award – World Film Favorite Actor
·        Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1980
Urban Cowboy
Buford 'Bud' Uan Davis
1981
Blow Out
Jack Terry
1983
Staying Alive
Tony Manero
1983
Two of a Kind
Zack Melon
1985
Perfect
Adam Lawrence
1987
Basements
Ben
TV segment "The Dumb Waiter"
1989
Look Who's Talking
James Ubriacco
1989
Experts, TheThe Experts
Travis
1990
Look Who's Talking Too
James Ubriacco
1991
Shout
Jack Cabe
1991
Eyes Of An Angel
Bobby
aka The Tender
1991
Chains of Gold
Scott Barnes
TV movie; also writer
1992
Boris and Natasha: The Movie
Himself
cameo
1993
Look Who's Talking Now
James Ubriacco
1994
Pulp Fiction
Vincent Vega
·        MTV Movie Award for Best Dance Sequence (shared with Uma Thurman)
·        David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actor
·        London Critics Circle Film Award for Actor of the Year
·        Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
·        Stockholm International Film Festival for Best Actor
·        Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
·        Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
·        Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
·        Nominated—Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
·        Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
·        Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Performance
·        Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo (shared with Samuel L. Jackson)
·        3rd place—National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
·        Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
1995
Get Shorty
Chili Palmer
·        American Comedy Award for Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Leading Role)
·        Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
·        Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1995
White Man's Burden
Louis Pinnock
1996
Michael
Michael
1996
Phenomenon
George Malley
1996
Orientation: A Scientology Information Film
Himself
short subject
1996
Broken Arrow
Maj. Vic 'Deak' Deakins
1997
Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's
Himself
documentary
1997
Mad City
Sam Baily
1997
Face/Off
Sean Archer/Castor Troy
·        MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo (shared with Nicolas Cage)
·        Nomination—Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor - Action/Adventure
·        Nomination—MTV Movie Award for Best Performance
·        Nomination—MTV Movie Award for Best Villain (shared with Nicolas Cage
·        Nomination—Saturn Award for Best Actor
1997
She's So Lovely
Joey Giamonti
also executive producer
1998
Civil Action, AA Civil Action
Jan Schlichtmann
1998
Thin Red Line, TheThe Thin Red Line
Brigadier General Quintard
Satellite Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Motion Picture Ensemble
1998
Junket Whore
Himself
documentary
1998
Primary Colors
Governor Jack Stanton
Nomination—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1999
General's Daughter, TheThe General's Daughter
Warr. Off. Paul Brenner/Sgt. Frank White
1999
Our Friend, Martin
Kyle's dad
animated educational film, voice only
2000
Welcome to Hollywood
Himself
mockumentary; cameo
2000
Lucky Numbers
Russ Richards
2000
Battlefield Earth
Terl
also producer
Razzie Award for Worst Actor
2001
Domestic Disturbance
Frank Morrison
2001
Swordfish
Gabriel Shear
2002
Austin Powers in Goldmember
"Austinpussy" Johann van der Smut (Goldmember) / Himself
cameo
2003
Basic
Tom Hardy
2004
Ladder 49
Captain Mike Kennedy
2004
Love Song for Bobby Long, AA Love Song for Bobby Long
Bobby Long
2004
Punisher, TheThe Punisher
Howard Saint
2005
Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D
James Benson "Jim" Irwin
narrator; documentary
2005
Be Cool
Chili Palmer
2006
Lonely Hearts
Elmer C. Robinson
2007
Wild Hogs
Woody Stevens
2007
Hairspray
Edna Turnblad
·        Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
·        Hollywood Film Festival for Ensemble of the Year
·        Hollywood Film Festival for Supporting Actor of the Year
·        Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
·        Nominated—Palm Springs International Film Festival Ensemble Cast Award
·        Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2008
Bolt
Bolt the Dog
voice
2009
Taking of Pelham 123, TheThe Taking of Pelham 123
Benard Ryder
2009
Old Dogs
Charlie Reed
2010
From Paris with Love
Charlie Wax
2012
Savages
Dennis
2013
Killing Season
Emil Kovac

List of credits in series television
Year
Title
Role
Notes
1972
Emergency!
Chuck Benson
Episode: "Kids"
1972
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
Episode: "A Piece of God"
1973
Rookies, TheThe 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)
  • "Take A Chance" (1983) (w/ Olivia Newton-John)
  • "Two Sleepy People" (1997) (w/ Carly Simon)
  • "I Thought I Lost You" (2008) (w/ Miley Cyrus)




1 comment:

  1. I can honestly say that Bolt is John Travoltas best movie role, and most certainly his most attractive one too.

    You decide whether that says more about Bolt or John Travolta.

    ReplyDelete